Chapter 4

Marcus reacted instantly. He hurried to the door, his face twisting into a sycophantic grin.

"Mr. Pendelton! What an honor. What brings you by today?"

Arthur Pendelton walked in, looking impeccably sharp in a tailored charcoal suit, flanked by two assistants. He possessed an effortless authority that commanded the room.

Ignoring Marcus entirely, Arthur looked straight at me, his eyes filled with genuine concern.

"Chloe, you sent a message this morning saying you couldn’t work with us anymore. Did something happen?"

Marcus quickly interjected, shoving his way between us with a greasy smile.

"Mr. Pendelton, let me explain. Chloe has been violating company protocols recently, so she's been demoted. In fact, we are currently reviewing her employment. She's been gatekeeping clients and bullying the newer perfumers."

Marcus gave a subtle nod to the room, and several colleagues immediately chimed in.

"Yes, Mr. Pendelton! Marcus is right. Chloe hoarded all your account info and never let any of us get close to you!"

"We're all perfumers here. Why does she get to work with premium brands while we get the leftovers?"

"Honestly, Mr. Pendelton, you partner with us because of AromaLux's reputation, right? Our skills are just as good as Chloe's, if not better!"

Arthur didn't say a word. He calmly sat down in one of the conference chairs. Sensing an opening, Marcus quickly pushed Amber forward.

"Mr. Pendelton, look at Amber. She was personally trained by Chloe. Her work is just as good, if not better!"

Amber stepped forward, trying to look confident, and extended her hand.

"It’s an honor to meet you, Mr. Pendelton. I'm Amber. I know the exact formulation for your signature "Deep Ocean" line. In fact, I can offer you a much better rate on our partnership."

I raised an eyebrow, exchanging a brief, knowing look with Arthur.

So, Amber becoming my apprentice wasn't an accident after all.

No wonder she was struggling so hard despite my intense training over the past three months. She was playing dumb to get me to hand over my client list.

She and Marcus had planned this backstab all along.

Arthur let out a soft, cold chuckle. "Ms. Amber, when you reached out to me, you claimed you were acting under Chloe's direction. That is the only reason I agreed to sign that preliminary contract."

Amber's hand froze in mid-air. Her face drained of color, and the entire conference room fell into a dead, suffocating silence.

Marcus, ever the politician, was the first to recover. He laughed nervously. "Chloe, see how much Mr. Pendelton trusts you? Don't let him down. Moving forward, you’ll be personally handling his account."

He was trying to corner me in public. He knew I wouldn't want to embarrass a long-term client by refusing him to his face.

In the end, the company would still walk away with the profit.

I calmly pulled up my phone, looked Marcus dead in the eye, and said, "I'm sorry, Marcus. But I have officially resigned. I can't take Mr. Pendelton's order."