Malachi couldn't believe his ears and glowered, "Throwing money at me when you were clearly the one in the wrong—were you not taught conflict resolution as a child?"
The man was trembling all over, and it looked nothing like he was making fun of her, so Dahlia paused for a moment before bobbing her head in agreement.
"I wasn't."
But her response only sounded like she was
mocking him again.
Staring down at her with darkened eyes, he sucked in a deep breath and closed the distance between them.
"You think you're smug, aren't you? But one way or the other, I will make sure you pay for this humiliation."
Dahlia knitted her brows in confusion.
One minute he was saying the money wasn't the issue, and the next he was asking her to pay?
So she was right about his coming here. The many fancy words he had used almost made her doubt his intentions.
Concluding that this was indeed the case, she slowly pushed him aside and reached into her car.
Wondering what the woman was suddenly up to, Malachi allowed himself to be moved.
When she retracted her hand, his face darkened conpletely at the sight of the cheque book she held.
"This is insulting. How many times do I have to say this? I do not want your money!"
"You don't?" She paused and looked up at him, her brows wrinkling slightly in disbelief. "Then… what are you doing here?"
Malachi furrowed his brows, looking down at her silently.
Despite his snappy words, he couldn't help but notice she had remained calm throughout his confrontation.
It almost looked like she was really oblivious to what she did wrong.
Though skeptical at what she was playing at, he couldn't deny the genuine confusion in her eyes.
So he straightened up and slipped both hands into his pocket, retorting calmly, "I am perfectly capable of taking care of the car you ruined. But even though I don't want a cent from you, you still have to apologize to me."
Finally understanding why he was trying to pick a fight with her, Dahlia threw her cheque book to the front passenger seat and sucked in her teeth.
"Usually, on a road like that, someone from the side you swerved in from wouldn't have driven the way you did. How is it my fault that your car hit mine and ended up damaged?"
Malachi inhaled sharply and scoffed, "What did you just say?"
"You were taught conflict resolution," she met his eyes squarely. "It's a bit odd you weren't taught how to avoid conflict altogether."
Then she moved to get into her car.
Frowning, he reached out to hold the car door but quickly retracted his hand when his phone went off in his pocket.
Thinning his lips, he took a step backward and pressed the phone against his right ear.
"Big brother, your little sister has come up with a way to get you out of your pickle with grandpa." The same voice from the red lights earlier chuckled softly when the call connected.
Malachi's brows perked up in surprise. "You have?"
"Of course. Have you found a way to apologize to Dahlia Warren for firing her without cause?"
Malachi gritted his teeth. "No."
The woman hummed.
"I thought as much. I was invited to a wine-tasting event that'd happen this evening. It's exclusive and is being hosted by a friend of mine."
"I can't make it, so I'll let you have my invite which allows you bring an additional person. Why not ask her to come as a way to express your sincerity? I could have my assistant send her the invitation on your behalf."
Slipping a hand into his pocket, Malachi looked up, giving up hope of trying to stop Dahlia as she drove out the gate.
"I would appreciate that, Ophelia."
"I should be thanking you. After all, it's because you're so diligent at your job that I'm able to golf everyday without lifting a finger."
As the call ended between them, Dahlia was already home.
Rhys was fast asleep, while Finn watched documentaries in her room.
She changed out of her work clothes and sat at her desk, then turned on her PC.
She spent the next few moments opening several windows, each leading to a different bank account.
Each account bore a different name—one for Finneas Warren, another for Rhysand Warren, and the last for Dahlia Warren.
Seeing the amount on them, she sighed and leaned back.
The children's accounts each held an equal amount of 225,000, while hers held 72,378.
She stared at it for a moment before reaching for the termination letter again.
In about four years, she would have reached her goal of completing her children's college tuitions. This termination couldn't have come at a worse time.
She was still lost in thought when a new email popped up on her laptop.
She opened it and saw it was a job offer from Arron, a technological company which she recognized to be the ultimate rival of Archer Consortium.
She leaned forward.
The email was verified and bore the paid domain name of the company, so it couldn't be spam.
They were offering to pay her 250k a year—100k more than she had been earning. With this, it would take her only two years to complete her children's college tuition.
As she stared at the offer, the phone beside her laptop began to buzz and she picked it up without checking the caller ID.
"Good evening, ma'am. Hope you're having a good day. Am I speaking with Dahlia Warren?"
"I'm not interested in whatever it is you're selling."
Finding the voice a little robotic, she immediately assumed it was a sales agent and moved to end the call when the person hurriedly said, "Miss Warren, I'm calling from Archer Consortium!"
Her brows lifted.
"I already got the termination letter. You didn't have to call to make sure I knew what it meant."
"N-not at all, ma'am. If you check your email right now, you'll see an invitation from the company inviting you to a wine-tasting event this evening." The caller stammered slightly as she responded.
As she spoke, Dahlia saw invitation come in and clicked on it.
"You're saying the termination letter I received earlier today… was a mistake?"
"Precisely, ma'am! Mr. Archer understands how this must have made you feel, so he intends to properly apologize to you at the wine-tasting event."
Dahlia closed the email and reopened Arron's offer.
They were offering better benefits and higher pay. She honestly had no reason to entertain people from Archer Consortium anymore—especially after being terminated without cause.
Or did she?
Perhaps they feared a lawsuit and were trying to smooth things over?
Whatever the case, if they offered to increase her pay to 250k per year, she would willingly work for them again.
She was a creature of habit after all and it was safer to continue working where she had been for the past five years than to switch environments.
So she began to dress up.
An hour later, she was driving to the venue of the wine-tasting event.
Upon arrival, she handed her keys to a valet and joined the short line ahead of her.
No sooner had she joined did she overhear the conversation in front of her.
"…a lot of people from her university failed to make it out as proper data analysts."
"You're right. Our Warren family being invited to such an important event… clearly they must have heard about how far Maya has taken us abroad!"