I Was the Favor He Refused to See Chapter 03

I Was the Favor He Refused to See Chapter 03

Ethan didn’t even look up. “Take it to HR. Finish whatever handoff needs to be done.”

Something in my chest went hollow.

In the past, he would do everything he could to keep even a mediocre longtime employee.

But when it came to me, this was all I got.

Only Cole Bennett, the cofounder standing beside him, grew anxious. “Ethan! What are you doing? Ivy is…”

“This is her decision.” Ethan interrupted him.

Then he looked up at me. “Before you leave, you’re responsible for making up the losses you caused.”

I paused for a moment and said nothing.

That night, I stayed late to work on a damage-control plan.

Lily walked over and said softly, “Ivy, Mr. Langford said he originally wanted you to mentor me a little longer. If you leave now, he’ll have to train me himself.”

“Could you apologize to him properly and try to stay? I still really want to learn from you…”

I looked at that innocent act she put on after getting exactly what she wanted.

I scoffed under my breath.

From the moment Lily joined the company, Ethan had rolled out the red carpet for her.

He never trained interns himself, but she became his exception.

She had come to gloat, not to ask me to stay.

“Are you proud of yourself for stealing my proposal?”

“Ivy, I know you’re worried the new girl is going to outshine you, but please don’t accuse me like this, okay?”

Lily’s tears came faster than I expected.

I ignored her.

If I hadn’t been afraid of disappointing Mr. Carter, I never would have let the proposal incident go this easily.

Ethan walked in and saw Lily wiping her tears.

His eyes darkened instantly.

“Ivy, don’t you feel ashamed, picking on an intern?”

I set down my pen. “Mr. Langford, when it comes to being shameful, I really can’t compete with her.”

I picked up my bag and prepared to leave the office.

“Stop.” His voice snapped from behind me. “What kind of attitude is that?”

I didn’t turn around.

“Your performance bonus for this month is gone. You’re off the project too. This company doesn’t keep dead weight, and it definitely doesn’t keep people who target their coworkers.”

My hand tightened around the strap of my bag.

“I’ve been here for five years. I’ve worked overtime on three hundred and seventy-two different days and landed thirty-one projects for this company. You’re calling me dead weight?”

He lifted his head and glanced at me.

“That was the platform the company gave you. It wasn’t your own ability.”

I opened my mouth, still wanting to say something.

But it felt as if my throat had been squeezed shut.

My eyes stung, but I didn’t let the tears fall.

There was no point.

Crying wouldn’t help.

The recognition I wanted, the position I wanted, and even one single moment of him taking my side were all dreams I could never reach.