Chapter 491

After leaving Michael’s office, Andrew said, “Ms. Rhodes, Mr. Chapman, don’t give up–the game isn’t over yet.”

Lauren turned to Marcus. “Mr. Chapman, you can work in another department temporarily. I’ll make sure you get your position back.”

Marcus waved his hand tiredly and replied, “No need, Mr. Lloyd and Ms. Rhodes–you’ve both helped me enough. At my age, perhaps it’s time to wake up and let go of these ambitious pursuits. Maybe living a simple life as an ordinary person is the right choice for me.”

Lauren quickly protested, “Mr. Chapman, you don’t have to do this!”

Marcus shook his head and smiled at them both. “Ms. Rhodes and Mr. Lloyd, when you have children of your own, maybe you’ll understand how I feel right now.”

Lauren blushed and shot Andrew a shy glare.

Just then, a bearded man strode over with a grin, saying, “Ah, Ms. Rhodes, Mr. Lloyd, and Mr. Chapman–all together! I just heard Mr. Chapman talking about wanting to live a simple life. What an excellent idea!”

He gave Marcus a thumbs-up with a smirk and added, “Well done, Mr. Chapman! If you hadn’t stepped away from the Pharmaceutical Division, I wouldn’t have been able to take over.”

Marcus’s face darkened as he replied, “Mr. MacAfee, you’ve been eyeing my position for a while. Now that you’ve got it, I bet it tastes sweet?”

Lauren added coldly, “Mr. MacAfee, you and Mr. Chapman are both company veterans and used to be friends. Are you really proud of taking your colleague’s job?”

Troy MacAfee shrugged and said, “In business, you either move forward or fall behind. Everyone wants the position–if Mr. Chapman couldn’t handle it, why shouldn’t I step up? Ms. Rhodes, there’s no need to make it sound so ugly–I earned this position fair and square.”

Marcus angrily retorted, “Fine, you took my position, but you don’t need to gloat about it. If Mr. Rhodes hadn’t favored you, do you really think you could have replaced me?”

Troy mocked, “Well, that’s exactly the difference between us. You’re capable but don’t know how to read the room. To be blunt, you’re missing a few screws! Mr. Rhodes is such a talented figure, yet you oppose him instead of following him. You deserve to end up like this!”

With that, Troy strutted into Michael’s office, laughing triumphantly.

Marcus said solemnly, “I never expected Troy to side with Mr. Rhodes. Ms. Rhodes, your situation in the company will likely get more difficult each day.”

Lauren scoffed. “I’ve never been afraid of incompetent people like Michael!”

Andrew suggested, “It’s almost time to leave work. Ms. Rhodes, let’s call it a day and make plans for tomorrow.”

Lauren nodded in agreement, “Alright, we’ll talk tomorrow.”

After work, Andrew was planning to return directly to Moonlit Sanctuary, but Lauren held onto his arm, refusing to let him go.

“Dr. Lloyd, won’t you take me shopping?” she asked in a sweet, clingy voice.

Andrew smiled and replied, “Alright, I have nothing else planned anyway.”

Lauren said happily, “Thank you, my Dr. Lloyd! Oh, and Dr. Lloyd, I have a small request.”

“What is it, Ms. Rhodes?”

Lauren asked reluctantly, “Could you stop calling me Ms. Rhodes? It makes us sound too formal. I’d like you to call me Lauren or Laurie.”

Andrew hesitated for a moment before forcing a smile and saying, “Alright, I’ll call you Lauren. Laurie sounds a bit too affectionate, so let’s skip that!”