Chapter 2

Shock flashed through Julian’s eyes. He looked down at the badge in disbelief, then back up at me.

Chloe’s brow furrowed into a deep, angry scowl.

"Ethan, what kind of nonsense are you talking about?"

"Am I talking nonsense? In front of all these cameras, who was the one holding hands? What, you don't want to take responsibility now?"

Following my lead, the reporters immediately zoomed their cameras in on Chloe and Julian’s intertwined hands. Panicked, Chloe quickly tore her hand away.

She glared at me, her eyes spitting fire.

"And another thing—just because I criticized you a little, you're throwing a tantrum and resigning? Do you really think the company will let you threaten us like this?"

I nodded solemnly.

"Let me make one thing clear: this isn't a threat. This is a very real, very official resignation."

"The company just went public, and reputation is everything. A 'disgusting stalker' like me definitely shouldn't be staying around to ruin your brand."

Seeing how easily I admitted it, Chloe’s face turned incredibly ugly.

Julian reached up, pretending to take off the badge.

"Ethan, I can't possibly take your badge like this. If you’re really that upset, we can just have a fair competition for the manager position."

His words were pretty, but his hands didn't move an inch to actually take the badge off.

Finally, Chloe reached out and pressed her hand over his.

"Why shouldn't you take it? Since he doesn't care about his job, why are you being so polite? Keep it."

As she spoke, Chloe kept her cold eyes locked onto mine.

I didn't know if she was just trying to spite me or if she truly despised me that much. Frankly, I no longer cared to guess.

As I turned to leave, Chloe called out to me.

"The marketing department is short-staffed right now, so don't get too ahead of yourself with this resignation. We have a massive deal with a major European distributor next week. Take your team and secure it."

I let out a sharp laugh.

I had never seen someone ask for a favor in such a demanding, arrogant tone.

I remembered that European distributor very well.

They were incredibly picky about their suppliers, and since they hadn't fully broken into our domestic market yet, they were extremely cautious.

Naturally, they had a lot of strict requirements for their partners, and dozens of massive firms were fighting for this contract.

Our company was no exception.

Up until today, I had been the sole manager in charge of this entire account.

But now, I was done.

I decided to dump the entire mess onto Julian's lap.

"Since Julian is so brilliant, I’m sure he won't disappoint you, CEO Miller."

Before Chloe could say another word, Julian eagerly took the bait.

"This will be my very first project as manager. I promise I will lead the team to secure this contract and take our company to the next level!"

I wanted to laugh out loud.

Some people were just so beautifully, incredibly stupid.

He had absolutely no idea that the CEO of that European company was notoriously elusive. Countless competitors couldn't even get a meeting with him, let alone a contract.

Moreover, that CEO was famous for being difficult.

But as luck would have it...

Just last month, by a stroke of pure coincidence, I had met the CEO and helped him out of a tight spot.

He had liked me so much that he insisted we must work together on his next big project.

He didn't care about the company. He cared about "me".

Just then, Julian walked over to me, holding a glass of champagne, a smug look plastered on his face.

"Don't worry, Ethan. Once you're gone, I’m going to clean up the marketing department. I won't keep any dead weight around. I promise I won't let you down. I’ll make sure our department becomes the absolute backbone of this company."

I knew exactly what he was doing. He was terrified that I would leave my loyalists behind to make his life difficult, so he was planning to fire them all.

I said nothing.

The surrounding colleagues who heard him didn't look happy at all. They were already worrying about their jobs.

As Julian raised his glass and cheered, calling for everyone to join him in a toast, I calmly walked up behind him.

Then, without a single moment of hesitation, I shoved him straight into the decorative fountain next to us.

"As your senior who hasn't officially left yet, let me teach you your very first lesson."

"Don't get too cocky. I’m just helping you cool down so you can think a little clearer."