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.

"I've already gotten what I want," replied Michael.

As it turned out, Michael wanted me gone so he could get a promotion and take my place.

When he saw me entering the room, he raised his voice and continued, "Working for this wretched company is so exhausting. I'm so jealous of the people who get to leave this nasty job."

When the rest of the group caught sight of me, they instantly realized what Michael was trying to do.

"Maybe you should make an instruction manual for the rest of us, Zane. How does one get themselves laid off? It sounds like such a difficult feat…" someone else mocked.

Subsequently, they all began to laugh even louder.

I sighed inwardly and gently shook my head. Initially, I'd wanted to head over and give them a casual reminder. However, judging by how things were at the moment, I didn't think I needed to do so anymore.

Just as I was about to walk away, someone started yelling after me.

"Hey! Hey—you! I'm talking to you here. Are you deaf?"

I turned around and saw Veronica Goldberg.

Veronica, who was relatively close to Michael, walked toward me with a frown. Then, she impatiently flung a piece of paper at me and spat, "Here's the bill from last night. Do remember to pay your share. Your total is three thousand dollars."

Three thousand dollars?

I scanned the receipt and frowned. "From what I remember, the total cost of drinks, dinner, and the venue rental last night couldn't have been more than nine thousand dollars.

"Our department consists of twelve people, including me, so the bill should've been about seven hundred and fifty dollars per person. Why am I suddenly being asked to pay three thousand dollars then?"

Was the receipt even legitimate?

Upon hearing my comments, she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. With an arrogant expression, she retorted, "The bill has always been split this way. Your pay is a lot higher than ours. So, doesn't it make sense for you to pay a bigger share?"

What?

This was the first time I'd ever heard of team-building costs being split according to each employee's salary. On top of that, Veronica looked so entitled that I almost thought that I was being unreasonable.

Had I been paying a bigger share of our team-building expenses this entire time?

"You're not arguing with me over such a small amount of money, are you?" she asked with a look of disdain.

Of course I was. Did I look like a fool to her?

After eyeing me up and down, she suddenly pretended to look shocked. She dramatically put a hand over her mouth and said, "I'm so sorry! I forgot that you're out of a job. I suppose three thousand dollars is a hefty sum for someone who is unemployed…"

She intentionally dragged out her words in order to mock me.

Everyone in the office burst into laughter.

Michael, who'd been watching everything unfold from the sidelines, finally stepped forward. Pretending to be considerate, he waved Veronica off and said, "That's enough. Stop making things difficult for him."

Once he made his way toward me, he put on the same condescending expression and proceeded to stare at me with a mocking gaze.

"For old times' sake, I'll look past what happened yesterday. If you get on your knees and bark like a dog right now, I'll help you pay your share of the bill immediately. What do you say?"

Everyone in the office was staring at me. They were all waiting for me to humiliate myself.

Unfortunately for my colleagues, things didn't go the way they'd wanted it to.

All of a sudden, our supervisor, Charlie Truman, entered the room.

"Come with me, Zane," he said solemnly.

I nodded in response. Behind me, Michael and the rest instantly burst into laughter.

"I was wondering why he was still lingering around the office. I didn't know he was waiting for Mr. Truman to usher him out of the building."

"I would just get out of here if I were him. Being told to leave is so embarrassing…"

Little did they know, Charlie was anxiously waiting in his office while they made fun of me outside.

The minute I entered his office, he walked up to me in an appeasing manner and said, "Here—please take a seat, Zane."

Charlie had never been this polite and respectful toward me before. After he invited me to take a seat, he even took it upon himself to pour me a glass of water.

"Mr. Smith told me everything, Zane. Surprisingly, a few of our newer clients immediately stopped contacting us the second they heard about your resignation. More importantly, our current project is desperately in need of upgrades and improvements.

"We scoured the entire industry, but we could barely find someone suitable to replace you. Mr. Smith told me he'd fire me if I can't convince you to stay."

The Project Department's performance had been falling short for the past two years. As a result, our company's headquarters had been considering layoffs for some time now.

Thanks to my hard work, the department managed to get back on its feet. On top of that, it was even showing promising growth. If I were to resign, the entire Project Department would probably fall apart.

While nervously rubbing his hands together, Charlie said repeatedly, "The voting was the company's idea, but I never thought the team would unanimously vote against you. What a bunch of cold-blooded scoundrels!"

He furiously berated my colleagues to prevent me from pinning the blame on him, but he wasn't able to delude me. The rest of the department might've cast the votes, but he was the one who had approved the layoff decision afterward.

Charlie saw potential in our current project. So, he was trying to have me removed in order to replace me with his trusted subordinate, Michael.

To his dismay, his plans took a turn for the worse, and now the entire department was about to be laid off. On top of that, he was about to lose his job as well.

He was only trying to convince me to stay so he could keep his job. Unfortunately for him, it was too late.

"I've already finalized all the paperwork pertaining to my resignation," I declared as I handed him my separation letter.

"What? Y-You… H-How did you get everything processed so quickly?" he stammered as he repeatedly flipped through the papers.

Subsequently, he even rubbed the official company stamp with his fingers to check if it was fabricated. By the time he looked up at me again, he looked absolutely desolate.

To save his career, he flashed me a bitter expression and begged, "Zane—Mr. Carter—please. I'm begging you to reconsider this.

"If you really don't feel like staying, I could even double your salary!" he added as he hastily lifted two of his fingers.

Unfazed by his offer, I turned to leave.