Chapter 16 You Are Fired
Emily's body was stiff like a piece of wood. The touch of Jacob's hand on her birthmark gave her an uneasy feeling. She felt like was being burned alive from the inside. She nodded, in desperation, " "Yes...yes...Whatever you say... Please, just stop it..."
'It's so embarrassing!'
Jacob's better nature asserted itself. He finally let go of her shirt. "You've been a good girl this time. So I will not punish you today."
Apparently! 'Jacob is a pervert!'
Emily's heart screamed out in distress. All of a sudden, she started to get worried for herself, she didn't want to relive the traumatic experience from yesterday again!
'Who does Jacob think he is? He is insufferably overbearing. Why must I obey him?'
Weak as Emily was, she did not dare to speak such words out loud. When it came to any confrontations with Jacob, she could only negotiate pleasantly on his terms. "Uncle Jacob, could you let me go first? I promise I won't run. Let's just talk this through, shall we?"
"No." Jacob denied it without a second thought.
Emily was completely frustrated. Before she could come up with a solution, the handsome face of Jacob appeared in front of her eyes; moving closer and closer- not in a good way, but more in a bad way! Emily struggled harder. Before Jacob forced a kiss on her mouth, her fragile nose accidentally hit his hard, chiseled chin.
"Ouch..." Emily was in so much pain that she burst into tears.
Jacob let her go immediately. He heaved her up. There was rarely a trace of worry in his tone. He asked, with concern," Does it hurt?"
Emily looked like an adorable rabbit, when she lifted her dim eyes to his face. She looked straight at him and did not utter a word.
The spectacle of her suffering convinced Jacob that he had been too hard on her. The feeling of remorse felt like somebody had poked his heart with a soft finger. His eyes softened as he asked. "Come here, let me have a look."
However, Emily's impression of Jacob was that of a big, bad wolf, wagging his tail.
Emily promptly seized the chance when Jacob let his guard down. She stomped on his foot heavily, pushed him away and then escaped again.
This time Jacob did not try to catch her. He just lowered his head and looked down at his shoe. He sighed softly," This girl is quite strong and resilient."
He looked up, and watched her fleeing in the opposite direction. She dropped her shoe while running away and then stumbled back to pick it up. Jacob smiled to himself out of amusement. 'Yep, very cute.'
Having barely escaped from the claws of the demon, Emily finally went back to her apartment. She lied down on her bed and reflected on her eventful day. Once again, she thought of Jacob.
She was no longer afraid of him like she used to. When did that happen? It was more of a feeling of frustration and uncertainty about both him and what the current path would lead them to than that of fear every time she thought of Jacob these days.
Although he had said some very harsh words to hurt her self-esteem, Emily always knew at the back of her mind that Jacob would never hurt her.
But even so, she had to stay away from him, the further the better.
Since Emily had won the championship of the Jewelry Design Competition, she was allowed to take a three-day paid vacation. On the fourth day, Emily returned to the company. She was called into the office by Mr. Hua.
"Emily, you are fired." As soon as she came in, Mr. Hua dropped the bomb on her. Emily could hardly believe what he was saying. She immediately implored," Mr. Hua, what do you say?"
Mr. Hua looked at her with a poker-face, and repeated," Emily, you are fired."
"Why?" It felt like she was being submerged in cold water from the head to her toes. She pleaded with disbelief in her voice," Mr. Hua, you promised that champion of the Jewelry Design Competition would be promoted to Chief Designer!"
She had just won the championship, but instead of getting promotion, she was getting fired! She demanded a reasonable and just cause for such a drastic action!
Mr. Hua's eyes were acting erratic
as he started to lose his patience and confidence with Emily's questioning. He did not dare to look her in the eyes. "Erm... although, you have won the championship, you are not worthy of the title. You have been suspected with plagiarism and bribing the judges..."
"Ridiculous! There is no evidence to any of these claims!"
"The rumors are all over the Internet and tabloids. It was affecting the reputation of our company terribly, so we've decided to let you go. Don't worry. You shall receive a fair severance package." This time Hua's tone was more commanding; he had completely run out of patience with her. "You have failed to distinguish right from wrong!" Emily figured that her words were useless at that moment, but she still could not help herself from snapping at him," Mr. Hua, you don't have to fire me, I quit. You claimed that I was being suspected of bribing and plagiarism, but know this, I will never take the blame for someone else's misconduct!"
She couldn't be bothered with Mr. Hua's response so she stormed out of the office as soon as she finished speaking.
Along the way, her colleagues looked at Emily and whispered amongst themselves. Some pointed their fingers at her directly.
"I heard that Emily seduced and bribed the judges of the Jewelry Design Competition. She was also suspected of plagiarism. Do you think it's true?"
"Of course it is true. Otherwise why would she get fired by Mr. Hua?"
"Wow, she is so shameless!"
Emily couldn't bear it any more. She looked back and glanced at them coldly. With a cold chill in her voice, she said," Go ahead, carry on. I am willing to accuse you of slander."
It was Rose who had incited the
gossip amongst the colleagues. They heard what Emily had said to them and ignored her, nonetheless Instead, their tone grew hostile," You're brave enough to commit the crime but not brave enough to face the consequences? The comments on the Internet are much harsher than ours. Why don't you sue them one by one; why are you so angry at us?"
Emily frowned, 'The Internet?' What happened in the past few days that she had not come to work? Why was this happening to her?
As Emily stood there lost in her thoughts, Rose's annoying voice rang from behind her. "Hey, Emily, how could you do such thing? I am really disappointed at you..." When Emily turned around, she saw Rose walking towards her arrogantly. Emily felt it disgusting to see her there.
"Rose, shouldn't you be saying that to yourself?"
It was Rose who had plagiarized her work and framed her. Sometimes Emily was baffled at how Rose could pretend to be so innocent without any guilt or remorse?
Rose was much more aware of the situation than Emily. She knew that as long as Jack was on her side, she would have the advantage once again. As for Emily, she would get what was due to her. Rose believed that Lady Luck wouldn't always favour Emily!
"Emily, now that everyone thinks that you have been suspected of plagiarism, it doesn't matter that you've won the championship. Your title holds no value. I hope you will turn over a new leaf in the future." Rose pretended to be understanding; the others also chimed in.
"You are too kind, Rose. Why should we pay attention to such a thief?"
"Rose is the new chief designer of our company now. We are so fortunate to have her!"
"I think Mr. Hua did the right thing. Our company should fire her otherwise she will humiliate us all." Whether they knew the truth or not, they all spoke with one voice; they tacitly condemned Emily's actions.