He Fired Me First; Destiny Fired Him Next

Due to my outstanding work performance, my boss grants me special permission to have flexible working hours.

I am out until very late last night meeting a client, and I have only been asleep for a while when a call from my colleague wakes me up.

"It's already 9:30 am! Why are you late again today?"

I explain to her patiently that I worked overtime last night to finalize things with a client and have them sign the contract, so I won't be going into the office in the morning.

My colleague snickers. "You'd better not think that you can skip work whenever you like just because you've achieved top sales in our department.

"Today is our boss' son, Mr. Hammond's first day in the office. He might just tell you to pack your things and leave if you were to upset him in any way!"

Despite the splitting headache I'm having, I try to recall it in my head.

Alex Hammond, the man she's just mentioned, sounds very much like that fiance of mine, who desperately wants to tie the knot with me.

"You're finally here, Lucy!"

The receptionist stuck her tongue out slightly when she spotted me and said in a subdued voice, "Our boss' son will be coming in very soon. We should try not to get on Shermaine's bad side today."

"What's going on? Shouldn't he be abroad right now?" I asked.

Alex Hammond was the only son of our company's CEO, Owen Hammond. I had been working here for six months. Yet, Alex used the excuse that he was studying abroad and hadn't once set foot in our office.

"You haven't heard the news, huh? Mr. Hammond Senior suffered a heart attack last night. He was hospitalized and transferred to the ICU. He's still unconscious at the moment."

The receptionist was clearly intrigued. "The Hammonds have summoned Mr. Hammond home since they want him to take over managing the company temporarily. He's already arrived at the airport, and he'll head over right away."

My heart sank.

Owen had been transferred to the ICU? I recalled running into him in the office yesterday afternoon.

I took my phone out and was about to call Owen's assistant to ask about his current condition. A high-pitched voice came from behind me just then.

"Oho! Our busiest, top sales lady is finally here?"

I turned around and found Shermaine Cook staring contemptuously at me with her arms crossed. She wore a red, tight-fitting dress and too much perfume.

"I thought you had completely forgotten about our company's rules just because you had secured an important deal yesterday. You dare come in late on the very first day Mr. Hammond is inspecting our company. How insolent of you!"

When I first joined the company, Shermaine would often brag about being the top salesperson in our department. She kept telling me to learn as much as I could from her.

During my first month here, I managed to surpass her in