Malachi Archer stopped in the middle of a busy road, causing a line of cars to quickly form behind him.
Realizing there was no roadblock stopping him from moving, those behind him grew annoyed and began honking loudly.
Ignoring them, he reached for what had been thrown at him, his eyes trembling slightly when he saw it was a cheque.
"Sir, you're scaring me. Are you lost? If you're lost or need help navigating your way to the company, I can come get you," the person on the other end of the call grew increasingly worried when he remained silent.
Holding up the cheque, the man scoffed in disbelief and crumpled the paper into a ball again.
"This woman just threw a check at me."
"What? What woman, sir?" The person on the other end was rightfully confused.
But the man didn't respond. He directly ended the call, then reversed and followed the direction he had seen Dahlia go in.
However, he stopped and sucked in his teeth when he reached a roundabout leading to four different roads.
Insulting him with a measly check?
He was the head of a conglomerate. He didn't need help with fixing a bumper, but she hadn't even uttered a single word of apology and just… drove off?
How insolent.
He looked around for a while before catching sight of a surveillance camera attached to the traffic light.
Picking up his phone, he was about to place a call to someone when another call came in.
It only lasted a second before he ended it and made the one he wanted.
"Track my car and fetch me the surveillance footage of all the cars that drove past here ten minutes ago."
While still on the call, another call came in and he hesitantly answered it when he saw 'Chipotle.'
"Hey, where are you? Grandfather is blowing his top after you suddenly disappeared from the airport on your own!" The impatient voice of a woman filled the air.
"It's just a few minutes. Why's everyone acting like I'm an hour late?" he murmured, his voice considerably lower and far less authoritative than it had been during the previous calls.
"Shut up and get here as soon as you can. I can't stand these witches badmouthing you any more than they already have."
The man sighed, looked around carefully, and began reversing.
Unaware of what had just happened, Dahlia dropped her boys off at the complex she lived in and left.
It was a high-end complex with a bunch of other kids their age, so there was always a sitter available for hire.
After making sure they had everything they needed, she pulled them both down to warn them.
"Rhys, you're not allowed too many cookies. I work as a data analyst in a tech company and I'm very meticulous. I will find proof of you having eaten a cookie no matter how much you clean."
Then she turned to her younger son.
"Finn, don't stay in the room reading textbooks. We may be autistic and nerds, but we also know how to have fun, right?"
Finn nodded in understanding, putting a finger on his chin as he hummed, "Right. I'll just watch some of those wildlife shows until you get back."
"Huh? How's that entertainment? Why not play games with me?" Rhys immediately complained.
The words were barely out of his mouth when Dahlia and Finn turned to him seriously, harmonizing, "Games are loud, chaotic, and disorganized."
The little boy sighed.
Of course.
Watching them head to their different rooms, Dahlia grabbed her car keys and left for work.
She arrived in front of the gigantic robotics company after driving for a while and went into her office.
At the same time, Malachi Archer held a discreet meeting with the board of directors.
But for the better part of the meeting, they stayed in silence as he went through the information of the most important employees the company currently had.
Unlike the person who had been in charge until now, Malachi had a reputation they were all aware of.
He was good at his job, but…
He suddenly shifted in his seat and they all hurriedly straightened up, arching their backs so much that they broke out in sweat.
No one dared to breathe too loudly.
Singling out one file, he pushed it to the person closest to him, his brows raising inquisitively. "This one… is on a spectrum?"
The man picked it up, glanced at it for a while, and nodded vigorously.
"She's on the spectrum, but she's a diligent worker. Quiet and reserved. Rarely has any reason for complaint, nor does she take leaves as often as other employees."
"In fact, she's been the company's data analyst for the past five years since she joined us."
His words had barely landed when he squeezed his eyes shut, shrinking down in fear at the sound of Malachi's chair screeching back.
The man rose to his full height, strutted over, and picked up the file.
"People like her are the reason we're being made fun of by other companies. This woman…"
He paused, lowering his eyes to her name. "I want this Dahlia Warren fired. Effective immediately."