The Rejected Man's Rise

CHAPTER 06

Caleb and the brunette standing before him were living in opposite worlds.

She was dressed to the T and was perfect in every regard—wealth, status, and physique.

She looked her absolute best.

But Caleb was wearing the clothes he had bought over two years ago, and his leather belt that had a dozen cracks in it and could snap any moment. His shoes did not have any polish done recently, but her shoes did not have a speck of dust on them.

She was in a class of her own.

He was 28. She was 24.

They both stared at each other for a good few seconds without exchanging a word.

Neither of them blinked as if they didn’t want to back down.

Eventually, she looked at his car and saw the broken headlight. “I’ll pay for the repairs.” She took out her checkbook.

“No thanks,” Caleb uttered coldly, then got into his car and left quickly.

She frowned. “What’s his issue? I said I’d pay. Why did he reject my goodwill? Did he still not get over the past? He better not file a complaint in court later. Since he’s working here, I doubt he’d dare go to the court.”

She then entered the company building with a leather briefcase in her hand. Her walking style was not exaggerated but simply professional.

Seeing her, Mike and others raced back to their seats.

The HR manager ran over to her, “Madam,” he requested to hold her bag.

She gave it to him without tossing it. “Are they in the meeting room?”

“Yes, ma’am,” the HR manager had his back lowered when next to her.

As she went past Sherry’s desk, Sherry’s eyes hinted at jealousy from how well dressed and posh this brunette boss of hers looked.

The stunning brunette went straight to the meeting room, leaving behind a floral scent that lingered in people’s noses.

Mike let out a sigh of relief as she had not looked in his direction.

Inside the meeting room.

The brunette boss gave handshakes to the investors, then sat next to her father, Edward, the chairman of the company.

“If there are any issues, feel free to speak,” she said calmly, sitting with confidence and making sure she wouldn’t come across as showing off.

“We have no issues with your company, Miss Rita. We no longer need to conduct any further evaluation and can proceed with the investment immediately,” the investment manager, Harvey, stated.

Edward’s face lit up. He was clearly overjoyed, though he did not outright show it.

“However, we do have one condition,” Harvey added.

“What is it?” Rita asked.

“It’s nothing much,” Harvey showed some designs on his tablet. “We very much liked these designs made by one of your employees. And we’d like him to be appointed as your company’s Chief Designer.”

Rita took the tablet and checked the designs. Her expression slowly but surely changed as she realized who those designs belonged to.

“Whose designs are those?” Edward asked.

She quietly gave the tablet to him.

“It’s likely my nephew, Mike’s designs,” Mike’s uncle chortled a bit unreservedly.

But then Edward’s forehead creased after seeing the designs and realizing that they belonged to Caleb, the only employee he could not fire in the past, despite being the chairman of the company.

Edward turned his head and looked at his daughter.

She raised both of her hands. “It’s entirely up to you, Dad. I’ll have no issues either way.”

Edward kept staring at the tablet screen.

“Is there any issue?” Harvard queried.

“No, no, there are no issues,” Edward was quick to clarify. “We’ll have a discussion and make it happen.”

“Then let’s sign the agreement right away,” Harvard was eager to form the partnership.

“Sure,” Edward and his daughter Rita both signed on the agreement.

Mike’s uncle, on the other hand, walked out of the meeting room and came straight to Mike’s desk.

“How did it go?” Mike asked in haste.

His uncle gave him a thumbs up. “That’s not all. The investor really liked your designs and put a condition that they want you as the Chief Designer.”

“W-What?” Mike’s eyes gained a whole lot of brightness.

“Why are you so surprised?” His uncle patted Mike’s shoulder with pride. “You are the most promising talent in the company. You just rose to the core team, so obviously, they have their eyes on you. Don’t disappoint them and work hard.”

“Y-Yes, Uncle,” Mike nodded.

His uncle did not know that Mike had been forcing other workers to do his work.

Mike sat down in his chair, and everybody came over and congratulated him.

“You really are going to become the Chief Designer!” Sherry was all over him because now her promotion into the core team was pretty much guaranteed.

If they weren’t in the office room, she might have even given him a kiss.

Mike loved all the attention he kept getting from her. After all, he had a crush on Sherry for a while now, and finally, the time has come for him to taste the fruits of his labor.

Just then, Edward, Rita, and the investors came out of the meeting room.

Mike got up, expecting the investors to come to him. But they left without even looking at him.

But Harvard briefly looked in the direction of Caleb’s desk, which was now empty.

Rita addressed all the employees, “Tonight, there’ll be a humble party. The Chief Designer position that’s been vacant for over six months will be filled. And they will decide who will get promoted or otherwise.”

As Rita left, she also briefly glanced in the direction of Caleb’s desk. And then her eyes drifted toward the adjacent desk. A sense of familiarity filled her heart for a second.

Frowning, she forcefully resisted the memories that tried to resurface and walked away.

Mike and Sherry began to celebrate.

The HR manager, on the other hand, opened the door for Edward as he got into the car.

Edward paused for a second and said, “Do you know of the employee named Caleb?”

“Of course, sir. I just fired him this morning because he hasn’t been doing a good job,” the HR manager replied confidently.

“You fired him?” Edward’s gaze turned cold. “He should attend the party tonight. If he doesn’t, I will fire you and make sure you won’t get a job anywhere in the country.”

“W-What?” the HR manager’s heart shook at once. Panic instantly possessed his soul, and beads of sweat fought for a place on his bald head and made it shine so brightly it caught the attention of a passing black bird.

It flew down with expectation, but after seeing the bald head, it got disappointed and simply defecated on the shiny ground and flew away.

The HR manager wiped what fell on his head almost reflexively and was disgusted after realizing that it was bird crap, and he vomited there and then.