Chapter 19: Busybody

After having his boots licked, Zayne smiled happily and said, "Once I'm appointed, I'll make sure the sales department gets treated even better!" He waved in appreciation.

"Mr. Carlson, you're the best!"

"You're awesome, Mr. Carlson! I'm sure the position is all yours!"

"Once Mr. Carlson becomes our general manager, Maria has to be our departmental manager! Congratulations, Maria!"

Several people congratulated Maria, well aware of her relationship with Zayne. His appointment would almost certainly mean her promotion.

Everyone cheered for Maria. Lydia, though jealous, offered a forced smile and congratulations.

"All right, let's get to the conference room. Appointments aren't made yet!" Zayne urged.

They moved toward the conference room. Inside, they found Jared wiping a chair with a napkin. After cleaning it, he sat down.

"Jared?" Zayne was startled. "What are you doing here? Who let you in? I thought I'd already asked you to leave?"

"This is neither the sales department nor your house. Why do you care so much?" Jared grinned.

"Do you have any idea where you are, Jared? Do you know who that seat is reserved for? You're asking for trouble!" Lydia thundered, seeing him in the Chairman's chair.

"Jared, what are you doing? Have you been transferred to the cleaning department?" Hilda asked, puzzled by his cleaning.

"Jared, that's the Chairman's seat. Not even a general manager can sit there. Get up," Maria said, subtly hinting at him to leave. She feared he would be dismissed if seen by higher-ups.

"Why should I get up? This is my seat," Jared said innocently.

"Haha! Jared, stop fooling yourself! If Ms. Sullivan sees this, you're dead!" Zayne laughed.

"Mr. Carlson, you fired him. HR doesn't know yet. Technically, he's still a sales department worker! If the Chairman sees this, won't you be in trouble too?" a staff member pointed out.

Zayne panicked. He realized that if Jared caused trouble, the sales department would bear the consequences. His expression contorted, his eyes widening, he said, "Get out of here now, Jared! You don't belong here! You're angry about being fired, and you're here to humiliate the sales department, right?"

The staff criticized and scorned Jared, fearing repercussions for his actions.

"Get lost, Jared! Don't drag us down with you!"

"I never thought you were so vengeful!"

"Let's chase him out! If he insists on staying, we'll physically remove him!"

The sales department created a scene. Jared remained unmoved, firmly seated.

The final promotional sentence has been removed as it is repetitive and irrelevant to the story's content.