Although Percy was extremely deferential, Wesley's sullen face didn't change. He cast an icy glance at the senior executives and said coldly, "We're leaving. Blair is going with us. Rest assured, you'll be held accountable for what you put her through."
Of course he referred to what Filberta had done to Blair. Filberta knew quite well what she did, and her heart raced wildly in her chest.
Percy's face changed dramatically. He had heard of Wesley before—Wesley himself was a man of influence in the military circles, and his family was very powerful in A Country. Carlos ran Y City with an iron fist, and Wesley wasn't shy about who his best friend was. Percy was pretty well scared of Wesley. "It's all my fault, Mr. Li. I promise you that I'll look into it personally."
No one in the Jin Group had thought that Blair had ties like that. She kept such a low profile all the time, kept her head down, and didn't rock the boat.
"It's too late for that!" Wesley grabbed Blair's hand and declared, "Blair's my friend, and I don't allow anyone to mess with her. Give her everything owed her, including bonuses. Now!"
'My friend…' Blair looked at Wesley with adoring eyes. She was really touched by his words. Although he just said that she was his friend instead of his girlfriend, she believed that it was just a matter of time before he called her "Hon." She had to believe that.
Filberta just stood there, frozen, mouth open. The woman thought that all Blair was good at was seducing men. She had to admit that Blair worked very hard, but this didn't make her likeable.
She flashed back to a time when Blair wore a certain dress—a limited edition from Tiffany and Co. Very high-priced, and Percy refused to buy it for her. Filberta was so jealous back then that she mocked Blair, spreading rumors that she was wearing a copycat brand, a knockoff version of the original. More cheaply made, and overall cheaper. A woman like Blair couldn't afford something so expensive. Now she knew she was wrong. Blair had Wesley behind her, and by extension Carlos. Blair could probably easily afford anything she wanted to wear.
Percy mopped sweat from his forehead and looked at Blair with a hopeful expression. "Blair, if you want to quit, we can be quite generous. Stock options, medical insurance, re-employment services, compensation for loss of benefits. You name it, you got it. You've always been a hard worker. I'll personally write a check to—"
Wesley cut him off, "No need for that. Just give Blair her due. No more, no less." Percy knew exactly what he was talking about. Payment for unused vacation time, severance pay based on months of service, unpaid bonuses, and back pay.
Percy nodded helplessly and turned to his subordinate. "Mr. Xu, get the financial manager over here."
"Yes, Mr. Jin."
It would take a bit for the financial manager to arrive, so Percy offered Wesley a seat. He wasn't going to put Blair out, so he secretly gestured for the employee next to her to leave and pulled her chair over. "Mr. Li, please take a seat."
Wesley checked the time before saying coldly, "No, thanks. I'm pressed for time. Ask him to hurry up. You won't be happy if I'm delayed."
Talbot chuckled inwardly and thought, 'Chief is so cool! He's a man of few words, yet what he says carries a lot of weight.'
He was already used to it. Wesley was always like this.
Percy was not enough of a fool to think Wesley was just making empty threats. He immediately urged his man, "Mr. Xu, ask the financial manager to come here! NOW!"
"Yes, Mr. Jin."
While waiting, Blair tried to slip her hand out of Wesley's grasp, but to no avail.
The blood immediately rushed to her head, and she was as red as a tomato. 'Everyone's watching us!" she thought to herself, embarrassed.
The financial manager jogged over. Without delay, he sat down at an empty workstation, logged into his network server, and started to calculate Blair's severance package in front of everyone.
Before the manager could even finish, another group arrived. When Percy saw their uniforms, his heart skipped a beat.
These people were from the fire department. They didn't even bother to greet the executives of the Jin Group, and started noting fire safety violations.
When the leader of the group saw Wesley, he walked over to make small talk with him.
The manager finished calculating everything and wired her the money under the watchful eyes of Wesley. Then Wesley led Blair out of the company, his men holding her belongings.
It was a busy day for the Jin Group. While Percy was worried about the fire safety violations, the receptionist called him and informed him that the Labor Bureau sent their people to investigate.
Percy was in a sorry state, weighed down by numerous problems. He didn't understand what was going on, or why Wesley was mad.
When they left the building, Blair saw vehicles from many different agencies parked outside. Obviously, they were here to deal with the Jin Group, and Wesley did this for her.
Wesley let go of Blair's hand and went to greet some acquaintances. Talbot and the other two escorted her to their car.
"What is it with you and our chief, anyway? Why didn't you post an update to let everyone know?" Talbot asked in a low voice.
Blair was so engrossed in Wesley's actions that she didn't know what Talbot was getting at. "What?"
Talbot winked at her. "When did you two become boyfriend-girlfriend? We had no idea."
Blair then sighed and shook her head. "No. You got things twisted. We're just friends."
Lenard joined in the conversation. "So you haven't said yes to him?"
Blair flashed a self-mocking smile. "I'd do that in a heartbeat, but he never asked."
Talbot, Lenard and Bowman looked at each other in disbelief. "Don't give up, Blair. Our chief might be gruff on the outside, but he has feelings for you. Just go for it!"
When she heard this, Blair couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Wesley happened to come back at this moment. Seeing Blair and Talbot happily chatting back and forth, he was infuriated. "Talbot!" he shouted.
"Yes, Chief!" Talbot immediately stood up straight.
Wesley cast a sidelong glance at him and demanded, "Back to base! Now! And report to me when you get there. If you take longer than 20 minutes…" He didn't have to say anything more.
"Yes, Chief!"
Though Talbot was totally confused, he left without further ado.
Blair was also confused. Wesley had just showed up, handed in her resignation, forced the Jin Group to give her money to her, and taken her away. Unreal!
When they got into the car, Blair asked Wesley, who was driving, "So, Joslyn told you everything?"
"Of course." Wesley wasn't lying.
Blair rubbed her temples and said, "Actually I already wrote a letter of resignation. You didn't need to do this." She was very grateful to him, and meanwhile felt a little embarrassed.
Wesley cast a casual glance at her through the rear-view mirror. "You saying I should mind my own business?"
'What? I didn't say that.' "Of course not. I'm very grateful to you. But won't you get in trouble?" Blair asked honestly.
"No one will do that."
"Do what?"
"No one will say I abused my power," he said firmly.
Blair was speechless again.
They rode in silence for a while. Then the car stopped at a red light. "Don't worry about work. I'll take responsibility," Wesley said.
Blair sighed inwardly. 'He can be responsible for my safety. He can be responsible for my work. But he can't be responsible for my happiness.'
She shook her head. "No, thanks. I can handle it myself. I've gotten you in enough trouble."
