Resign with Grace, Return with Fire Chapter 19
“Given your situation, even if you did find a job, it would probably be at some no-name studio. You don’t stand a chance against our company. I’m saying this for your own good…” Every word out of Lester’s mouth dripped with condescension, like I was embarrassing myself.
I ignored him and handed the bid proposal to John.
Sandra snorted. “Learn to know your place!”
She and Lester both curled their lips as they waited to watch me make a fool of myself. But a second later, John tossed their proposal aside and took mine.
After carefully flipping through it, he smiled and held out a hand. “I’m very satisfied with your bid, Mr. Sloan. I’m looking forward to working with you!”
I smiled as well and reached out to shake his hand.
For a moment, Sandra and Lester were both stunned. “W-What? Mr. Lawson chose Fred over us?”
Sandra turned to me. “Fred, did you pull some strings? Why else would Mr. Lawson pass on our thriving company and pick your no-name studio?”
Lester shook his head. “I know you want this contract, but you can’t be doing improper deals. It’s not fair to others, and it’s bad for your health…”
There he was, doing the fake concern thing again. This time, he was basically accusing me of sleeping my way to the deal.
Sandra shot me a cold look. “I didn’t think you’d sink so slow. I’m so disappointed in you!”
In an instant, everyone present turned to give me contemptuous looks, muttering about how I was cheap and disgusting.
I was about to speak when John slammed a hand on the table and snapped, “Quiet, you blind fools! Do you have death wishes or something? Mr. Sloan is the general manager of Skyborne Group. How dare you slander him like this!”
Everyone fell silent at his outburst. Meanwhile, Sandra and Lester stared at me, their eyes wide with disbelief.
“What? Skyborne Group? That’s an industry leader! How can Fred be their general manager? That’s impossible! I know exactly what he’s like!”
Sandra pointed at me while turning to John. “Mr. Lawson, Fred is just a liar who talks big. Don’t let him fool you!
Lester chimed in, “Yeah, Mr. Lawson. You’re only like this because you don’t know the full story. Fred used to work at our company, but he was fired for being incompetent. How could someone we fired possibly get into Skyborne Group?”
I glanced at them and let out a cold laugh. “Don’t believe me? Go to the company’s official website to look me up. See if the general manager’s page shows my photo and name. A simple search is enough to prove whether I’m telling the truth.”
Desperate to prove me wrong, Sandra whipped out her phone. But when she saw my name and photo under the general manager position, she fixed her gaze on me. Her face twisted with turmoil as she wrestled with her thoughts.
Lester ground his teeth, his eyes burning with jealousy and bitterness. “How is this possible? Fred really is Skyborne Group’s general manager!”
He glared hard at me. Then, a sly smile tugged at his lips as he added, “Even so, you’re just using Skyborne Group’s influence to win this bid in some under-the-table deal, right? Mr. Lawson had already decided to select you without bothering to look at our proposal. That’s unfair to the other bidders, isn’t it?”
With a few choice words, Lester twisted the narrative, hinting that there was dirty dealing between John and me.
