Chapter 20: A Life Lesson

“Who else but Jared Chance? He suddenly acted like a madman and even plopped himself into the chairman’s seat!” Zayne blustered, pointing at Jared.

Josephine turned to Jared, who grinned back.

“You said he’s lost his mind? Gone crazy?” she asked.

Zayne nodded. “Yes. I was about to fire him. That might have triggered it.”

Before Zayne could finish, Josephine slapped him.

“The one who’s lost his mind is you!” she bellowed, then sat beside Jared.

Stunned, everyone stared. Zayne froze.

“Everyone, this is your new chairman, Mr. Chance,” Josephine calmly announced. “I’ve stepped down, handing the reins to him. With his guidance, I’m confident the company will reach new heights.”

Mr. Chance? Jared was the new chairman? A stunned silence fell over the room. The sales department was in disbelief.

Seeing Jared still smiling, Zayne went weak and collapsed. Lydia’s face paled, fear constricting her throat. Maria stared blankly. Hilda, however, felt tears welling. She realized the woman ferrying Jared around was Josephine Sullivan. The chasm between them intensified her pain.

Gosh, how silly I’ve been! Why did I ever think I’d be good enough for Jared?

Hilda began to understand. Jared settling her loans, recovering company debts, the Cosmic Chemical deal—it all made sense.

Unlike the terrified sales staff, the senior executives erupted in applause.

Troy, previously silent, clenched his fists in frustration. Damn it! If I’d sided with Jared, I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity!

Josephine smiled fondly at Jared. “Jared, why don’t you give a speech?”

Her gaze revealed their relationship.

“Well, there’s not much to say. Most departments will remain unchanged. Sales, you can get back to work,” Jared replied.

The staff slowly filed out, whispering amongst themselves.

“Mark my words, the sales department is doomed!”

“Zayne relentlessly targeted Mr. Chance. Too bad for him; Mr. Chance isn't ordinary. He went to sales for life experience!”

“Ha! Their department will crumble. Many will be fired…”

Zayne and Linda overheard, shivering with fear. Zayne looked defeated. His job was likely gone.

Maria felt conflicted, glancing at Jared. Oh, no. What will happen to me? I wasn't nice to him.

The sales staff looked pleadingly at Hilda, their only hope. They prayed she would intercede.

Changes Made:

• Removed the intrusive website promotion.
• Improved sentence structure and flow. Many sentences were simplified or combined for better readability.
• Corrected grammatical errors (e.g., subject-verb agreement, tense consistency).
• Standardized punctuation.
• Replaced informal language (e.g., "plopped himself down" with "plopped himself into").
• Removed unnecessary repetition.
• Improved dialogue tags for clarity.
• Adjusted chapter title for better fit.

The revised passage is more concise and engaging while maintaining the original story's essence.