Chapter 02 : Coward!

The whispers that could be heard were enough to suppress Joe mentally. He had always lived under pressure, so he wasn't used to standing up for himself. However, a few minutes ago, he had promised Jesslyn that he would succeed in selling the property like everyone else, so he couldn't just give in at the moment.

"I'm sorry, sir. But I can't accept your challenge. It’s not possible to do 100 sales in a day." Joe started to fight back and tried hard to maintain his pride.

He understood that he wanted an excuse to increase his workload tougher.

"Wow, how dare you go against the manager of this company!" Rocky, who had been paying attention, chimed in this time.

"Right!" Some of the other staff chimed in.

"Very well. If you feel aggrieved by my challenge, I will make a very favorable offer to you." Oliver looked at Joe for a moment, then continued, "If you win, then I will help you get a promotion or even a gift like a car or something else. How about it?"

Instantly, the horde of staff watching the two of them erupted, especially Rocky and Rizky. "You can't do that, sir! You can't give promotions and even gifts to losers like him!" Rocky protested.

Oliver raised his hand, signaling that he was playing around and didn't mean what he said. "How? Do you agree, hm? If you get promoted and get a gift, you won't be seen as a loser anymore." The man was trying to provoke Joe.

"You don't have to accept the challenge, Joe." Jesslyn came over.

The news about the challenge given by Oliver had spread throughout the office. Even Jesslyn herself had heard about it. That's what made her come to see Joe and stop her husband from making a stupid decision.

"Ma'am?" Oliver looked at Jesslyn with a mocking look in his eyes. He didn't show her a respectful gesture because he hated her.

"Don't like making a scene in this office, Mr. Oliver. Please work professionally." Jesslyn stared at the marketing department manager with a deadly gaze. "And you too. Get back to work!" She said dryly, giving orders to her employees.

"Why are you so angry, Mrs. Jess? Is it because this man is your husband, so you're always defending him?" Oliver challenged Jesslyn, and he was trying to provoke her anger so that the employees in the company would dislike her personality.

"No, I don't. I'm not defending him because he's my husband, but rather because your challenge is unreasonable." Jesslyn defended herself.

"Really? Unreasonable how, Mrs. Jesslyn?"

"How can you challenge a new staff to sell 100 properties in less than 24 hours? Are you crazy? Even the most competent staff can't sell that many!" Jesslyn explained.

"I still have my wits about me, Mrs. Jesslyn. Just think of the challenge I gave you as a consequence for Joe. Because of that guy, the marketing department is the butt of people's jokes! They consider this department incompetent because of him." Oliver pointed at Joe's face with his forefinger.

"Besides, why did you protest when I gave your husband a challenge? You should be thanking me, ma'am. With the challenge I gave him, he can be motivated to carry out his duties. I was right, wasn't I?"

Jesslyn was silent, she looked at Joe, who had not made a sound after she arrived. It was this trait that made her dislike her husband. She was too weak and had no stand at all.

"Joe doesn't need to be promoted, Oliver. He'll succeed independently, not with the rewards you promised." Jesslyn was still trying to defend her husband.

"Really? Do you know how your husband is? How much effort can Joe give to the company? No need to be evasive, Mrs. Jesslyn. Everyone knows what your husband is like. He's a loser who takes refuge behind his wife's back! Yuck, disgusting!" Oliver snorted, wanting to spit in front of Jesslyn, but he was trying to maintain his image in front of the employees at the company.

Joe, who heard insult after insult, was starting to get provoked, his hands clasped tightly, indicating he was very emotional. "I'm not-"

Before Joe could finish speaking, Jesslyn gave her husband a sharp look. "Shut up! All this is because of you! Don't make things worse!" Jesslyn warned.

Oliver, who saw the scene, smiled happily, he liked to see the couple's quarrel.

"So, you'll accept my challenge, right, Joe? Your wife won't be able to save you this time. If she continues to defend you, I will ensure she will also be fired for always keeping useless staff like you just because you are her husband."

"Let's say I was kind enough not to report your wife's mistake of accepting you to work in this company because you have a relationship with her. If I were the wrong person, I'd report Jesslyn to the owner of this company, and you can be sure she'd be fired!"

Jesslyn was getting more and more helpless. She knew the company she worked for highly valued one's work effort. The CEO of this company even hated people who managed to work there by using connections instead of their skills.

"Since you've been silent all this time, I'll assume you agree. Remember, 9 am, 100 property sales. If you succeed, I'll give you a promotion and a raise, but if you lose, you must leave! Understood?"

Joe could only nod. He looked at Jesslyn, who seemed to be holding back anger. "You idiot! Loser!" The woman whispered in her husband's ear.

Feeling like she had no business being there, Jesslyn prepared to leave, as did Joe. Unfortunately, their steps were halted as applause entered their eardrums.

"Wow, what's going on? Why do you guys look so tense like this?" Aaron, who had once professed love to Jesslyn, asked the question.

Aaron was a man who was very obsessed with Jesslyn. He had even once almost harassed her but to no avail.

"Hello, Jesslyn, it's been a long time." Aaron blinked his eyes at Jesslyn.

Jesslyn, who saw that, could only snort in annoyance. "What are you here for?" She asked.

"What for? I'm the new business partner of this company. It's only natural that I came here to see the company's employees that just became my business partner, right? I don't want to have a business partner that harms me, so I came to observe firsthand."

Jesslyn stared at the man in front of her. If Aaron were the new business partner of the company she was working for now, she would meet that man often.

"CK, whatever." Jesslyn prepared to leave, but again and again, her steps were stopped because of the words that came out of Aaron's lips.

"By the way, the challenge your husband agreed to earlier is too risky. I can help you, but it's not free." Aaron grinned.

"I don't need your help!" Jesslyn suppressed every sentence that came out of her lips.

"Think carefully, Jess. I could have cost you your job, let alone your husband. I could have helped him get a high position, and that would have made you proud, right?" Aaron looked at Jesslyn with a lustful look in his eyes. "Have dinner with me tomorrow. Then I'll ensure your husband gets a high position in this company."

Jesslyn's eyes widened. Not wanting to talk to Aaron for too long, she decided to leave and left Joe alone with the few people who had been insulting him.

Seeing the departure of the woman he adored, Aaron turned his attention to Joe. He approached the man and whispered, "I will ensure your wife will fall into my arms. She'll warm my bed, and I'll make sure you see how naughty she is."

Joe clasped his hands tightly at the provocative words Aaron had just uttered. He was determined to fight back and avenge the people who had dared to insult him, especially the one who had degraded his wife.

He would change. Yes, he will change!