One Dollar, One Winter

Two months after I joined the company, I sold off every stalled real estate project it had been sitting on for three years and pulled the failing business back from the edge of bankruptcy. To keep me, the chairman sold me a thirty-million-dollar sky penthouse for one dollar. On handover day, the new colleague, Ryan Wells, snatched my contract and sneered, "Connor, buying a sky penthouse for one dollar? Keep dreaming." I told him to look at the company seal on the contract, but he burned it on the spot. "Connor, don't think a few sales achievements mean you can use the back door to buy property. "Even if the company really had a benefit like this, Lydia should be the first person to enjoy it!" My girlfriend, who was also the sales manager, looked at me coldly. "Connor, have some principles. The company is struggling, and you're still trying to take advantage?" "Since reporting misconduct deserves a reward, I've decided to give your sales commission to Ryan. "If you have a problem with that, don't come to work tomorrow!" Furious enough to laugh, I took out my phone and called my sister directly. "Victoria, cancel every purchase contract for the Eastbank project. I'm done here." Chapter 1 After I hung up, Lydia Cross and Ryan Wells laughed so hard they nearly doubled over. Ryan clutched his stomach, tears almost coming out. "Connor, you really know how to brag. "I've seen all the purchase contracts for the Eastbank project. Not one of them has the name Bryce on it. Who are you pretending to be?" Lydia stopped laughing too, her face full of impatience and contempt. "Connor, that's enough. Keep pretending and you'll just embarrass yourself further." She looked me up and down as if I were trash. "Aren't your parents making a living on a farm? Why are you acting like some rich young master? Is this fun for you?" I was speechless. When I pursued her, I had indeed told her my parents were on a farm. I hadn't wanted her to treat me differently because of my family background. And I hadn't lied. Ever since my sister took over Bryce Group, my parents had been happy to live a quiet life growing flowers and vegetables on a farm in the suburbs. They were enjoying real country living. But now, watching Lydia help an outsider attack me, I felt my heart sink inch by inch. I had taken the day off on purpose, excited to handle the penthouse handover. I had wanted to give her a surprise. I never expected Ryan to snatch the contract from my hand before I even entered the sales office. "Connor, you skipped work just to sneak around doing this?" He scanned the contract, then scoffed. "Buying a sky penthouse for one dollar? Keep dreaming." Speechless, I pointed at the company seal on the contract. "Look carefully. This is real." But he pulled out a lighter and burned the corner of the contract. The flame shot up with a hiss. "Connor, stop acting. "Don't think a few sales achievements mean you can use the back door to buy property. "Even if the company really had a benefit like this, Lydia should be the first person to enjoy it!" I lunged forward, trying to snatch the burning contract back. The flames licked across the back of my hand, sending a sharp sting through my skin. I ignored the pain and slapped at the fire in a panic until it went out. The once-complete contract had been reduced to half a page, but the red imprint of the seal was still faintly visible. Shaking with anger, I jabbed a finger at Ryan and demanded, "What gives you the right to burn my contract? It's real! Call the chairman's secretary if you don't believe me!" Lydia immediately tore into me. "Enough! Stop shouting! Are you not embarrassed enough?" Her eyes signaled for me to look around. Plenty of clients and colleagues in the sales hall were pointing and whispering at us. I was about to explain, but Ryan spoke first and twisted everything. "Lydia, Connor was trying to use your connections to buy a villa for one dollar! "I was stopping him from making a mistake!" Chapter 2 Lydia's face instantly turned livid. She turned toward me, her eyes full of disappointment and anger. "Connor, you've really become lawless! You make a little achievement, and now you're learning crooked tricks? "People need principles. The company is struggling, and you're still trying to take advantage? "Since reporting misconduct deserves a reward, I've decided to give your sales commission to Ryan." Blood rushed straight to my head, and my face flushed red. "On what grounds?" I roared, "I worked my ass off to sell those properties!" Her voice was even louder than mine. "On the grounds that I'm the sales manager! On the grounds that you're exploiting company loopholes and lining your own pockets!" Her words came down on me like filth flung in my face. Everyone in the hall stared at me. My colleagues watched with gloating expressions, and I felt exposed from every side. Yet she was still lecturing me. "Don't use resignation to threaten me. The company will keep running without anyone. "Look at Ryan. He's younger than you, more sensible than you, and more motivated than you." I felt exhausted, as if all my strength had been drained away. "Lydia, we've been together for three years. In your heart, is this really the kind of person I am?" Her expression stiffened for a moment before turning cold again. "Don't play the emotional card with me. "Ryan wouldn't wrong you." Fine. Perfect. I clenched my fists until my nails dug deep into my palms. "Fine. I'll call the chairman's executive assistant directly and ask him to come confront you, the manager, in person. Is that good enough?" Seeing me actually take out my phone and dial, Lydia's eyes flashed with a strange panic. "Where did you get the assistant's number? Enough. Stop making a scene. Come with me." She reached out to pull me, but I shook her off. I put the call on speaker. But from the other end came only a busy tone. No one answered. Unwilling to give up, I called the chairman himself. "The number you have dialed is currently powered off..." The cold automated voice echoed through the silent sales hall. Ryan covered his mouth beside me, his shoulders shaking with laughter. "Wow, Connor. You really prepared the full performance." He said in that mocking tone, "You knew the chairman was leading a team to visit Bryce Group today, so you deliberately picked this day to come claim the property. "Were you afraid someone would catch you?" Only then did I suddenly remember. The chairman was taking a team to Bryce Group headquarters today to report on the follow-up cooperation for the revived stalled development. That had been mentioned in yesterday's meeting. Once Lydia realized this, only pure disgust remained in her eyes. "Connor, stop pretending. Keep this up and I'll fire you." Seeing how certain the two of them were that I was lying, my chest felt blocked, and anger surged to my head. Today, I had to prove it to them. I had to shut both their mouths. I swept my gaze across the crowd and pulled over the finance manager, who had been watching the show. "Manager Holt, you handle company documents every day. Tell me, is this company seal real?" He was an old employee. He had handled thousands of contracts and documents over the years. No one knew the company seal better than he did. He studied the half-burned contract carefully, his expression troubled. "Half of the seal has been burned off. I... I can't confirm it with a hundred percent certainty." My heart sank instantly. The next second, he pointed at the private seal beside the company seal. "But the chairman's personal seal next to it is real." I instantly found my footing again and straightened my back. "I told you. The chairman personally approved this. It's real." Lydia, however, remained unmoved. She looked at the finance manager and spoke in a mild tone that carried undeniable pressure. Chapter 3 "Manager Holt, look carefully. "Don't let someone talk you in circles. If you say the wrong thing, it may be very hard to take back later." I trembled with anger. "Lydia! What do you mean by that?" Unexpectedly, Manager Holt reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He jerked back and waved his hands again and again. "Fake! It's fake! "That personal seal looks fake too. It doesn't look real at all!" I stared at him in disbelief. "That's not what you said just now!" As if angered by my question, he suddenly raised his voice and scolded me sharply. "Who knows where you got this garbage contract and seal? "I know nothing! Don't ask me!" After saying that, he pushed through the crowd and fled in a panic, terrified of being dragged down with me. Ryan hypocritically placed a hand on Lydia's shoulder and pretended to be the good guy. "Forget it, Lydia. Connor was probably just confused for a moment. You really never know what's inside a person." The surrounding colleagues immediately chimed in, pointing at me. "Exactly. That's terrifying. He threw away his dignity just to take advantage." "He usually looks so honest. I didn't expect him to be like this." Lydia folded her arms, lifted her chin, and looked at me with contempt. "What else do you have to say? Who else do you want to drag in to lie for you? "If the chairman really rewarded you with a villa, why didn't he mention it at yesterday's company-wide meeting? That would've been the perfect chance to honor you." I opened my mouth, wanting to explain. I wanted to say that it was because I wanted to get the deed first, then propose to her in that sky penthouse overlooking the entire city. I wanted to give her that home as our wedding gift. But when the words reached my lips and I looked at her cold face, I could not say a single word. She did not believe me at all. In her mind, anything I said was an excuse, the dying struggle of someone whose lie had been exposed. My silence, to her, became admission. "Connor, given that you attempted to misappropriate company property and repeatedly argued without remorse, "I have decided to suspend you for one month to reflect." I let out a cold laugh. "No need. I quit." Her brows knitted, but she still wore that superior expression. "I'm giving you a way down. Don't threaten me with resignation." Ryan immediately joined in from the side. "Lydia, you're too kind. "If I had a girlfriend who cared for me like that, I'd be the happiest man alive." As he spoke, he naturally took Lydia's hand. And Lydia did not pull away. In that moment, the last shred of hope I had for her completely died. Ryan had only been here for a week, but Lydia mentioned him almost every day. She praised him for being young and promising, for being sweet-talking and clever. Looking at their joined hands, I suddenly laughed. What else did I need to understand? "Then you can have him." I looked at Lydia and said, word by word, "Lydia, we're done." She seemed stunned for a second and wanted to say something. But I no longer wanted to hear a single word. I turned and left. The moment I returned to the apartment Lydia and I rented together, my phone notified me that my resignation process had been completed. The next second, Lydia kicked me out of the company group chat. Ryan sent me a message. It was a photo of him and Lydia on the sales office couch, posed so intimately it made the meaning unmistakable. "Craving something fresh tonight. Might start with your girlfriend." "Heard you never even slept with her. What a loser." My stomach churned with disgust. Lydia's messages followed right after. "Fine, break up then. Don't come crawling back to me!" "Being with a spineless loser with trash character like you is humiliating." "Ryan's different. His family owns two houses in Northbridge, and he's ambitious." Chapter 4 I put down my phone, opened the closet, and started packing my luggage. I had no intention of seeing Lydia again. I only hoped she would not regret this. On the way back home, my phone kept buzzing. When I opened the screen, it was full of screenshots from colleagues and people in the industry. The contents were all more or less the same. Lydia had posted announcements in various groups. "Former colleague Connor Bryce was fired for moral misconduct and for forging a contract in an attempt to misappropriate company property." "This person is stubborn, dishonest, and full of lies. HR contacts, please beware." She was afraid I could still find a job. She even posted the same message in the group for my previous company, attaching a large cash reward and asking HR contacts to spread my "glorious deeds" to everyone they knew so no one would hire me. She wanted to cut off every path I had. I leaned against the cold taxi window, and my heart slowly turned just as cold. Back then, she had a poor academic background and could not find work anywhere. After she finally entered this company, I used my connections and asked countless friends to buy properties from her so I could help her hit her sales targets. That was how she became sales manager. She complained that my job required too many business trips and that we spent too little time together. She kept urging me to transfer to her company. For her, I gave up my training at one of our family subsidiaries and came here. Now, for a man she had only known for a week, she was trying to ruin me completely. How laughable. My phone rang abruptly, interrupting my thoughts. I answered, and before I could speak, my sister's bright voice came through. "What happened, my dear little brother? Did you fall out with your Cinderella?" My sister had never liked Lydia. She thought Lydia was too calculating and did not deserve me. A huge wave of grievance surged into my throat, and for a long time, I could not speak. "Victoria..." I only said one word, and my voice already broke. She immediately sensed something was wrong. Her tone turned anxious at once. "Oh no, don't be upset. Don't be upset. What happened? "Who bullied you? Tell me. I'll get justice for you." She paused, then lowered her voice. "The contracts for Eastbank haven't been signed yet. Don't worry." I stayed silent, listening to her comfort me with heartache in her voice, and my eyes stung. Our parents had been busy since we were children, and I had practically been raised by my sister. After graduating from college, I left the family company entirely to her so I could stay with Lydia. Yet she had never complained once. "All right, all right. Men don't cry. "Come home. If the sky falls, your sister will hold it up for you." My nose stung again, and I nodded heavily. After hanging up, I had just caught my breath when my screen lit up again. Lydia had sent more than a dozen messages. They had started as questions, then turned into furious orders. "Connor, answer me!" "Come back to the company immediately! Right now!" I switched my phone to silent. Less than two minutes later, an unknown number called. I frowned and answered. Ryan's hypocritical voice came through with a hint of accusation. "Connor, why aren't you replying to Lydia? Are you guilty and afraid to face her?" I snapped, "What the hell are you? What right do you have to question me?" He instantly shifted into a hurt tone. "It's fine if you snap at me, but don't delay Lydia's important business." Before I could speak, the phone was snatched away by someone else. "Connor! "Why are you yelling at him? Are you insane? I told you to come back to the company. Did you hear me?"