Chapter 40
Chapter 40
Melanie wasn’t very bright; Geneva had to guide her to understand the meaning behind her words. She asked seriously, “Tell Mom, Can your le
Melanie shook her head.
Geneva asked again, “Since you can’t swim, do you know what would happen if you jumped into the water and Mom didn’t notice you?”
Melanie’s face turned a little paler. “Just like that little boy…”
“If you ended up like that little boy, how would Mom feel?” Geneva was very patient.
“Mom would be sad,” said Melanie, starting to
to cry
as she spoke. “I don’t want to die. I don’t want Mom to be sad…”
Geneva patted her back and waited until she calmed down before saying, “See? You can’t swim; jumping in wouldn’t save anyone–it would just make things worse for everyone else. If something happened to you, Mom would be heartbroken…”
“But, but what should I do then?” Melanie, though not very bright, was still capable of heeding her mother’s advice.
Geneva patiently explained, “Being kind is human nature, but we should think about whether we have the ability to help when we’re being kind. Next time you encounter something like this, you can call the police or find an adult for help, okay?”
With tears still in her eyes, Melanie nodded. “I see…”
To her, Mom was the closest person in the world, and everything she said was right.
She was frail, and the incident took a significant toll on her health.
So, Geneva made her stay in the hospital to receive an IV drip while she went off to work, planning to return in the afternoon to keep Melanie company.
At her previous job, the original Geneva worked as an accountant for a small company–a place where Cliff eventually bribed someone to frame her for embezzling funds. To cover the financial gap, she was forced into taking out high–interest loans, slowly falling into Cliff’s trap.
Naturally, Geneva didn’t want to continue working there but decided to see it through for another few days to collect this month’s paycheck first.
Late in the afternoon, close to the end of the workday, a pregnant colleague named Lara Lambert tossed a report at her desk.
She said, “Geneva, can you compile this report for me? I’m heading out now.”
She didn’t even wait for a response before leaving.
The original Geneva was too nice for her own good; people in the department often dumped their tasks on her, and she accepted them all to avoid being ostracized.
So, Lara never considered that Geneva might refuse. She simply planned to come by the next day to pick up the completed report.
‘Huh, getting paid but doing hardly any work–isn’t she clever?‘ thought Geneva.
She barely glanced at the report before leaving it be.
When it was time to clock out, she headed straight to the hospital.
The following day, without even checking the report, Lara marched into the supervisor’s office with it, only to come out looking pale and
Geneva.
over to
She shouted, “Geneva, did you screw me over deliberately? How could you be so vicious?”
Geneva gave her a mild look. “Vicious? Did I tamper with your report?”
T
Chapter 40
The fuming colleague Lara retorted, “You didn’t do it! Don’t you know I got chewed out by the boss and docked pay because of youl
Geneva countered, “Why should I do your work? Is it my responsibility?”
Lara choked, sputtering, “Isn’t helping each other what colleagues are supposed to do? Why are you being so petty?”
“Have you ever helped me?” Geneva was speechless as she thought to herself, ‘Some people always take others‘ assistance for granted. When you stop helping, suddenly they think you owe them.’
Lara faltered, “It’s because you never asked for my help.”
Standing up, Geneva stated firmly, “I didn’t ask for your help because I believe in doing my own work since I earn a salary from this company. They didn’t hire me to be lazy. Only incompetents pass their work onto others.”
Her we
Lara said, “How dare you call me incompetent?”
“If you can’t even handle this basic task, do you really think you’re capable or tough?”
Lara, clutching her belly and trembling, said, “Geneva, you’re taking this too far! All I asked was for a little help. Fine, if you won’t help, why the insult? I’m pregnant here, and if anything happens to the baby, can you afford the responsibility?”
Geneva remained expressionless, asking, “Is the baby mine?”
Lara stammered, “Well, uh…”
Geneva continued, “If it’s not my kid, why all the yelling? You’re not having my baby for me.”
With that, she turned back to her work, completely ignoring Lara.
The office staff was somewhat taken aback by Geneva’s behavior. They thought secretly, ‘Is this really Geneva?‘
After that day, Geneva stopped doing favors for her coworkers. She finished her own tasks and left.
Consequently, her colleagues, who had become accustomed to relying on her for an easy ride, found themselves in a panic.
The work became harder, mistakes were frequent, and they faced réprimands from their supervisor, leading them to resent Geneva. They thought about teaching her a lesson, not talking to her, isolating her unless she returned to her old self and voluntarily helped everyone with their work.
Unexpectedly, Geneva suddenly handed in her resignation.
Previously, Geneva was just a head–down worker, and the supervisor had no idea that those beautiful reports were all her doing.
In the past few days, as her colleagues made mistake after mistake, only her reports remained impeccable, which caught the supervisor’s attention regarding her capabilities.
So, when Geneva announced her intention to resign, he was quite surprised. “Why do you want to resign suddenly?” he asked.
Geneva replied, “I have a premonition that something greater is waiting for me to do.”
The supervisor, in the midst of drinking his coffee, was literally speechless at her statement.
He looked at Geneva, thinking she was joking, but her demeanor was incredibly serious.
He was at a loss for words.
At that time, Cliff hadn’t yet bought out the company, and following the proper procedures, the company didn’t make things difficult for Geneva; her resignation was processed swiftly.
19.20
20 May
760
Chapter 40
When her colleagues learned of her departure, they were all in disbelief.
“Geneva, why are you leaving?” asked one of her colleagues.
One young girl, looking at Geneva with some resentment, asked, “What am I supposed to do now that you’re quitting?”
She murmured in her mind, ‘I’m so young, and the workload is already intense. If I had to stay up late frequently, I’d age quickly.
‘Geneva is older, and she doesn’t have to worry about skin care or receding hairlines, so why can’t she stay and share the workload?”
“Yeah, Geneva, you can’t go! Stay with us, we need you…”
To an outsider, it might have seemed like these colleagues had deep feelings for Geneva.
But in reality, they just wanted her to stay and do their work. It was not like they ever offered her a share of their salary in return.
‘Huh, people like this, spoiled rotten.‘ Geneva rolled her eyes in her heart.
“I think I’ll go,” she said. “Not long ago, I read a news story about someone who left their old company and later became the boss of a publicly traded
company…”
“What does that have to do with your leaving?” asked one of her colleagues.
Her colleagues were confused. ‘Could the boss of that publicly traded company be related to her?‘
