The supervisor was sweating buckets. Despite the optimal air-conditioning, he felt a shiver run down his spine. "I'm sorry, Mr. Walton! I should have conducted a more thorough investigation! Please, give me one more chance! I'll do better!"

Curtis hated should-haves. Anyone could appear competent in retrospect, but not everyone could demonstrate it when needed. 

He responded sternly, "Enough. This situation indicates that your abilities are clearly inadequate for this position. You're fired. Collect your severance pay on your way out."

The supervisor was stunned by the abrupt decision. It had taken him seven to eight years to reach his current position, and he had harbored dreams of eventually joining HQ. One embezzlement issue was all it took for all of that to get flushed down the drain. 

He should not have underestimated the problem. While the culprit came from an upper-class back

Sabrina returned home after a day's work. She still found her new identity as a married woman hard to settle into. As she approached her apartment unit, she heard footsteps behind her.

"Where do you think you're going?" Curtis's voice sounded behind her.

She turned, puzzled. "Home," she replied, looking at Curtis with curiosity.

"That's not the way home, or have you already forgotten that we're married?" Curtis said, frowning. "We're living together now."

Sabrina felt a rush of embarrassment wash over her. She had forgotten the agreement they had made earlier. She pulled her key away from her door and reluctantly followed Curtis back to his house.

Daniel was surprised to find both of them returning together. "The two of you coming home together? That's a surprise! Did you wait for her to finish work?"

Curtis responded apathetically. "No."

A heavy awkwardness filled the air, and Da

Sabrina and Nina were best friends for many years, even working at the same office and department after graduation. Back then, Sabrina thought it was the best thing to happen to her. 

Now? She felt insulted and disgusted just to be in the same room with Nina.

She flashed a smile. "I hear you loud and clear. Thanks for this. But you really shouldn't intervene. It's a shitty situation you don't want to be involved in."

Felicia blinked, puzzled by Sabrina's reaction. Didn't Sabrina and Nina used to be very chummy all the time? Nina could badmouth her friend a little and it wouldn't affect their friendship at all. That was why Felicia expected Sabrina to be upset at her words. She'd even expected a firm reprimanding from Sabrina!

Something must have happened between these two if this was Sabrina's reaction.

"No… No, no, no. Don't tell me it really happened!" Felicia was shocked. "That Nina! She couldn't have done it… did she?"

Sabrina stared at her wordlessly, and it started to creep Felicia out. "What? W-Was it something I said?" she asked gingerly.

"No. I just realized how stupid I was." 

Everyone had known Nina was bad news—except Sabrina herself. 

Felicia could tell Sabrina was in a really low place, so she forced the little gossipy imp in her head to shut up and tried to comfort Sabrina, "Hey! Let's just drop this topic, okay?"

As they entered the office, Nina raised her head and locked eyes with Sabrina. She wished she could knock Sabrina out with the mug in her hand.

Sabrina walked to her desk and sat down, frowning. Unfortunately, she was neighbors with Nina…

Maybe it was high time she talked to the supervisor and see if she could get a desk change. Perhaps she could persuade the supervisor to move Nina to another department!

Nina knew her actions were not likely to make her popular in the office, so she made sure to lower her voice as she mocked Sabrina. "Look who decided to show up. The b*tch who sent her own boyfriend to jail and still feels good enough to come to work. I would have stayed at home in shame."

"Still better than the b*tch who shamelessly stole her friend's boyfriend. That's the real shameless one!" Sabrina shot back. "You two are a match made in heaven. One's a scheming little gold-digger, and the other isn't far off from that."

Sabrina used to value peace in any conversation, which incentivized Nina to taunt her every now and then. Her stealing Sabrina's ex-boyfriend was just an extension of that mindset. 

Nina was not used to hearing Sabrina clap back. 

"Do you remember what I told you?" Sabrina continued. "You can't win a man using sex alone. If sex is how you got him, then sex is how you'll lose him. You think you've won, but you just set yourself up for a tragedy, and you don't even know it."

"Spoken like a real loser too incompetent to know how to keep a man." Nina snorted, despite knowing some of the things Aaron did were not right. How could he shamelessly spend his girlfriend's money like that? 

Nevertheless, Aaron was a talented man. Nina knew him before Sabrina did—which was why she was adamant that she deserved to be with him first. Sabrina ruined her chance! 

If Nina could look as pretty as Sabrina, Aaron would have noticed her and chosen her instead. It was unfair—Sabrina got to look like a gorgeous seductress while Nina could not measure up to her. 

Sabrina could sense Nina's malice. "Don't look at me like that. If you really have the means for it, go ahead and put Aaron on a leash. I don't want to see him prowling the streets looking for anyone willing to screw him. That'd be so disgusting."

Nina was enraged. How dare she insult Aaron like that?! She wished she could just leap to her feet and shout at Sabrina already, but people in the office would start to talk!

"Don't be so smug, b*tch!" she snarled under her breath.

Sabrina ignored Nina and turned to focus on her work. 

Meanwhile, Nina mumbled and ranted on and on. She had no idea other people had begun to take notice of her and snickered at her clownery.

*

This morning, instead of being driven to the company's headquarters as usual, Curtis's assistant drove him to one of the company's branches. 
The reason for Curtis's return to this country was none other than the embezzlement issue at this particular branch, which had come to the attention of the headquarters. Additionally, Curtis's grandfather's health concerns had also made this trip unavoidable.

When he arrived at the office, Curtis summoned all the company executives. They hung their heads nervously. This was their first encounter with the big man from HQ—and the fact that it revolved around a serious problem made the situation even more tense. Their previous mishandling of the embezzlement issue had them worried about potential firings.

Curtis glared at each executive before him and demanded, "Can any of you explain why so many executives were involved in a single embezzlement case?"

What did these people think the company was? Their source of personal funding? And how did the person in charge of this branch company not know anything about it until it was too late? Was that proof of his incompetence, or was it deliberate? Or could there possibly even be orchestration on his part?

The supervisor, overwhelmed by fear, nearly fell to his knees. "I'm sorry! I should have discovered this problem sooner! I didn't know he'd be this brazen… We've reported it to the police, and the culprit will be apprehended soon, I'm sure of it!" 

"You're not answering my question. I'm not asking about the culprit's arrest. I want to know why this embezzlement occurred in the first place."

The supervisor's answer was all Curtis needed to be convinced that his position was way beyond his capabilities. Someone else needed to take his job.

The supervisor was sweating buckets. Despite the optimal air-conditioning, he felt a shiver run down his spine. "I'm sorry, Mr. Walton! I should have conducted a more thorough investigation! Please, give me one more chance! I'll do better!"

Curtis hated should-haves. Anyone could appear competent in retrospect, but not everyone could demonstrate it when needed. 

He responded sternly, "Enough. This situation indicates that your abilities are clearly inadequate for this position. You're fired. Collect your severance pay on your way out."

The supervisor was stunned by the abrupt decision. It had taken him seven to eight years to reach his current position, and he had harbored dreams of eventually joining HQ. One embezzlement issue was all it took for all of that to get flushed down the drain. 

He should not have underestimated the problem. While the culprit came from an upper-class background, they paled in comparison to the CEO's influence. The CEO had the power to cost him his job.


Chapter 11 The Boss Looks A Little Like Curtis