chapter 1
I was starving from overtime when I tore open a pack of spicy strips at my desk.
The next second, my manager exploded.
He lunged across the office like I’d set the place on fire, pointing straight at my face. “Lynn Tate, do you think this company is your house? If you want to eat, go home and eat. Your commission this month—two hundred thousand—is gone.”
I looked at his twisted, furious face.
Then calmly took another bite.
“Oh. Whatever.”
Right in front of him, I opened a job app and started scrolling.
That’s when he panicked.
“Lynn, don’t be impulsive, I didn’t mean it like that—”
Shawn Morris, my department manager, went from red to pale in a heartbeat. The same man who had just been yelling at me now forced a smile that looked worse than crying.
I didn’t even look at him.
My fingers moved quickly across the screen.
I even tapped into a position offering three hundred thousand and started reading it like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
“Let’s talk this through… we’re all on the same team, don’t make things awkward…”
His voice softened, almost pleading.
I didn’t lift my eyes.
“You made it awkward first, Shawn. You work overtime, I stay. I eat one pack of snacks, and you dock two hundred thousand. Now I look for another job, and suddenly I’m being impulsive?”
My tone was as calm as if I were commenting on the weather.
The entire office went dead silent.
Every coworker still working late had their ears perked up.
Shawn’s face shifted between green and white. He had never been humiliated like this in front of his team.
He took a deep breath, trying to regain control.
“I know you’ve worked hard, Lynn. But this affects the company image. I was just speaking out of anger. As for the commission… we can discuss it again.”
Finally, I looked up.
“So you weren’t planning to give me the full two hundred thousand in the first place?”
His eyes flickered.
“No, no, of course not. It’s yours… but there’s a process…”
I smiled.
Got it.
The company approved the money—but he had to sign off on it.
And he wanted a cut.
The spicy strips were just an excuse to start trouble.
I didn’t bother arguing.
I picked up my phone and clicked “Contact” on the three-hundred-thousand offer.
“You—”
Shawn was shaking with anger.
Meanwhile, I stood up slowly and began packing my things into a box.
My mug.
My plant.
My keyboard and mouse.
With every item I packed, his expression grew uglier.
A coworker, Nina, leaned in and whispered to him, “She’s bluffing. No way she’d give up two hundred thousand.”
That seemed to calm him.
He straightened up again, putting on his manager act.
“Lynn, don’t go too far. Yes, you’ve contributed, but the company isn’t dependent on you.”
I didn’t respond.
I just kept packing.
When everything was done, I carried the box and walked up to him.
“Move.”
He froze.
He hadn’t expected me to actually leave.
“If you walk out that door today,” he shouted, “you won’t see a single dollar of that commission!”
I paused.
Turned back.
“Oh, right. Forgot to tell you. That company I just contacted? They asked if I’d be interested in bringing a team over.”
Then I walked out.
Behind me—
Silence.
Then the sound of something shattering.