Chapter 3

The next second, Austin was on all fours, pathetically grabbing onto Claire's ankle like a kicked puppy.

"Claire, please don't get mad! If it helps Julian cool down, he can kick me a few more times, I swear!"

Claire snapped back to reality and glared at me, pointing a furious finger in my face:

"Julian! How dare you lay your hands on him! Who the hell do you think you are?!"

"If anything happens to Austin because of your violent outburst, your pathetic life wouldn't be enough to pay for it!"

I folded my arms and stared down at Austin with cold indifference.

Seeing my silence, panic flickered in Austin's eyes. He quickly clutched his chest and rolled over in agony.

"Claire... my chest hurts so much. I can barely breathe..."

Claire immediately knelt beside him, clutching his chest with frantic concern before shrieking at me:

"You're just eaten alive with jealousy because Austin is ten times the man you are! You're trying to destroy him!"

"This company has no place for a petty, incompetent loser like you! Pack your shit and get the hell out!"

Petty? Incompetent?

Fine. Let's see if Austin can survive three days on this project without me.

I spun on my heel and walked out.

Director Sterling from the National Institute had invited me to a private dinner earlier, an invitation I had initially planned to decline because of the company party.

Now, there was no reason to say no.

The Institute had supported me relentlessly throughout this deal; either way, I owed my mentor a proper gesture of gratitude.

I headed to a high-end wine shop down the street to grab two bottles of vintage red wine.

To my sheer annoyance, I ran right into Claire, Austin, and the rest of the team as I stepped out.

"Julian? What are you lurking around here for?" Claire barked, blocking the sidewalk.