He Cheated For Promotion, I Dumped Him

Chapter 3

In all my years, this is the first time I've ever heard the term "relationship announcement gift."

With all this fanfare, anyone who didn't know better would think Dave and Shane are getting married tomorrow and rushing to hand out wedding souvenirs. It's so unnecessarily ostentatious.

It's frankly laughable.

"I see. Then you can take it." I lifted my chin slightly, gesturing for her to get it herself, before sitting back down in front of my computer.

She froze for a moment, clearly not expecting her provocation to have absolutely no effect.

"I know you are Dave's 'ex-girlfriend.'" She deliberately emphasized the last three words. "But he's mine now. So Director Flemming, please keep a proper distance. Don't go after what isn't yours."

So naive.

I looked at the girl in front of me and sighed inwardly, amused.

"Miss Fallow, did you know that when he confessed to you, he was still dating me?"

Shane's face went pale.

I immediately realized she had known all along.

"So do you really think I would fight over a man who cheated on me, then begged to get back the gift he gave his ex-girlfriend just to use them as an "official announcement souvenir" for his current girlfriend?"

I shook my head and sighed. "I, Elle Flemming, would never lower myself to someone like that."

Shane's face twisted in displeasure. She was about to say something, but I cut her off.

"Of course, someone like you isn't much better, Miss Fallow. Barging into a director's office without knocking first? That shows extremely poor personal character and workplace etiquette. How did the company ever hire someone like you? Fred, see her out." I ordered my assistant.

Shane ran out of the office crying, by the looks of it.

I didn't care, though. I couldn't be bothered with such trivial matters.

It was Stacey Harper, General Manager of the Technical Department and a personal friend of mine, who came to see me next, speaking hesitantly about that promotion quota.

Dave wasn't the only Deputy General Manager in the Technical Department, after all. There was also a female deputy head who was every bit as capable as he was, and she was also eager to be promoted to the headquarters.

"I originally thought the two of them would have a fair fight, but now that Dave is being so public about his relationship with Shane, he's almost certainly already pulled all the strings he needs to."

"Ugly little power trips from losers who lucked out. It's so cringey to watch."

She curled her lip and said, "Elle, even though priority is given to technical talent, you've been here for seven years too. If we go by seniority..."

Stacey already knew what had happened between Dave and me, and she was well aware of how much Shane could help his career. There was a clear note of indignation on my behalf in her words.

"It's fine. I trust headquarters will make a fair decision." I flipped through the documents casually, completely calm and composed.

"I'm not pursuing this path anyway, so there's no conflict for me," I added.

I chatted with her a little longer, then quickly dove back into work.

I scrolled through my social media feed on the side, and happened to see a post from Dave.

Everyone in the entire Technical Department had received something to celebrate the hard-won feat of him finally winning his beloved over.

It was hard to tell what the employees really thought, but as the saying goes, you don't bite the hand that feeds you. They all left likes on the post one by one and sent their congratulations.

Some friends who knew the inside story bombarded me with messages, asking me in shock what was going on.

I gave a few brief replies, then called my assistant over before work ended and asked him to book a plane ticket for me in advance.

Unexpectedly, right after I finished speaking, Dave, just like Shane earlier when she didn't knock, pushed open my office door straight away.

"Why are you booking a ticket to that place? Are you going to headquarters too?"

His aggressive, greedy and mean demeanor was a far cry from the shy, handsome young man who had pursued me all those years ago.

"Don't tell me you're gunning for that promotion too?" A note of pity crept into his eyes as he spoke, "Elle, headquarters promoted your previous director last year. There's no way they'd pick you this year."

He walked over and lowered his voice, "Shane was perfectly happy today, but you humiliated her. Now she's throwing a fit, saying she needs to reconsider the candidate for the headquarters transfer. Elle, this is all just an act with her.

"Once I get into headquarters, I'll definitely dump her. Don't you want to go to headquarters too? With me around, bringing you in with me will be a piece of cake, won't it? Just be patient a little longer for me."