Chapter 3

3: 3

3

My face went cold in an instant.

"Has this been verified? Is it real?"

If the deal closed at cost price, we'd take a pure loss. The costs of the other stages alone came to more than that.

And if it went to breach of contract, the penalty was triple. Fifty million, at the very least.

I put down what I was working on right then and went to Greg for an explanation.

By the time I reached his office, the air in the room was heavy, a ring of people gathered around.

Agnes stood in the center of the office, her eyes red-rimmed.

"It was so late by the time I finished the gala with Mr. Sanchez last night, and I was exhausted, half-asleep, and I sent the wrong document by mistake…"

Agnes looked the picture of injured innocence, her voice thick with tears.

"It was my mistake. I let everyone down."

"Your mistake, and one flimsy little sorry settles it?"

I kicked the door open and spoke coldly.

"Agnes, do you have any idea how big a loss your one careless move cost this company?"

When she saw it was me, her eyes went even redder, her voice breaking.

"Ms. Delgado, you can't put all the blame on me. Whoever sent me those documents didn't sort them out clearly in the first place."

"And last night, last night I was so tired…"

"None of that is an excuse!"

I said it coldly, and before I could finish, Greg cut in with a frown. "Enough."

He stepped forward. "Agnes is just a secretary. Why are you giving her such a hard time?"

"The fault here is mine. I didn't check it properly. Agnes only did the work in my place. She shouldn't be blamed."

Greg lifted his head and said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Besides, the Sanchez family has plenty of money. We can cover that penalty."

"Lottie, you can't just fire an employee because they made a mistake."

"That kind of attitude is too coldhearted. It'll break the spirit of our long-time staff."

The way he talked, you'd think he cared so deeply about his employees.

And it left me hung out to dry.

I let out a cold laugh and gestured to the other colleagues gathered around the office.

"Greg, there's nothing wrong with your ears, is there?"

"If you're not deaf, then listen closely to what everyone here is saying."

"If you don't fire Agnes today, that's what'll break the hearts of every other hardworking, long-time employee."

Only then did Greg finally hear the voices of the crowd.

Agnes had thrown her weight around again and again, and it had long since stirred everyone's anger.

One after another, they demanded that Agnes be fired.

"Fine. So this is what all of you think."

Greg's face darkened, and he lifted his eyes to me.

"Lottie Delgado, I had no idea you'd already bought off every single employee in this company."

"Fine. You all want Agnes gone? Then I'll grant your wish."

To let the storm blow over, Greg dismissed Agnes.

That same afternoon, he sent her off to the branch office in the next city.

But at the same time, Greg all but vanished for a solid week.

The next time I caught sight of him was in Agnes's social media feed.

"Mr. Sanchez is amazing! I caused all that trouble, and not only did he not say one harsh word to me, he took me on a company-paid trip, took me to Disneyland, put me up in a luxury hotel for free. Living the dream!"

My assistant happened to see it and complained, furious.

"How can there be someone this shameless in the whole world?"

"Ms. Delgado, ever since the group fired her, Agnes has been more brazen than before."

"Does a person like her have even a shred of decency or shame?"

"Whether she has decency and shame or not."

I calmly closed my phone and went on sorting the files on my desk.

"She'll never get another cent out of me."

"A trivial thing like this isn't worth my attention."

"What matters right now is finalizing the asset division and pulling my capital back."

I didn't give it the slightest attention. I just kept working on the asset division.

Doing everything I could to withdraw all of the Delgado investment stake as fast as possible.

That evening, I was scrolling through my phone, looking up some information.

Then, out of nowhere, Agnes's face popped up on my screen. She'd started a livestream.

The title read, in bold:

"I Was Slapped Three Times by a Rich Man's Wife, and Now the Whole Internet Knows What I've Suffered."

In the livestream, Agnes wore loose loungewear, an obvious handprint still marked on her face.

It actually made me laugh.

The whole thing had been over for nearly a week. A week ago Agnes was still strutting around the company.

Now here she was, digging it back up to play the victim.

She sniffled into the camera, tears falling one drop at a time, dabbing pitifully at the corner of her mouth.

"I know I'm not worthy. I'm just Mr. Sanchez's secretary, a workhorse grinding overtime to make a living…"

"That day I got caught in the rain, and Mr. Sanchez told me to go change. I really didn't know it was Mrs. Sanchez's nightgown…"

"She hit me, and I didn't hit back, because I knew her status was higher than mine. All I could do was take it…"

"I don't get overtime pay. I stay late with my boss for nothing, and then at the gala Lottie Delgado, that jealous woman, threw red wine on me. I've been so wronged I could die…"

The comments scrolled by fast.

"That rich wife is way too out of line! She's honestly sick, thinking every young girl wants her husband."

"Why won't Mr. Sanchez protect you? Damn, that's such a pathetic way to earn a living."

"Sis, call the police already!"

I watched for ten seconds, and it just made me laugh.

I exited the livestream and dialed my lawyer.

"Rex Chavez, I need you to draft two documents for me."