Chapter 137: A Major Client

"Oh, of course! Our manager collected the arrears," Maria replied, snapping back to attention. She added, "I have to credit Zayne for this windfall. He might even be promoted to acquisition manager!"

Silas smiled. "Mr. Carlson is capable! I'll talk to you later. I need to review the accounts with him." He then entered Zayne's office. The sales department erupted in excited chatter.

"Who collected all the arrears?" "It's incredible! Those were years-old, nearly impossible to collect!" "Jared? He seemed confident today." "Nonsense! Did you hear? The companies paid voluntarily. It had nothing to do with him!" "He's lucky! He won't be fired!"

The employees gossiped.

"This is great, Jared! We won't be dismissed!" Hilda exclaimed.

"Didn't I tell you not to worry?" Jared chuckled.

"How did you know?" Hilda asked curiously.

"It's a secret!" Jared smiled enigmatically. He planned to tell her later.

While the sales department buzzed, Zayne and Silas (from finance) emerged. Silence fell. Zayne glared at Jared before leaving.

Meanwhile, Xavier sat in his office, a grim expression on his face. He still had a bandage on his neck and a faint handprint on his cheek.

A knock sounded. "Come in," Xavier snapped.

"You asked for me, Mr. Jennings?" Zayne asked respectfully. He froze, noticing Xavier's injuries.

Xavier frowned. "Enjoying the view?"

Zayne shuddered, lowering his head.

"Did you assign Jared to collect the arrears?" Xavier demanded.

Zayne nodded. "I wanted him to fail, but he got lucky."

Xavier sneered. "Josephine helped him. Otherwise, it's impossible." He was the only one who knew about Jared and Josephine's relationship.

"Have him negotiate the Cosmic Chemical collaboration," Xavier said, reviewing documents.

Zayne was stunned. "Cosmic Chemical? Mr. Jennings, they're a major client! The Scott family wants them too. Giving this to Jared might offend them." He couldn't understand Xavier's decision; the commission would be enormous.

Xavier's eyes narrowed. "Are you questioning my decision?"

The extraneous promotional material ("Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ Fɪndηovᴇl.nᴇt website") has been removed. The text has been edited for clarity, grammar, and punctuation. Sentence structure has been improved where possible for better flow.