After I shared my five-million-dollar commission with my department colleagues, they drag me to a hotel and celebrate with me for three days straight. But when I walk past the bathroom, I overhear a conversation between two of my colleagues that stops me cold.

"Have the results of the vote come out yet?"

What vote?

Confused, I check my phone and find that I've been removed from the Project Department's group chat.

"Who else could it be? Our hero, Zane Carter, received eleven votes. It was unanimous, and the motion was passed."

"Serves him right. I've never liked him anyway."

I freeze. I can't believe that my colleagues would betray me after what I've done for them.

After taking a moment to calm down, I immediately decide to resign. The next thing I know, I receive a call from the company chairman, Wilson Smith.

"Have you made up your mind? Quitting now would breach your contract. As a result, your five-million-dollar commission would be revoked.

"You're also a key technical staff member. If you leave, your entire department would most likely be dismissed. Once that happens, your colleagues will end up unemployed. Are you sure about this?"

I lower my gaze and let out a cold laugh.

"Absolutely."

I heard laughter and conversation coming from the private room well before I reached the door.

"Thank god we get to vote on who's getting laid off. I have no idea how we're going to deal with Zane otherwise," one of my colleagues said.

Another person laughed and added, "Serves him right! We all put in the same eight hours every day, so why is his commission so much higher than ours?"

"Right. All he does is stare at his laptop all day. What's so great about his stupid algorithm anyway?"

"I bet he's lying about the actual amount. He's not that generous. There's no way he would've agreed to share the money with us if that's all that he's been given."

All of my colleagues' comments were laced with jealousy, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. What was there to be jealous about? Was it my balding head and glossy forehead?

The project only succeeded because of the work I'd put into it. I worked tirelessly to improve the product so our company could stand out from its competitors and impress our clients.

While I was working on the project, I barely slept for almost an entire week. In order to secure more clients, I even utilized the connections I'd made over the years.

I emailed multiple senior industry figures and asked them to put in a good word for our team. Thanks to my efforts, we managed to get to where we were today.

I'd poured everything into this project. So, initially, my company only planned to award the commission to me. However, I knew that my colleagues had families to support. So, I spoke with my boss and volunteered to give my commission to the rest of the department instead.

My colleagues were only able to share the five-million-dollar commission because of me. But unfortunately, no good deed went unpunished.

Instead of acknowledging what I'd done, they were spreading rumors about me and stabbing me in the back. Their actions made me feel incredibly disappointed.

The room fell silent as soon as I walked inside. After a moment of awkward silence, my colleagues began to look at me with concerned expressions.

"Where did you go? We were looking everywhere for you!" several of my colleagues gathered around me and exclaimed in an exaggerated manner.

Subsequently, Sam patted my shoulder.

"I need to tell you something, Zane. Just remain calm and hear me out, okay?" he said with feigned sadness.

I glanced at the smirk on his face and pretended to look puzzled.

While he observed my reaction, he cleared his throat and declared, "I think you're on the layoff list this year."

Then, everyone proceeded to blame the decision on our company.

"I can't believe it! How could you be included on the layoff list? What are the higher-ups thinking?"

"She's right! You should be the last person they fire. What a stupid decision."

"Our supervisor is an idiot!"

A couple of them voiced their complaints almost simultaneously.

They were incredibly good at putting on an act. If I hadn't already discovered the truth, I would've assumed that they were actually sticking up for me.

To my dismay, the very people who were pretending to comfort me were actually the ones who got me fired. Now, their phony behavior only disgusted me.

"It's okay, Zane."

A seemingly earnest voice rang out from behind me. Upon turning around, I discovered that the voice belonged to Michael Lynch.

Michael was practically my apprentice; he'd been shadowing me since his first day on the job. Our company had a fast-paced work environment, and initially, he struggled to keep up. So, I sacrificed almost all of my personal time in order to guide him through the business processes.

I helped Michael look for housing options when he had trouble renting a home. When he hit a rough patch in his love life, I kept him company over drinks and cheered him up. He was like a brother to me, and I'd regarded him as someone I could trust.

Even if the entire department had voted to lay me off, I'd naively assumed that Michael would never cast his vote against me. Unfortunately, I was sorely mistaken.

After everything, I found out that Michael was the first of my eleven department colleagues to cast his vote. In fact, he didn't even hesitate in doing so.

He casually patted me on my shoulder and flashed me a demeaning look.

"It's just a job," he said nonchalantly. "The watchdog at my uncle's factory was poisoned two days ago. So, he currently needs someone to help him guard the place."

He continued with a condescending smile, "What do you think? If you're interested, I'll get you that job immediately."

Picking up on what he was implying, another one of my colleagues, Ben, couldn't help but chime in.

"I can't believe you're asking him to be a watchdog," Ben teased. "Have you forgotten that he used to be your mentor? That aside…"

After a moment of silence, he burst into laughter and continued, "Remember not to skimp on his salary. Otherwise, he's going to be worse off than an actual dog."

With a proud expression on his face, Michael replied, "Of course. I'll see to it that Zane receives at least 800 dollars a month. That should be more than enough to cover his basic needs."

I scoffed inwardly. I couldn't believe how obnoxious Michael was being.

When I didn't react like Michael had thought I would, he grew slightly upset.

"You should be grateful, Zane Carter! The economy is terrible right now. Do you know how difficult it is to find a job?

"Countless fresh graduates are unemployed right now. You should be thankful that I got you a job at all!"

When I remained expressionless, he changed his tone and pretended to be thoughtful and considerate.

"Tell you what—I won't do you this favor for free. You just came up with a brand new algorithm, didn't you?

"How about you give me that algorithm in exchange for a dollar and a job? Doesn't that sound like a great deal?" he asked.

I stared at him in shock. I was furious. I'd worked on this algorithm myself for a considerable amount of time. I couldn't believe he had the nerve to ask for it so blatantly.

I had invited him to work with me from the very beginning. However, every time I approached him, he'd claim that he was busy with work or that he was feeling unwell.

Michael had never contributed anything at all. And yet, he was now trying to get involved when the algorithm was almost complete. He was just trying to take credit and benefit from my work before I quit my job.

When I didn't respond to him, he snapped irritably, "Why are you still hesitating? I'm doing this for your best interests!"

He continued, "Stop being so impudent. Don't come running to me for help when you're unemployed and living on the streets. By then, it'll be too late!"

I glanced at him emotionlessly.

"A dollar?" I spat coldly. "I was once offered a million dollars for this algorithm. If you want to buy it from me, you should at least be offering me this much."

Subsequently, I held up five fingers.

Michael scoffed and said arrogantly, "Half a million dollars? Have you lost your mind? Are you still hungover? What makes you think I want that useless algorithm of yours anyway?"

When they saw how agitated he was becoming, my other colleagues hastily said, "Just ignore him, Michael. He's such an ungrateful man. He'll probably come to his senses when he's homeless and starving."

I scoffed inwardly as I watched them make fun of me.

"Let's see who gets to have the last laugh," I thought to myself.

…

The following morning, I headed straight to the human resources department and processed my resignation. Then, I went to my table to clean up my belongings.

By the time I got back to the office, my colleagues were enthusiastically talking about how they were going to spend the commission.

"I've been eyeing this limited-edition Louis Vuitton purse for the longest time. Once I receive the commission, I'm heading to the store to buy it immediately!" one said.

"I'm going to go on a vacation with my girlfriend. She's been talking about wanting to go on a trip for the longest time. I'm finally able to make that happen."

"What about you, Mike?"

Everyone turned to look at Michael.