That afternoon, I met with Richard White, the CEO of the competing company.

After looking through my details, he clicked his tongue in admiration.

"I knew I wasn't wrong about you. Ms. Lawrence, your practical skills are even better than I imagined."

He closed the file and made his decision on the spot. "Let's skip the fluff. What's your expected salary?"

My hands, resting on my knees, clenched slightly as I did the mental calculations.

My current company paid me three thousand dollars. Should I ask for a thousand more or be bold and ask for five thousand dollars?

After all, I had a mortgage. If I could get a salary of five thousand dollars, it would make my life so much better.

"Uh… I think five thousand dollars…" I said the number tentatively, my voice trailing off at the end.

When Richard heard that, he looked at me with an unreadable expression.

That look made my heart skip a beat. Did I ask for too much?

"Five thousand dollars?" he repeated before shaking his head helplessly. "Ms. Lawrence, are you joking? Given your ability and background, that figure in this industry is an insult to you and to our professional judgment."

He grabbed a pen and wrote down a new figure on the offer letter, then slid it over to me.

"A base salary of ten thousand dollars and 14 months of guaranteed pay, excluding performance bonuses. You also get the full insurance and retirement package upon joining. This is how much we value you."

I stared at the number, feeling like I was dreaming. It was more than triple my current salary.

My eyes reddened instantly, and my vision turned blurry.

"Ms. Lawrence? Are you okay?" Richard asked with concern.

I took a deep breath, fought back the tears, and looked up with a bright smile.

"I'm fine. Thank you for recognizing my value. I can start anytime."

After leaving the office, I took out my phone and glanced at my Slack notifications.

Grant had sent me a voice message that was a few seconds long.

I tapped on it, causing his impatient voice to play through the speaker.

"Get back here as soon as you've recovered! There's a pile of work waiting for you! Don't try to slack off. That report needs to be on my desk by the end of the day!"

I ignored his message, leaving it on read.

…

On Monday morning, I walked through the company doors at exactly nine o'clock.

The tension in the office was suffocating. Grant stood at the center with his hands behind his back, running the morning meeting with spit flying out of his mouth.

When he saw me come in, his brows knitted together, and his expression turned livid.

"Oh, it's the busy Ms. Lawrence. Feeling better now?" he quipped sarcastically.

I paid him no mind and walked to my desk. Just then, Grant barked, "Stop right there! Now that you're here, why don't you explain to everyone what's with your attitude?"

He jabbed a finger at me, almost poking my nose.

"Why did you cause such a scene at the annual dinner? And what's with you talking back to your manager in the group chat?

"Shania, I've been showing you respect because you're a veteran employee. Stop being so ungrateful!"

The office was deathly silent, and every head turned to look at us.

"Given your recent appalling behavior, you're losing your entire attendance bonus for the month! Also, the holiday shift is non-negotiable!"

Grant stood with his hands on his hips, looking as though he had me cornered. "This is a test of your loyalty! If you can't show team spirit now, how can the company ever trust you with an important promotion in the future?"

It was the same old spiel again.

If this were before, those words would have made me hang my head in shame and wonder if I really was being too selfish.

But today, I didn't cower or back down like usual.

With everyone watching me, I walked straight up to Grant and said, "Mr. Conner, I'm not accepting this test."

I pulled the resignation letter out of my bag and slammed it onto the table in front of Grant.

"I quit!"