Once they arrived at the chief examiner's office, Roland could feel his temper writhing out of their chains. There was a crowd of curious onlookers and other candidates dawdling about earlier, so he couldn't give the proctors a full dressing down right there and then. It didn't matter how tempting it was; he still had to consider the Medical Association's reputation.
His actions would only tarnish the association's name if he gave into his impulses and criticized them.
Nonetheless, his patience was coming to an end. Of course, it didn't help that some of them had been on his nerves for quite some time, and he couldn't do anything about it. But after the incident today, he was finally able to give them a good reckoning.
"Mr. Roberts, I have thoroughly underestimated you. Regardless, that isn't the point here. I just want to know how on earth you found the courage to falsely accuse him."
Roland twirled his pen as he glared icily at Kevin.
Kevin trembled like a leaf under his ferocious gaze as his face went stark white. It would be an understatement of the century to say that he genuinely regretted every action that led him to such circumstances today.
He parted his lips before finally stammering, "M-My nephew brought this to my attention. He claimed that Mr. Larson's a well-known fraud and that he cheated to get a spot in this exam."
Once he finished his confession, he couldn't help but sigh regretfully.
Alas, his explanation only stoked Roland's anger.
"Good Lord! You're not in your twenties any longer! You should know what the protocols for such accusations are! You didn't have a shred of evidence, but you blindly believed every word your nephew said? Did it ever cross your mind that your beloved nephew might be lying?!"
Roland disdainfully tossed a document on the desk. "Speaking of your nephew, you'd better take a good look at his lovely handiwork."
Kevin hesitantly picked up the document with his shaky hands. It was like he was handling a bomb and not a mere file.
The document laid out in black and white the events which had occurred between Matthew and Colin in Neverland Pharmaceuticals.
Kevin's face grew grim as he forced himself to finish reading the file.
Colin had always struck him as an affable man. So, he had never imagined his nephew could be this vile.
Colin was using him to get to Matthew.
To Kevin's dismay, he had bought into his nephew's plot, hook, line, and sinker.
Once he was done, he returned the document to Roland, all the while avoiding Roland's piercing gaze.
He could only lower his head in shame.
"Mr. Roberts, this is a busy time for the Association. Unfortunately, you've probably made such poor judgment due to stress. Therefore, I'll inform HR that you'll be taking a few days off."
Kevin's heart skipped a beat at Roland's suggestion.
He wondered if this was a backhanded way of firing him. He couldn't remember the last time Roland had granted a few days' leave.
Once Roland had doled out such a punishment, the other examiners started fidgeting in their seats, fearing the consequences they would face.
"As for the rest of you…"
The ones Roland named immediately straightened their backs with tense expressions.
…
After Emmanuel swept out of the office, he wasted no time in calling Tritus. "I've done what you asked. When's the money coming in?"
Emmanuel was surprised when all he got was Tritus' roar of displeasure.
"How dare you even bring this up?! Here you are, an absolute failure, and you're asking me for money? How stupid do you think I am?"
At this moment, Emmanuel began to panic. "W-We had an agreement! Tritus, you can't go back on your word!"
Tritus' voice was cold as ice as he laid out the facts. "Exactly. I said you'd get the money after you succeeded at your task. Have you succeeded? You've ruined everything. You don't deserve a single cent."
"B-B-But—"
Before Emmanuel could get another word in, Tritus bellowed a long string of profanities at him, "Motherf*cker! Son of a b*tch! You useless scum!"
Once Tritus had vented his rage at whom he regarded as a useless pawn, he promptly hung up.
When Emmanuel was faced with the robotic dial tone, his mind finally rebooted and was in an utter tizzy.
He had just lost his job, and judging from Tritus' attitude earlier, there was no way the money would magically appear in his bank account.
Due to his greed, he was well and truly down and out.
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