Chapter 457 I Have Boundaries Too
Those people kept mum after I blurted out those words. They looked at me as if they were trying to figure out if I had told them the truth.
“Ms. Garcia, if there’s nothing between you and Michael, you don’t have to hide what you two said or did last night. We can only trust you if you tell us everything. We acknowledge and appreciate your capabilities, but we can’t keep a suspicious person around in the organization no matter how competent you are.”
The director made it clear that I must come clean and explain to them what had happened between Michael and me last night. Otherwise, they would kick me out of the company.
The ego in me would not allow them to threaten us like this.
Frustration kicked in, and I retaliated. “I understand what you want from me, but I don’t think I need to report my personal affairs to everyone here. If all of you still don’t believe what I’ve said, I’ll leave the company right now!”
Without hesitation, I took down the employee tag and placed it on the desk. Why should I work for a company that doesn’t even believe me?
All the directors’ expressions changed as they were taken aback by my move. I bet they thought I would succumb to their threats and tell them everything that had happened between Michael and me.
Nicholas. who had been a silent observer all this while, immediately stepped in and said, “Anna, what are you doing? The directors are only doing this because they care for the company. We don’t want you to quit. We just want an explanation from you.”
Nicholas then gestured for me to take back the employee tag.
I knew he meant well and didn’t want me to leave the company. But I just left the tag on the desk as it was.
“I have nothing to say anymore. They would have believed in me if they wanted to. I can explain myself from A to Z, but they would still be suspicious of me. This is because they never had faith in me in the first place.”
Deep in my heart, I knew they would still doubt me even if I told them what I did or said to Michael last night.
Does my explanation still matter? I don’t think so. So why should I waste my time and energy defending myself?
“Please watch your attitude, Ms. Garcia. We purposely came to the office early this morning for the matter involving you and Michael. We’re only doing this because the company thinks highly of you. How could you simply threaten us with your resignation? How irresponsible!”
Another director shot daggers at me as he expressed his dismay.
“Think highly of me? If that’s true, all of you wouldn’t have suspected my relationship with Michael. How do you expect me to work in peace if I don’t gain trust from the people in this company?”
Think highly of me? What a joke! Right now, I could only see suspicious looks on all their faces.
“That’s enough, Anna!”
Nicholas could not help but knit his brows. Immediately after, he tried his best to explain to the directors.
“Anna must have encountered a lot of problems lately. Please don’t take her attitude to heart. I don’t know what her relationship with Michael is, but trust me, she wouldn’t do anything that would undermine the company’s interests. Don’t forget that Anna was the one who helped the company win the recent project!”
To be honest, I had no intentions of leaving the company, but I just couldn’t take it when they kept doubting me. Do they think I’d betray the company just because I got into Michael’s car?
The board of directors finally calmed down and stopped bombarding me with questions after listening to Nicholas. After all, they still had to respect Nicholas even though they were clearly unhappy with me.
“Mr. Garcia, since Mr. Cadman has given us his assurance, we’ll trust you this time. But as the senior management of this company, we hope you could watch your attitude!” One of the directors raised his voice after a long pause.
I looked at them with a deadpan expression, but a flame of anger was already burning inside me. They’re the ones who stirred up this unnecessary trouble, yet they still have the audacity to blame me?
After the other directors looked at me expressionlessly, they walked away, leaving Nicholas and me in the meeting room.
I suppressed my anger and picked up the employee tag. Just when I was about to leave, Nicholas questioned me, “Why didn’t you explain to the directors?”
Hearing that, I stopped in my tracks and turned around to look at him. “What is there to explain? Their worry is unfounded. Besides, I’ve sworn that I’d not betray the company, yet no one believes me.”
“Why should I work with people who don’t have faith in me?” I continued icily and gave him a stare.
“You mean you were really planning to resign just now? It’s just a small matter. Why would you let that get to you?” Nicholas’ frown deepened at the realization, and I could sense the anger in his voice.
“With my capabilities, I wouldn’t have a problem getting good offers from other companies. Besides, I’m only using Nifty Group to achieve my goal just like how they use me to bring in business. Now that the trust is broken, why should I stay?”
Ever since I started working for this company, I had remained loyal to the organization. All I ever wanted was to use this platform to improve my capabilities.
Having sensed that I was determined to quit, Nicholas walked up to me and tried to defuse the tension. “I know you’re still mad, but the directors’ concerns are not unfounded either. Don’t you forget, Michael is in control of all the businesses in Avenport. In other words, sourcing partners to strengthen our business basically means stealing his resources. Do you know how difficult it is for us to do that under his watchful eyes? So you can’t blame the directors for being overly sensitive.”
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I want to get back to work now. I can let it go this time, but this doesn’t mean I’d do the same if they play the blame game again. And if it happens in the future, I wouldn’t hesitate to leave the company even if you beg me to stay!”
I might hold a senior position in the company, but I was nothing more than a money-making tool. I absolutely hated this kind of feeling. More importantly, I had my boundaries too.
