Chapter 286
At the school gate, Pattie waved goodbye, âSee ya, mom and dad.â
Herman seemed a bit reluctant to leave, lingering at the school gate for a while. Anastasia took his hand, laughing and saying, âLetâs go, or else weâll be late. Look how unwilling you are to part with her. Why donât you just join her in kindergarten?â
Herman replied, âOur little girl is growing up so fast, donât you think? Pattie is getting taller and prettier, just like you.â
âThey say the child resembles who raises her, so since weâre bringing up Pattie, naturally sheâll start to look like us. Sometimes I even feel that Pattie looks just like
you.â
While chatting, they walked towards their car parked by the roadside. âWell, I almost forgot, one of my colleagues has been acting weird lately. He followed me to the subway station last night.â Anastasia finally remembered to mention this to Herman.
Herman immediately realized the gravity of the situation, âWhat colleague? Which department? Is it a guy? Whatâs his name and whatâs his purpose?â
Seeing him so uptight, Anastasia said, âDonât freak out. His name is Harmon. I think he might be upset because of a failed blind date. He tried online dating on OkCupid, but got scammed a few times. Heâs probably not in the right state of mind. He knows I was also on OkCupid, and he keeps calling me a scammer. Itâs just so weird.â
âStay away from people like that,â Herman warned her. âYou never know what people are capable of.â
âI know.â Anastasia made a promise gesture, âIâll definitely steer clear of him.â
Actually, Anastasia was also a bit fearful of Harmon and would definitely try to avoid him.
Herman dropped Anastasia off at her office and watched her go inside before driving to the next intersection. Nelson and their driver were waiting for him there, and Herman parked his Chevrolet to hop into the Rolls Royce. Every morning after dropping Anastasia off, heâd switch cars at this intersection, Nelson and the driver would always wait for him there.
Nelson started briefing Herman on the dayâs schedule, âMr. Salstrom, you have a meeting with Mr. Jarod from WOW Corporation in the morning, and Mr. Stakley from Stratix Solutions has invited you to a round of golf in the afternoon.â
Hermanâs schedule was packed.
âHmm,â Hérman grunted in response, then pulled out his phone to call Victor.
Victor had just arrived at his office, and seeing the presidentâs call nearly made his heart leap out of his chest. He answered immediately, saying respectfully, âMr. Salstrom, how may I assist you?â
âThereâs a guy named Harmon at your company, right? Find an excuse to fire him, but give him two monthsâ extra pay as compensation.â
This compensation was out of consideration for Harmon being scammed on his blind dates. The fact that Harmon had feelings for Anastasia and even followed her home was something Herman wouldnât tolerate.
Victor didnât know who Harmon was, but when the president gave an order, you shouldnât ask questions.
âUnderstood, Mr. Salstrom.â Victor asked, âIs there anything else?â
Herman paused, âFor next monthâs anniversary, you and Christine are to attend.â
This news sent a thrill of excitement through Victor. âThank you, Mr. Salstrom.â
After the call ended, Victor immediately went to HR to find out who this Harmon was. When he got the information, he was taken aback. Heâd assumed it was a high-ranking executive that Herman wanted to fire, but it turned out to be a mere maintenance worker. And calling him a maintenance worker was just putting it nicely â in reality, he was in charge of fixing plumbing, changing lightbulbs, and cleaning toilets. How could such a lowly figure have offended the big boss? Victor was puzzled. Had Harmon offended Anastasia?
That must be it. Only Anastasia could make the president so nervous that he wouldnât even let a janitor off the hook.
Since the president had spoken, Victor had no choice but to hand Harmon a termination notice, along with two monthsâ extra pay. While he was fixing the office lightbulb, Harmon received a notification from the HR department, which surprised him greatly. âWhy am I being fired? What did I do wrong?â he asked.