Chapter 43: You Are Fired
Joan grasped the recorder pen and engaged the playback.
Instantly, the conversation between the two women filled the room.
“Joan, I’ve transferred $250, 000 to your account, and I’ll give you another $250, 000. With this money, you can provide for your son’s medical treatment and ensure his well-being,” Monica’s voice resonated from the recorder.
Joan’s voice quivered with a mixture of nervousness and excitement as she inquired, “This is an incredible amount of money. What do you want me to do in return?”
Monica reassured her, “It’s quite simple. All you need to do is replace some drawings in Jane’s office.”
Joan hesitated, voicing her concern, “But what if someone discovers what I’ve done?”
“Rest assured,” Monica replied. “You can go to her office and pretend to be cleaning when no one is around. No one will suspect you. Besides, you currently earn just a thousand dollars a month as a cleaner. How many years would you have to work to earn $500, 000? After this task is completed, you can resign and lay low in the countryside. You can find another job once this blows over. It’s a perfect plan, isn’t it?”
Joan found the argument convincing and agreed, “Okay, I’ll do it!”
Monica was visibly pleased with Joan’s commitment. “Excellent! I’ll provide you with instructions when the time comes. Remember, only you and I should know about this. Don’t let anyone else in on it.”
Joan assured her, “I won’t reveal a thing to anyone.”
The recorded conversation concluded.
Jane fixed her gaze on Monica and sneered, “Monica, do you have any further denials?”
Monica, her face drained of color and her brow drenched in sweat, vehemently rejected the accusation. “No, that wasn’t me!”
“Everyone in this room has heard it; it’s unmistakably your voice,” Jane retorted. She proceeded to activate a computer and access an email.
“If you persist in denying it, I have additional evidence.”
She projected the email for all to see. “This is Joan’s bank account record. I had a friend look into it.”
Jane paused and stared directly at Monica. “The money was transferred via a foreign account, and the account holder is…”
Jane’s revelation left Monica astounded. How had Jane discovered her father’s account? She had taken meticulous precautions!
“I possess eyewitness accounts and tangible evidence,” Jane asserted. “Monica, do you still maintain that this is a false accusation?”
“No… That’s impossible,” Monica attempted to mount a defense but faltered in her response.
The facts were clear to everyone. Regardless of her protests, the evidence was overwhelmingly against her. Her fate was sealed, with no room for escape this time.
“Jane, it’s your doing,” Monica suddenly rasped, her eyes welled with tears. She lunged at Jane, overwhelmed with anger.
“You conniving wretch! You set this trap!”
“Trap?” Jane scoffed as she intercepted Monica’s hand, preventing her from striking her. “If you hadn’t attempted to frame me, how would I have acquired any evidence? This is called poetic justice!”
“Monica, why did you do this?” Patrick, who had silently observed the proceedings, finally inquired. His icy, unrelenting gaze filled the room with an eerie hush.
“Mr. Pansy, I…” Monica stammered helplessly.
Patrick’s cold, penetrating eyes sent involuntary shivers down her spine. It was as if she had plunged into an icy abyss.
The frigidity in Patrick’s eyes was akin to a dagger piercing her heart.
Without awaiting a response, Patrick decreed, “Monica Betsy, you’re terminated. As of this moment, you are no longer employed by Pansy Group.”
Monica’s pallor deepened. “No, Mr. Pansy, you can’t fire me!”
Monica yelled as if unhinged, lunging toward Patrick. “Patrick, don’t you understand? I did all this for you! I love you! Don’t you realize? From the day I entered this company, I loved you!”
“Get lost!” Patrick growled, pushing her away with disgust, causing her to lose her balance and tumble to the floor.
Monica’s forehead collided with a table’s edge, drawing blood. She gazed up at the man before her, once so indifferent, now even more heartless.
“But you never noticed me. Regardless of how hard I worked and everything I did for you, you remained oblivious. I believed that if I excelled and proved my worth, you would eventually fall in love with me. But everything changed when Jane entered the picture! You only had eyes for her. She’s a mere country bumpkin. How could she become your fiancée? How could she win your love? She doesn’t deserve it! She’s a wretched schemer who doesn’t deserve you!”Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!
Jane rolled her eyes, recognizing that her engagement to Patrick was but a formality. The woman Patrick truly loved was Candy. Monica’s deeply passionate affection had been grossly misplaced.
Unfortunately for Monica, her affection and jealousy had clouded her judgment. To retain Patrick’s attention, she had resorted to framing Jane and sacrificing the company’s welfare. In the end, her actions had backfired, and her own future lay in ruins.
“Monica Betsy, vacate Pansy Group within ten minutes. I do not want to see you here again!” Patrick ordered, casting his disdainful gaze upon her.
Monica’s face paled. “No, Patrick, please listen to me. I love you. Don’t drive me away…”
Before Monica could articulate more, Morton rapidly hauled her to her feet and escorted her to the door. “Mr. Pansy doesn’t want to see you. It’s best to depart immediately.”
As Monica was escorted away, her tears streamed down. Jane slightly furrowed her brow, realizing she had successfully turned the tables on Monica.
Had she been the slightest bit careless, she might have been the one leaving in disgrace.
“That concludes our business today. I expect no repetition of such events,” Patrick admonished the remaining individuals present, his sharp gaze sweeping across the room. None dared to meet his angered eyes, all choosing to lower their heads. Jane, however, met his gaze unflinchingly.
As Patrick made his exit from the conference room, he paused at the doorway. He turned and leveled a meaningful look at Jane. “Jane, come to my office.”