Chapter 126
Terry had come up at some point, holding some documents in his hands, looking at me mockingly, "Leaving already? Makes sense. What else can people who pretend to know things do besides leave?"
"I really can't figure out what William saw in you to hire you. Having someone like you in the company is just a pure waste of resources, dragging down Star Tech's average level, isn't it?"
Emily's temper flared up again. She stepped in front of me and pointed at Terry's nose, "Terry, watch your mouth. I've been putting up with you for a long time. Don't think you're something special just because you used to work with Triple Grove Clan. Let me tell you, Blue Moon Clan, Triple Grove Clan—in front of my the Johnson family, they're just grass on a small hill. If you don't believe me, feel free to try!"
Emily came from a powerful background, with connections in both the Underworld and Authorities. When she said this, it carried weight.
Terry's face showed some embarrassment, but he still insisted, "You... don't try to scare people with the Johnson family. Besides, I wasn't talking about you. Why are you getting so worked up?"
"I'm just stating facts. Sarah is better than Grace, everyone knows it. In these six years, Sarah got dual degrees, went from flight attendant to CEO, has her own company, and secured investment from the Smith Group."
"What about Grace? She was a housewife for six years, and she's only been working for a few days? Experience, ability—which aspect can she compare to Sarah? William hired her probably just because she looks decent."
His words were like poisoned knives, stabbing precisely at what I cared about most.
Emily was shaking with anger, about to curse back.
But I reached out and gently pulled her arm, shaking my head at her, "Emily, forget it."
I looked at Terry's face full of malice and superiority, and surprisingly felt no anger, only a kind of pitiful amusement.
Actually, Terry wasn't wrong. I really had wasted six years, trapped in marriage, revolving around family, losing myself and missing many opportunities for self-improvement.
That's why now, I especially cherished the chance to work again, spending more time and energy learning and making up for lost time.
Rather than waste precious energy on pointless arguments with these boring people, I might as well go back and study a few more lines of code, analyze a few more data sets.
Terry hadn't expected me not to argue back this time. He looked a bit deflated.
Sarah, seeing the tense atmosphere, finally stepped forward, "Terry, say less. Ms. Brown has it tough too. Now that she can start over, she's already working very hard."
Her words sounded like she was smoothing things over, but actually confirmed Terry's belittling of me.
I knew Sarah wasn't genuinely trying to calm things down. She was just afraid things would blow up too much and hurt her reputation.
Otherwise, with her scheming nature, she'd love for Terry, her good dog, to bite me a few more times.
Sarah turned to Emily and me, extending an invitation, "I'm really sorry you had to see this today. It's almost mealtime—why don't I treat you to a simple meal? Consider it my apology for the poor coordination on our project."
Her words were nicely put, both smoothing things over and showing grace.
But how could I possibly sit at the same table with her for a meal?
Just thinking about it made me sick.
"No need," I refused directly, my tone cold. "We still have work to do. We'll be going now."
Emily immediately chimed in, "Right, we don't have time. Seeing certain people kills our appetite!"
Sarah's face showed just the right amount of hurt, as if our refusal was somehow unreasonable.
Of course she knew we wouldn't accept. This invitation was just another performance, done for anyone who might see or hear about it.
Just as we turned around, preparing to leave this uncomfortable place, the office door behind us opened.
George walked out.
His pace was unhurried, his dark suit making his figure look tall and straight, his face still wearing that expressionless indifference.
His gaze first swept past Sarah, lingering on her face for a moment, then naturally turned toward Emily and me, who were about to leave.
He slowly walked in our direction.
As soon as Sarah saw George come out, her face immediately broke into a gentle, sweet smile, and she quickly went up to him, "George, are you done? I saw Ms. Johnson and Ms. Brown had been waiting quite a while, so I wanted to invite them to a simple meal, to be a good host, but unfortunately they declined."
"It seems Ms. Brown still has quite a few issues with me."
The performative nature of it all was making me nauseous.
Emily stood beside me, breathing heavily with anger, looking like she was about to start cursing regardless of consequences.
I pulled hard on her arm, bringing her behind me.
"Emily, don't," I said quietly, my voice steady. "It's not worth it."
Emily turned her head, grinding her teeth as she whispered, "Aren't you angry? She's being so passive-aggressive!"
How could I not be angry?
My heart felt like it was being squeezed by an invisible hand, stuffy and painful, with nausea rising from my stomach.
I'd experienced Sarah's tactics countless times before.
But what good would anger do?
I took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the churning emotions, looking ahead calmly.
I saw it clearly now.
I should have seen it clearly long ago.
George had never said a fair word for me.
Between Sarah and me, in his heart, the scales had always been completely tilted.
My grievances, my embarrassment, my anger—in his eyes, they were probably all unreasonable behavior, all pettiness, all deserved.
So, falling for Sarah's tricks, being provoked by her few words into losing my temper and arguing—besides making myself more pathetic and giving bystanders something to laugh at, what would I gain?
George's cold gaze?
Or Sarah's even more triumphant smile?
Moreover, I still hadn't actually gotten Grandpa's long dress.
George was using this to control me. I had to temporarily bow my head, my resistance restricted.
I saw it clearly, accepted it, so naturally I wouldn't be easily provoked by such low-level taunts anymore.
Following Sarah's words, George's gaze turned to me.
His face showed no expression, just looking at me, asking in a flat tone, "Why not go?"
Why not go?
What an interesting question.
I pulled at the corner of my mouth, looking back at him, my voice equally flat, revealing no emotion, "I have things to do."
I was brief and to the point, without any explanation, too lazy to make excuses.
George's gaze stayed on my face for two seconds, as if trying to find something in my overly calm expression.
But he found nothing, so he withdrew his gaze and didn't ask further.
As if my answer just now was just insignificant background noise.
He turned to Sarah, his tone still without much inflection, but seemingly a bit softer than when he'd just spoken to me, "What do you want to eat?"
Sarah tilted her head slightly, smiling, "How about Thai food? I know a newly opened restaurant with a great atmosphere, and I heard the taste is very authentic too."
Thai food?
My heart suddenly sank.