"The pay isn't great, but at least it's better than going hungry, right?"

Ava and the others burst into laughter at once, talking over one another in agreement.

"Ms. Storrie truly is an angel!"

"Exactly! What's wrong with being a cleaning lady? Earning an honest living isn't shameful."

"Julia, hurry and thank Ms. Storrie!"

I looked at Hannah's face, which was twisted with malice, and suddenly smiled. My gaze swept past my colleagues before finally settling on her.

"For Mr. Langley's 300-million deal, the commission the company promised me was three million dollars. But with a single word from Mr. Zane, it was taken away from me just like that."

I pointed at the people whose expressions had begun to waver.

"If Peter can steal my commission away just like that today, who knows if you…" I paused, and my finger drifted toward another person, "Or you—might suffer the same fate?"

The office instantly fell silent.

Some of them instinctively avoided my gaze, while others stole glances at Peter. He looked livid.

I smirked, and my voice was dripping with mockery as I continued, "You're at a meager company that breaks its word and burns bridges. Do you really dare to risk it all in a place like this?"

"Julia! Stop stirring up trouble here!" Peter slammed his hand on the desk. His face turned crimson as he roared, "Leon and I go way back! The only reason that deal ever landed on your desk was that you got lucky and rode on my coattails.

"If you knew better, you shouldn't even have asked for a single cent!"

"Exactly! I poured a glass of wine over Mr. Langley, and we still got the deal," she chimed in. Her tone carried a vicious kind of innocence. "That proves he values real capability and sincerity, not your crooked tricks."

Hearing this, I took a deep breath as a dull ache stirred again in my stomach. Hannah noticed me frowning slightly while clutching my stomach and snickered.

"Don't play the victim just because you drank yourself into stomach problems. To him, you're just a little plaything. You really think you're some exceptional talent?"

In truth, Hannah wasn't entirely wrong. Relying on drinking and sweet talk alone would never allow us to secure a project of this scale.

At the time, Mr. Langley's company was struggling due to a technological transition, but the real issue lay in the massive cost and potential risks of migrating data between old and new systems.

To crack this tough nut, I privately consulted countless industry veterans and technical experts. After who knew how many sleepless nights, what I ultimately delivered to Mr. Langley was a detailed solution and risk assessment report of over 200 pages, one that precisely addressed his most pressing concerns.

It was just that Peter, a hands-off manager through and through, only believed what he wanted to believe. He insisted that Mr. Langley had signed the contract purely because of their "close ties".

In the face of such high stakes, their so-called brotherhood wasn't really worth much.

Peter, however, clearly agreed with Hannah.

"Hannah's absolutely right," he concurred with a snort. "Julia, stop dragging this out. Just come to my office and sign the resignation agreement so we can part on decent terms."

I followed him into his office and took the pen he handed me. Just as I leaned forward to sign, he suddenly placed his hand over the back of mine, rubbing it in a sleazy manner as his voice dropped to a whisper.

"Honestly, Julia, you're really beautiful. I can understand why you preferred shortcuts.

"But if you were half as sensible as Hannah and had learned how to please me when you first joined, you wouldn't have to entertain so many men all the time. That must've been exhausting. Isn't that right?"

A shiver raced down my spine.

Without thinking, I yanked my hand back and landed a resounding slap across his face.

The sharp sound echoed through the office.

Peter was stunned for a moment before flying into a rage. He jabbed a finger in my face and bellowed, "Julia, you ungrateful bitch! Who do you think you are, acting all high and mighty?

"Everyone knows you're a slut, begging to be fucked. You're nothing but trash who sleeps her way into deals."

I glared at him. My stomach was churning violently. Ignoring his insults, I skimmed the contract and quickly signed it once I confirmed the terms were reasonable.

"Get out the moment you're done signing!" Peter panted with fury, jabbing a finger at the papers. "Listen. You're finished in this industry.

"The company will immediately activate the non-compete clause. I'll use every connection I have to blacklist you across the entire field. Let's see which company dares to hire you!"

Watching him rage on helplessly, I merely raised an eyebrow and said nothing. I picked up the signed resignation documents and turned to leave.

To my surprise, Hannah was still standing at my desk. Contempt filled her face as she casually flipped through my 200-page proposal report.

"I trained you for so long, but it wasn't until today that I realized you actually have quite a talent for stealing," I said evenly.

Catching the sarcasm in my tone, she immediately mustered as much authority as she could in her tone as the new manager.

"Julia, what do you mean? I'm the manager now. What right does a laid-off employee like you have to lecture me?

"This pile of nonsense has nothing to do with our project. Stop pretending like you're important. You're just all show and no substance."

One look at her self-righteous expression made me laugh. She hadn't officially taken over Mr. Langley's project yet, so she had no idea what the report was worth.

"Ms. Storrie, don't be too confident," I deliberately reminded her in a solemn tone. "This document is very important. After I leave, whether you get promoted, receive raises, or even secure your position as manager may very well depend on it. I suggest you keep it safe."

However, Hannah thought I was provoking her. She snorted.

"Are you trying to scare me?"

She grabbed the thick report and strode to the shredder in the corner of the office. After tearing it apart, she shoved it into the machine bit by bit.

"Know your place, bitch," she drawled out.

I stood there in silence, watching the report that consumed countless sleepless nights of my life instantly turn into fluttering white scraps in the air. Relief washed over me.

Just then, Peter's office door flew open. His voice was dripping with fury as he barked, "Hannah! Mr. Langley just called. He said the data migration system proposal from before was indeed very well done.

"His tech team wants to study it in more depth. Hurry up and find the backup or softcopy and send it to him to review again!"

She looked momentarily lost but still responded, "Alright. I'll do it right now."

Meanwhile, I picked up the cardboard box with my belongings and walked out of the company in high spirits.

My phone suddenly rang. A message notifying me of my exam results appeared on the screen, and I beamed.

Almost at the same time, Mr. Holmes called.

"Julia, my secretary said you offended Peter," he said tentatively. "Is there anything I can help with? Just say the word."

Knowing exactly what he implied, I replied, "Peter has activated the non-compete clause, so I'm afraid I won't be able to work for you for the time being. My apologies.

"But Mr. Holmes, I have some extremely good news."