Chapter 181
Niamh clutched her phone, her pulse racing with nerves.
As long as Jonathan didn’t back out, she could finally end things with him for good. From the other room, Lana finished her second song before Niamh finally saw Jonathan’s reply on WhatsApp.
Agreed.
That was all he wrote.
Niamh frowned, ready to discuss the details of the divorce, when another message from him appeared:
We’ll talk when I’m back in the country.
Short. Distant.
Niamh let out a heavy sigh.
All she wanted was for nothing else to go wrong this time.
The next morning, Niamh went to work as usual.
In the studio, both Sophia and Natalie were already there.
Quentin was absent.
Niamh called him.
“Are you taking the day off? If not, it’ll go down as an unexcused absence.”
Quentin was actually right outside Pinnacle Youth Tower, but hadn’t come up.
There was a long silence on the line. Just as Niamh wondered if the call had dropped, she finally heard Quentin’s voice:
“You still want me to come in? Haven’t you figured it out? I’m with T&R.”
“Exactly,” Niamh replied, all business. “Even if you’re quitting, you need to come in and complete the proper paperwork.”
Quentin opened his mouth, but for a moment, couldn’t find the words.
Half an hour later, he appeared before Niamh.
She led him to the conference room, the tension between them so thick that Sophia
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and Natalie exchanged bewildered looks.
Inside, Niamh had already organized all the paperwork for Quentin’s resignation–benefits transfer, remaining salary, everything in order.
“I’m not going to apologize,” Quentin blurted out, seemingly out of nowhere.
Niamh looked up to see him scowling, as if he were the wronged party here.
“You don’t need to apologize,” she said calmly. “You were a corporate spy for my competitor, and I’m not even angry. So what are you upset about?”
“I…”
Quentin hesitated, then finally admitted the truth.
“Marina promised to make me head of the design team if I pulled this off. But
now…”
“She fired you, didn’t she?”
Quentin stared at Niamh in disbelief.
“How did you know?”
“I guessed.”
Niamh stapled the resignation forms and handed them to him.
He took the papers, but didn’t leave.
Now he was unemployed.
He’d thought, even if his cover was blown, at least he could go back to T&R. But that morning, he’d received a courier from Marina–a termination letter. When he tried to call her, his number had already been blocked.
For the first time, Quentin realized just how ruthless Marina could be.
Niamh was halfway out the door when she noticed Quentin still sitting there, unmoving. She sighed and came back in.
“You actually came to apologize, didn’t you?”
The words caught Quentin off guard. His cheeks flushed red.
“I did not-”
“You know you wronged me, but you’re afraid I won’t forgive you. And honestly, you don’t want to quit, since jobs are hard to come by these days…”
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Chapter 181
Niamh didn’t spare his pride, laying his thoughts out in the open. Quentin’s face went from red to pale.
She sighed again and slid a fresh contract across the table to him.
“What’s this…?”
Quentin’s eyes widened.
“Your new contract. Six months probation, half pay. If you do well, you’ll get a raise and a permanent position. If you find something else before then, that’s fine too. Your job duties will be the same, but you can’t expect me to trust you like before. If you’re willing to accept that, sign here.”
