Chapter 3 Out of Job

• With no time to worry about the blood trickling from his grazed arm after he had just saved the child, Chadwick opened the car door, grabbed the driver inside, and tried to drag them out. After he tried a couple of times and the driver didn't budge, he realized that the seatbelt was still fastened on them. So, immediately, he went on all fours and crawled into the car to unfasten the seat belt on the driver. After that, he lay on the ground just like that with his feet against the door and dragged the driver out little by little. It took him a lot of effort to finally drag them out, then he got to his feet and started running with the driver in his arms. About a dozen steps later, a thundering boom came from the car behind him and a flare shot up in the sky.
• Chadwick started to feel weak in his legs after he saw this. Within a few minutes, he had a brush with death twice, and he was close to sluggish as he watched the burning car with the female driver in his arms. Right then, the passersby started to call the emergency services on their phones, and the traffic police on duty close by were already beginning to make their way here. Unbeknownst to Chadwick, while he was standing absentmindedly, the female driver in his arms was also staring at him in a daze, looking at him thoughtfully. In the end, she closed her eyes.
• After Chadwick snapped back to his senses, he placed the driver on the ground, and it was then that he realized that the driver was a woman. The situation earlier was so dangerous that he didn't even notice the gender of the driver because all he was thinking about was saving the person. After this incident, both of them were covered in dust, and he couldn't see how she looked, but he wasn't in the mood to care about that anymore. Finally, he reached out his hand, touched the woman's nose, and thought, Thank god she's still breathing.
• At that moment, the police arrived, and when Chadwick saw them coming, he scrambled to his feet and walked toward his electric bike, covered in sweat and dust.
• He took off his jacket and gave the dust-covered jacket a couple of pats; that was when he realized that his entire arm was bloody. Earlier, he had grazed his arm on the ground while saving the child, and a huge part of his skin was scraped off as a result. He wasn't aware of it before, but now, he could feel the stinging pain. Hurriedly, he rolled up his sleeve and saw that his arm was already a bloody mess.
• When he turned around to look at the scene, he saw that many police cars had arrived at the location. Then, he took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it up before hopping back on his bike and started driving away, hearing the sirens of the ambulance when he was halfway.
• Behind his electric bike, which was the entrance to the neighborhood, a BMW had stopped there the whole time, and a woman was seated inside, watching the scene from the beginning until the end. Then, with fascination in her eyes, she stared at the beat-up Chadwick, looking as though she was in deep thoughts, and a thoughtful grin spread across her face.
• If Chadwick had seen this absolutely gorgeous woman, he would be shocked beyond words because she was the one who had filed a complaint against him earlier—Samantha Wembley.
• Meanwhile, Chadwick saw that it was a little past 6.30 p.m after checking the time. In the end, more than thirty minutes were gone with the last delay. He had to rush back to the company quickly; otherwise, all the other employees would be gone, and if he didn't submit his invoices for today, he would have to be fined again. At the thought of this, he rushed toward the company, disregarding his bleeding arm.
• Fortunately, by the time he reached the company, not everyone had left yet. At least, his manager, Mr. Tamas, was surprisingly still there.
• "Mr. Tamas, why are you still at work at this time?" Chadwick asked with a wide grin that was already a little flattering.
• "I'm waiting for you," he answered stoically.
• "Waiting for me?" Then, Chadwick started to fawn on him shamelessly. "Goodness, you really go all out for work, Mr. Tamas! You're a good role model for us, and I must look up to you in the future, work hard and place work as the priority."
• "That's enough. Do you know why I'm waiting for you?" he asked impatiently.
• Astonished, Chadwick muttered, "Aren't you… waiting for my invoices today?"
• "Is that my job? Do I have to sit here and wait for you until this time just for a few of your invoices?" Mr. Tamas scoffed in annoyance. Taking out an envelope from the drawer of his desk, he then tossed it in front of Chadwick and said, "This is your salary for this month and your commission. It's all in there. Check it."
• "It's salary day? Why is it earlier this month? And you also included the entire month when half the month isn't even over yet. Mr. Tamas, why do I feel that something is not right?" Even Chadwick thought that something was amiss.
• "A total of 8,300 is in that envelope. I've checked with the finance department. Your salary last month was 5,400, and it's 1,900 this month. Of course, today isn't included, so the total is 7,300. Seeing that you've always been a serious employee, I instructed the finance department to give you an extra 1,000. Take it as my compensation for you plus your commission for today. Keep the money and watch out for yourself after this," Mr. Tamas continued composedly.
• "Mr. Tamas, what's going on?" Confused, Chadwick had no idea what was happening.
• "Do you really want me to spell it out for you? To put it bluntly, you're fired by the company. Take your money and leave the keys to the bike behind."
• "Why? Why are you firing me? Mr. Tamas, you have to tell me the reason. You can't just fire me without reason!"
• "Will I fire you without any reason? I'm asking you, did you make a delivery to a woman named Samantha Wembley today?"
• "Yes, there is such a woman. What's wrong?"
• "What's wrong? You should ask yourself that question. In the evening, she called the headquarters to complain about you, saying that you're not punctual and arrived late. After that, just earlier, she called again, naming you to the company to get you fired."
• "That woman must be out of her mind! I was just five minutes late from the time we agreed on. That's no reason to go that far as to fire me! But Mr. Tamas, why are you giving me the boot just because of a call from her? Aren't you going to ask me what happened?"
• "She said that there's a scratch on the item you delivered, and she's complaining about you because the item cost more than 30,000. She wants the company to fire you, and if the company doesn't do that, she'll sue the company with her lawyer and go through with the entire case. As you know, we're a delivery company, and competition is very stiff nowadays. In Millsborough alone, there are nearly fifty express delivery companies, not including freight companies. Moreover, the company has two branches in Millsborough. I know that it's not your fault for this, but this is a risk we can't take. If she really decides to sue us, it will ruin the company's reputation, and more importantly, I'll leave a bad impression on the managers at the headquarters. That's why the only thing we can do is dismiss you. You're young and strong and can easily find a job anywhere. So, I didn't deduct your salary based on the company rules and gave you 1,000 extra instead. Take it as my compensation for you. We get along well usually, and I think I'm giving it to you good this time. You should understand my situation a little. There's nothing I can do about this," Mr. Tamas said earnestly.
• Chadwick was stunned and paralyzed after he heard those words. Then, a few seconds later, he laughed sardonically and said, "If I understand your situation, who is going to f*cking understand mine, then? Forget it. I don't want to waste my time on you. It's just a dismissal. There will be places which will take me even if you won't. Remember, this 1,000 isn't your compensation for me, but I deserve this. Damn it. I spent more than 800 buying you dinners last month, adding in this month's salary, and it rounds up to 1,000. Baldie, with how you handle situations, it's a shame that you didn't become the General Secretary for the United Nations."