I stared at Franklin in disbelief.

After years of dating, all I'd ever told him was that my parents raised cattle and sheep back in our hometown.

I never mentioned that they owned one of the largest ranching operations in the country.

From the looks of it, he'd simply assumed I was some poor country girl.

That explained why he'd been so cold toward me lately. I thought he was just busy with work, but apparently that wasn't the case.

When Cindy saw me getting slapped, she smiled.

She quickly fixed her expression and actually started pleading on my behalf.

"Mr. Lindt, don't do this. Shannon has contributed a lot to the company. Wouldn't firing her make everyone lose faith?

"As long as she returns all the clients she stole from me, I'm willing to let this go."

She looked completely self-sacrificing.

I snorted. "First of all, I earned those deals with my own ability. Why should I give them to you?

"Second of all, you're accusing me of selling my body with nothing but your mouth running wild. If anyone should be going to the police for defamation, it's me. What gives you the right to say you'll let this go?

"And lastly–

I walked straight up to Franklin and slapped him hard across the face.

"Fire me? I was appointed by the board of directors. Even if you're my boyfriend, you don't get a say in whether I stay or leave!"

[Holy crap! Has the supporting female character lost her mind? She actually slapped the male lead!]

[The female lead even pleaded for her and she still acts like this. The supporting female character is so disgusting. Hurry up and write her out already!]

[Relax. Anyone who messes with the male and female leads never has a good ending. She's digging her own grave!]

Having been slapped in public, Franklin's expression turned livid.

"Shannon!"

Cindy clearly hadn't expected me to hit him either. She gently touched Franklin's face and angrily said, "How could you hit him? I just wanted to take back what belongs to me. You've gone way too far!"

I laughed out of sheer anger.

"He's my boyfriend. What happens between us is none of your business.

"And besides, you keep saying I stole your clients. Show some evidence!"

Cindy looked so startled by my outburst that tears welled in her eyes.

Franklin immediately pulled her behind him protectively. His face was full of contempt.

"You're pushing this way too far! If you weren't sleeping around, how could you have climbed to the general manager position so quickly?"

He protected Cindy at every turn, yet humiliated me, his actual girlfriend, without restraint.

For years, I'd worked nonstop without a single day off. It was all so I could stand at the top beside him.

In the end, all I got was his suspicion.

My heart turned ice-cold as I sneered.

"If you think I got promoted too fast, maybe you should look at yourself. You've been here this long and still can't close deals. Have you actually been working hard?"

Franklin was furious.

He turned to Cindy and said gently, "Cindy, why are you pleading for trash like her? She's willing to degrade herself, so why should you help save her dignity?

"Just mentioning her makes me feel dirty."

The floating comments agreed wholeheartedly.

[Exactly! Our female lead is just too kind. That's why the supporting female character keeps bullying her!]

[Hurry up and throw the evidence in her face already. Let's see if she can still act this arrogant!]

Tears spilled from the corners of Cindy's eyes as she looked at me pitifully. "Shannon, you forced me to do this!"

I scoffed on the inside.

I really wanted to see what evidence she had.

Cindy tapped a few times on her phone, and several photos appeared on the company's giant screen.

They showed me standing outside a hotel room. I was smiling endearingly at a client.

I snorted in disbelief. "And what exactly does this prove?"

Franklin's expression darkened. His voice sounded ice-cold.

"You met with a client at a hotel. Do you really expect me to show the explicit photos too?"

I said helplessly, "We were having a business discussion. Is being polite to a client suddenly a crime now?"

Franklin looked at me with nothing but disgust.

"You're still lying even now!

"You even changed clothes! What kind of business meeting requires taking your clothes off in a hotel? And you still dare claim you earned those deals with your own ability?"

The floating comments flooded the screen with praise.

[As expected of the male lead. He figured out the truth from just a few photos. This is so satisfying!]

[Hahaha! The supporting female character has nothing to say for herself now!]

I froze for a moment.

During one delivery, I'd accidentally gotten blood all over my clothes while unloading beef and lamb for a client, so I'd changed outfits.

After that, to avoid trouble, I started arranging most contract signings at hotels instead.

Hotels had bathrooms where I could clean up and change easily.

I never imagined that would become the basis for their disgusting assumptions.

"So what if you have a few photos? Instead of wasting energy smearing my reputation, why not focus on actually closing your own deals?"

Seeing that I still wasn't rattled, Cindy bit her lip indignantly.

"If photos aren't enough evidence, then what about these chat logs and transfer records?"

The second she finished speaking, the giant screen refreshed.

The custom advertisements I'd made for our beef and lamb products popped up.

[Premium fresh cuts, only 300 bucks! An irresistible taste!]

[One bite will leave you utterly addicted!]

[Order now. Delivered within thirty minutes by direct flight. Unlock a private feast for your taste buds today!]

[Custom processing available. Your flavor, your choice!]

Below them were chat records between me and clients.

[Ms. Grant, can I make another order?]

[Of course. Another hotel delivery?]

[Sure. I'll sign the contract I promised you too.]

Then came several thousand dollars' worth of transfer records.

[She talks about the bookings so casually. The supporting female character is seriously disgusting!]

[Dirty ads, chat logs, and payment records. She's completely busted now. Let's see how she talks her way out of this!]

Franklin sneered at me mockingly.

"Shannon, what else do you have to say for yourself?"

Cindy sighed helplessly and acted as if she cared about me.

"Shannon, as long as you return the clients to me, I can pretend none of this happened.

"But if this blows up, I'm afraid you'll lose your general manager position."

The moment those records appeared, the other coworkers immediately sided with Cindy.

"So that's why Ms. Grant always meets clients at hotels. That makes it easier to sell herself!"

"She looks all classy at work, but it turns out she's a total seductress around clients!"

Listening to their contemptuous comments, I found the whole thing absurd.

"I won't admit to things I never did. If you think this is unfair, feel free to report me to the board of directors.

"If they also believe I behaved improperly and slept my way to the top, they can fire me. I won't say a word against it!"

Quite a few executives on the board were loyal customers of my family's products.

If Cindy really went to them, she'd only humiliate herself.

Yet the moment I said that, Cindy's expression filled with grievance. Tears shimmered in her eyes.

"You're the general manager, while I'm merely a low-level employee. Even if I reported you, nobody on the board would listen to me!

"You already have so much power. Why do you still have to fight me over scraps like this?"

As she spoke, she suddenly dropped to her knees right in front of me.

Before I could react, she grabbed the hem of my shirt and begged through tears, "My mom is still in the hospital. I really need these contracts so I can get promoted and make more money. Please give the clients back to me. I'll do anything you want!"

Franklin hurriedly helped her up and glared at me furiously.

"Shannon, you vicious wretch!

"First you sold yourself for contracts, and now you're abusing your power to bully people. You're absolutely shameless! I have the worst luck to ever meet you!"

My expression turned cold as I shot back.

"She chose to kneel herself. And if she couldn't land the contracts, that just means she's incompetent. What the hell does that have to do with me?

"If you care about her so much, then throw money and clients at her yourself! Stop whining in front of me!"

Franklin clearly hadn't expected me to say that and was furious.

Cindy leaned against him. Her face flushed from embarrassment after being called out.

She glared at me angrily.

"I have more evidence!"

[The supporting female character is so disgusting! Not only is she refusing to admit she sold herself, she's actually humiliating our male and female leads too.]

[Relax. The supporting female character's good days are over! The witness the female lead found is about to ruin her reputation forever and leave her with nothing.]

The moment I saw David Leroy standing behind the other board members, I cursed on the inside.

The second David saw me, his eyes filled with fury as he sneered contemptuously.

"I can testify that Shannon is a shameless wretch who'll do anything for a contract!

"She invited me to a hotel and tried to sell herself to me, but I'm a married man. After I rejected her, she drugged me and tried to force herself on me anyway!

"I was terrified. After that, I never worked with her again."

Hearing his accusation, I laughed outright.

I stared at him coldly and shot back, "Oh really? Then why didn't you call the police back then?"

David's eyes went wide. He answered self-righteously, "You may not care about your reputation, but I care about mine!

"It wasn't worth dragging the company into scandal over a wretch who's slept with so many people!"

I sneered on the inside.

The truth was that during our business meeting, he'd gotten inappropriate with me and tried to pressure me into sleeping with him.

After I rejected him, he secretly drugged my drink and tried to force himself on me.

In the end, I smashed a wine bottle over his head.

I'd wanted to call the police afterward, but he offered compensation and major business concessions to the company.

That was the only reason the matter never blew up.

Now, he actually dared to twist the story.

After saying all that, David held up his phone and displayed it to everyone.

"This is the hotel surveillance footage from back then. If you don't believe me, watch for yourselves."

The video began to play. In it, I had on a revealing lace dress and was acting flirtily toward the bald-headed David.

The filthy things being said were almost unbearable to hear, and the audio was crystal clear.

David continued indignantly, "The reason I came here today is that I refuse to let trash like her pollute this industry!

"We can’t let one bad apple ruin the bunch."

The expressions of the other board members darkened immediately.

Franklin stepped forward at that moment. "Dear execs, Shannon doesn't have any real ability. She just spreads her legs for clients.

"If other companies find out our general manager is basically selling herself, the company's reputation will be destroyed!"

The chairman, Liam Carnegie, looked at me with mixed emotions.

"Shannon, you'd better give me a reasonable explanation!"

I shook my head firmly. "I never did any of those things!"

Cindy smiled smugly. Triumph was practically written across her face.

"Shannon, the witness and evidence are all here. Are you still going to lie?

"You can't hide the truth forever. As long as you promise not to do it again, we'll all plead for leniency on your behalf."

Franklin snorted disdainfully. His face was full of disgust.

"You turned this company into your own filthy hookup spot. If I were you, I'd be too ashamed to stay here another second. Instead of dragging down the company and everyone else with my reputation, I'd just leave!"

The second the surrounding employees heard their own interests might be affected, they panicked.

One after another, they began urging upper management to fire me.

Seeing the situation unfold this way, the previously hesitant board members finally made their decision.

"Former General Manager Shannon Grant is hereby terminated effective immediately for serious misconduct and damaging the company's reputation.

"The company will circulate notice of these violations throughout the industry and urge all businesses to blacklist her!"

Hearing the verdict, I laughed so hard that tears streamed down my face.

I laughed for the years I wasted in a long-term relationship and for the career I'd poured my entire heart into.

"What a spectacular performance!

"Yes, I sold meat to clients. But who said I was selling my own body?"

My cold voice echoed through the room.

Under everyone's shocked gaze, I retrieved the property deed for my family's ranch.

I also pulled out photos of the thousands of cattle and sheep spread across our massive ranch.

"I'd like to ask everyone here exactly which law says it's illegal to sell beef and lamb to clients?" I demanded coldly.