Chapter 147


    Chapter 147: Humiliation


    Moana


    “Ugh! I can’t believe you!” Sam’s new girlfriend shouted, causing Edrick and I to run over to the scene


    while a group of other intrigued employees gathered around as well. “You’re a cheater!”


    “Baby, it’s not what it—”


    p.


    Sam’s face went red with a mixture of embarrassment and redness from the hard p that his girlfriend


    gave him. A chorus of gasps and confused mutters erupted amongst the people who had gathered


    around, and meanwhile, Mia only stood leaning against a tree with a subtle smirk on her face. Her eyes


    finally met mine and Edrick’s, and she winked.


    I knew then that she had aplished what Edrick had essentially hired her to do: she had made Sam


    betray his new girlfriend. I wondered if his new girlfriend even knew that he cheated on me to be with


    her, or if he just brushed me off as some crazydy who he didn’t even know when I found them in the


    restaurant that day.


    Either way, Edrick was right. Once a cheater, always a cheater.


    “You know, you wouldn’t even have this job if it wasn’t for me,” his girlfriend, a Beta, said with a scowl.


    “I can’t believe you would pull a stunt like this. We are over!”


    With that, Sam’s new girlfriend — well, ex-girlfriend now — turned on her heel and stormed off.


    “Baby!” Sam called. He tried to chase after her, but Mia suddenly ran after him like a sh and grabbed


    him by the cor of his shirt. “H-Hey! What are you—”


    “Save it for the judge,” Mia said with a smirk. She yanked Sam over by his cor, causing him to


    struggle the entire way, and presented him to Edrick and I like a cat that had just dropped a dead bird


    on our doorstep. “Here you go.”


    Sam’s eyes widened as he stood in front of Edrick and myself. He began to stutter out a series of


    apologies for causing a scene, but Edrick only stared down at him with narrowed eyes.


    “Everyone, return to the pic,” Edrick said, addressing the crowd that was still standing around us.


    “Let’s not let pretty high school drama ruin your nice afternoon.” People in the crowd snickered at the


    way that Edrick referred to it as nothing more than petty high school drama, which caused Sam’s face


    to turn an even deeper shade of red. His eyes shifted back and forth between Edrick and I, and Mia


    continued to stand behind him with her arms folded across her chest in case he decided to try to leave


    again.


    I really hadn’t expected any of this to work. When Mia said that she could make Sam betray his new


    girlfriend in less than thirty minutes, I thought that she was either joking or that she was too full of


    herself. But now, Sam stood here like a little kid who got in trouble in front of Edrick, and I had to focus


    all of my energy on containing my smile. It felt good to see him get a little taste of the humiliation I felt


    when he berated me outside the restaurant on that busy city street.


    As the crowd dissipated, Edrick only continued to stare down his nose at Sam, who was practically


    trembling by now. Once we were alone, Edrick finally spoke.


    “I don’t tolerate cheaters and abusers in mypany,” Edrick said, his voice low and serious and not


    mischievous at all like before. “I have half a mind to fire you on the spot just for disturbing mypany


    pic. And you should apologize to your colleagues for causing so much of a scene.”


    “I-I’m sorry, sir,” Sam blubbered, his eyes fixed on the ground. I had always thought that Sam was


    pretty tall, but Edrick was far taller and towered over him. Edrick especially towered over him now as


    Sam began to shrink into himself, slouching as though he wanted to make himself appear smaller. He


    looked like a dog that got caught rummaging through the trash.


    “I think you should fire this jerk,” Mia said. She wrapped her arm around Sam’s shoulders and gave him


    a lighthearted shake as though they were old friends, but it was entirely condescending and


    emascting. “He did threaten your fiancee, after all.”


    Edrick nodded. “You’re right, as usual, Mia,” he replied. “We’ll fill the role with someone better.”


    Sam’s eyes widened even further. “No, please,” he whined. He then turned to face me and sped his


    hands together in front of them, pleading with me. “Please, Moana. I need this job. I have to pay my


    rent. I-I need to pay off my expensive car. Please.”


    Belonging ? N?velDram/a.Org.


    I couldn’t hide my scoff. Of course Sam would be the type to get a fancy apartment and an expensive


    car as soon as he got a job at WereCorp, even going so far as to go into debt to appear rich.


    But, at the same time, I knew what it was like to struggle financially. I hade from the lowest caste


    in our society; not just a human, but an orphan, too. I knew how it felt to barely make ends meet, and


    even though I knew that Sam would have little trouble finding another job as a werewolf, and even


    though he had done me horribly wrong in the past, I hated to put other people in that situation.


    “Please, Moana…”


    Finally, I sighed and turned to face Edrick. “Don’t fire him,” I said.


    Edrick’s eyes widened. “Why not?”


    I shook my head. “I know what it’s like to live as a lower status, and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone else.


    Not even this sorry sack of shit.”


    For several long moments, Edrick just stared at me with his eyebrows raised. I knew that he felt


    ufortable by my request, but I just didn’t like the idea of causing someone to lose their job entirely


    over this. Sam got humiliated, and that was enough for me.


    “Fine,” Edrick said finally, smacking his lips together annoyedly. “I won’t fire you. But you’ll be working


    in the mailroom from now on.”


    I could tell that Sam was not excited about being demoted, but at the very least, he still had a job. “T-


    Thank you, Mr. Morgan,” he said.


    Edrick stared down his nose at him for a few more long moments before he stooped down to Sam’s


    level and stopped just inches from his face, causing Sam to look even more panicked. He then lowered


    his voice so no one else could hear.


    “And if you say a word about E or Moana… You won’t even be working in the mailroom,” he said.


    “And I’ll make sure you can’t find another halfway decent job in this city for the rest of your pathetic little


    life. Do you understand me?”


    Sam’s eyes widened so far I could see the whites of his eyes all the way around his irises. He nced


    back and forth between Edrick and I several times before rapidly nodding and taking a big, nervous


    gulp.


    “I won’t say a word,” he replied.


    “Good.” Edrick straightened again, then waved Sam away with his hand. “You can go home now.


    You’re not wee at this pic anymore.”


    Sam didn’t say a word. He simply turned on his heel and took off toward the parking lot with his


    metaphorical tail between his legs.


    I felt relieved. It felt nice to see Sam finally get the same amount of humiliation that I felt, and maybe it


    would teach him not to treat women poorly in the future. But, like Edrick said…


    Once a cheater, always a cheater.