After working nonstop for twenty-four hours to secure two one-and-a-half-million-dollar deals, I took a quick bathroom break and dozed off for about ten minutes. Surprisingly, out of the blue, I received a fine worth one hundred and fifty dollars. At that time, I did not think much about it.

However, the next day, when I tried to clock in, I found out that I had been fired for not paying the fine on time.

Furious, I stormed into the CEO, who happened to be in my fiancée’s office, to confront her, only to be met by her assistant, who said arrogantly, “Using the restroom during work hours is slacking off. What’s wrong with deducting a day’s wages?”  

Then he added, "The other colleagues can come out in ten minutes. Why can’t you?”

My fiancée also backed him up, “As a senior executive, you should’ve known better and not made a mistake. You must be severely punished to serve as a warning to others!”

On my way out, I glanced through the blinds and saw the two of them, tangled together. So, I turned around and called our rival company’s CEO. "I got a gift for you. I'll give you three million dollars if you give me a position at your company."

"What are the conditions?" she asked.

I asked dryly, "Does your company practice limiting restroom breaks there?"

——

A seductive laugh came through the phone. Then she asked, "Blake Thomas, are you shitting me? Who came up with the idea of using a time limit for a restroom break?"

I sent my resume over and said, “Just arrange a position for me.”  

Jane Collins immediately sent me the link for the Vice President's position. After that, she asked, "Is the vice president's position sound good to you? Or should I hand over my CEO's position for you?"

“You're a senior figure at Mia Baker's company, having been with her since the company's inception. I've tried to poach you dozens of times before, but you never agreed to come over. What's changed this time? Did you argue with her?”

I said irritably, “That's none of your business. What you should be thinking about is whether you can use these three million-dollar orders to lift you from your continuous runner-up position and finally surpass Mia."

Jane's voice was clear yet brimming with ambition, as she said, “Forget about the orders. Without you, Mia’s company is nothing."

After I filled out the employment information and sent her the contracts and details of the two orders, I said, “To a fruitful partnership.”

Seeing that I was not joking, Jane finally became serious. "Blake, if you're truly serious about joining my company, I'll certainly welcome you with open arms. But if this is just an emotional tactic to vent your frustration with Mia, I advise you to think this through. I don't want to hand over the second-in-command position to you only to be stabbed in the back.”

An emotional tactic to vent my frustration, huh? I only feel a chill in my heart.

After all, anyone who hears that a company executive was fired for spending ten extra minutes in the restroom would feel humiliated, especially since the one who made the decision was my own fiancée, whom I had been dating for the past three years and was about to marry.

Not to mention that she and I co-founded the company and it has grown to become the industry leader today.

Though I was heartbroken, I was not surprised. Ever since Mia gave special treatment to her male assistant, I have had a bad premonition.

“I don’t joke about work. I’ll clear my desk today and report in tomorrow," I finally said and hung up the phone.

Afterward, Jane still thought it was just a dream and kept texting me. However, I was too busy packing up my things on my desk and leaving, so I did not answer her.

Just then, the surveillance camera above the office barked, "Blake Baker, phone must be in silent mode during office hours. Violation of this rule will get you a thirty-dollar fine."

The moment Trevor Philips said that, all eyes turned on me.

I ignored him and kept packing my things.

Seeing this, he stormed out of the office and snapped, "Blake! Didn't you hear what I'm saying? President Baker had made an exception and paid your fine! Why are you still ignoring company rules?”

I forced a smile, finding him amusing and asked, “What rules does a fired man have to follow?”

Hearing the commotion outside her office, Mia came over. She walked up to me and softly said, "Since Little Trevor has already set the rules, I can't break them in front of him, can I? But don't worry, I've already paid the fine for you, so you don't have to leave.”

I shot her a cold look and tossed my employee badge on the desk and said, "There's no need. If you’re not going to fire me, I’ll just resign on my own. I’m done.”

I grabbed my things and headed for the door, but Mia stepped in front of me again. Anger clouded her face as she scolded me in front of the entire company, "Blake! Stop making a fuss! Trevor set the rule to keep everyone in line. Hasn't the company's culture been good lately?"

I rolled my eyes.

Good?

Just earlier, someone in the work group chat complained that sales staff traveling for business were only allowed to book the cheapest economy seat on train tickets and the accommodations were limited to hostels that cost seven dollars and sixty-five cents.

Not only that, they could only take the client to eat at roadside food stalls, because the company would only reimburse the meal expenses up to thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents. Anything over that was not covered.

Mia allowed Trevor to do this and thought he was saving a lot of money for the company.

However, this made the colleagues, who were on business trips, suffer.

It was truly unacceptable to meet with bosses and discuss contracts worth millions or even tens of millions of dollars, but our company would only be willing to entertain bosses with a meal that costs less than a few tens of dollars.

I thought Trevor was an idiot if he thought thirty-seven dollars and fifty cents for a meal was enough.

And Mia, that blockhead, actually approved all of it.

Since I had traveled for work recently and barely spent much time in the office, I didn't realize that her company had even set a time limit for restroom breaks—twice a day, ten minutes each.

Sooner or later, her company will be doomed!

Ignoring the fine Trevor had just issued for not silencing my phone, I left the company and went home.

After sleeping through the afternoon, I decided to cook something delicious for myself.

However, just as I set the dishes on the table, I heard the front door unlock.

Then Mia and Trevor sat leisurely and helped themselves to my meal.

I asked them coldly, “I was the one who cooked this. What do you think you're doing?”  

Mia furrowed her brows and asked, “Didn’t you see the messages I sent you?”

Sure enough, there were several of her text messages on my phone.

She hadn’t messaged me once in the past month, ever since she hired Trevor. But today, she sent over a dozen messages, all related to Trevor.

First, she blamed me for embarrassing her in public. Then she said my behavior upset Trevor so much that he couldn’t eat. Finally, she demanded I apologize or she would call off our engagement.

[It’s all your fault for humiliating Trevor in front of everyone today. He didn’t do anything wrong and everything he has done is for the good of the company.]

[I’m bringing him home for dinner tonight. Make something elaborate and apologize to him.]

When Mia noticed the cilantro floating in the soup, she started complaining with disdain and this only made me even angrier.

"Haven't I told you Trevor hates cilantro?" she chided. "Are you blind? Pick out every single piece, now.”

She then picked up a piece of meat for Trevor, blew on it to cool it down, handed it to her and said, "This is Blake's specialty dish. Try it."

Trevor took a bite directly from her chopsticks. Then, still full of resentment, he said angrily, “The food’s fine, I guess. But unless he apologizes to me in front of the entire company, I won’t forgive him.”

“With that kind of attitude, how am I supposed to manage anyone else?” he added.

Mia turned to me and scolded me, "Did you hear that? Apologize to Trevor, or don’t even think about coming back to the company. And I’ll call off the engagement!”

We had an agreement that when we were together, we would never use the word "break up" when we were angry.

However, lately, Mia had been using "break the engagement" several times for Trevor.

Now, seeing the two of them flirting in front of me, I was so angry I could have crushed my phone screen.

"Yeah … there's something that needs to be thrown out … and it's you two!" I snapped.

With a furious voice, I yelled, “Mia! Take Trevor with you and get out! You're the one who is having a boy toy and bringing him to the company to flirt, so what am I supposed to say as an apology?"

"As for the engagement,” I paused. “I'm the one who's breaking it off."

Mia's expression turned cold, her tone hostile, “This is our wedding home and you think you can just kick me out?”

My face remained blank when I said, "This is my family’s house. So, get out with your assistant … stats!”

Before he left with a smug look on his face, Trevor snorted and stated, “You dare kick me out? Do you even know who I know?”

“Let me tell you," he stated. "I know that gentleman in the investment world. You'd better kneel and apologize to me right now and I might say a few good words for you in front of him!”  

Mia furrowed her brows and chimed in with a hostile voice, "Did you hear that, Blake? Kneel and apologize to Trevor right now. Our company is counting on him!”

I slammed the door shut without blinking. “I don’t care who you know. What does the company have to do with me?”

Trevor was so furious he could barely breathe.

Finally, I was completely alone and silence returned to the house. But the food on the table had already been spoiled by them, made I completely lost my appetite. So, I just went out to eat.

While waiting for my food, I came across a new post from Mia on her Instagram feed.

[Blake, let me tell you, if you don’t publicly apologize to Trevor, our engagement is off!]

I rolled my eyes and immediately blocked her.

Before I had a chance to leave the company's small group chat, the next morning, someone revealed that Mia and Trevor had arrived in the same car and they were still wearing the same clothes from the day before.

Someone else also claimed to have seen them going to a hotel together yesterday. At that time, she and her friends saw them waiting by the roadside and there were photos to prove it.

I immediately left the group and went to Jane's company, because I didn’t want to see any information about the two of them.

Even though Jane had prepared a private office for me, she still found it hard to believe it when she saw me.

She exclaimed, "You're here! You actually came. I've already worried that I set up the office, but you didn't show up."

I handed her the contracts for those two orders and said, “This year's industry awards are coming up soon. Whether we can win first place depends on you.”  

Her eyes gleamed with fierce ambition to win first place as she said, “Don't worry, with your help, our company will definitely overtake the Baker Group this year.”  

After working for three years, I’d built a solid client base. By that afternoon, I had already finalized another deal.

On the way out, I saw that Trevor was embracing Mia. Their gestures were very intimate.

I didn’t plan to acknowledge her, but Mia pulled back from him and approached me to explain, "I know what they were saying in the small group chat of yours, but don't overthink it. Trevor's house is leaking and as his boss, I’m just providing him with accommodation.”

Who are you trying to fool? Anyone with eyes can see they slept together last night.  

However, I said nothing and prepared to leave.

After explaining things, Mia spoke condescendingly to me, "Blake, I know you want to come back. Trevor has just drafted a contract. If you help him land the deal, I’ll reinstate you.”

I let out a cold laugh. “You’re dreaming. I’m not helping him negotiate any deals.”

Mia sighed. Then she spoke in a fake noble tone that made me sick.

"Trevor is a recent graduate with no experience in negotiating projects," she said. "If you help him secure it, it will serve as an apology for what you did last night.”  

“Don't be stubborn," she advised. "If you secure the project, I'll not only reinstate you, but our engagement will proceed as planned.”  

I didn’t respond. She and I were clearly no longer on the same wavelength. I brushed past her and was ready to leave.