During the company dinner, everyone was allowed to order what they wanted.

But when it was my turn, Tyron, the new intern, suddenly snatched the menu out of my hands.

“That's enough. No more orders.”

I ignored him and turned to the waiter. “One vanilla bean panna cotta, please.”

Out of nowhere, Tyron slammed the menu right into my face, his eyes blazing.

“I said no more orders. What part of that didn’t you get? Who the hell do you think you are, huh?”

The edge of the menu scraped across my cheek, leaving a burning red line. My patience snapped clean in an instant.

I didn’t even think twice; I grabbed the menu and slapped it right back into his smug face. He instantly exploded, roaring like a lunatic.

“Son of a bitch! Do you even know who you’re messing with? My mother is Thelma Appleton—this company’s biggest client!

“Even the CEO shows me respect! You touch me again, and I’ll make sure your entire 500,000 bonus gets wiped out—and I’ll have every company in the industry blacklist your ass!”

I froze—completely thrown off.

Thelma Appleton? My aunt who’s been single for forty years and has never had a kid in her life?

Since when did she suddenly have a full-grown son?

——

Seeing me caught off guard, Tyron’s ego went through the roof.

“What? Cat got your tongue? A clown like you, winning contracts with your face—letting you sit at this table already lowers the air quality. And you still think you get to order?”

Winning deals with my looks?

I wake up before sunrise to write proposals, spend eight hours a day on construction sites, covered in dust and getting burned so dark my own mother has to squint to recognize me. And this idiot thinks I skate by on my face?

I slid my chair back, stood up, and locked eyes with him.

“Listen carefully. I earn everything I have by working my ass off. Everyone here knows that. You? You’re just an intern. You haven’t earned the right to talk.

“And let’s get this straight—this is a company dinner, not your party. If I’m not worthy to order, you’re even less so. No wonder this place stinks; turns out it’s just your mouth spewing nonsense.”

Around us, the entire room looked down, shoulders shaking from trying not to laugh.

They’d all had it with Tyron. One month in the company and he’d been acting like everyone was his personal staff.

Once, the new hire Lilla Gurt refused to fetch his coffee.

He dumped the entire cup over her head, burning her scalp so badly it blistered.

And he didn’t even apologize. He threatened her instead.

“Try to make me apologize, and I’ll make sure you get kicked out of this company!”

The company ended up covering her medical bills.

I wanted to step in back then, but my colleagues held me back.

I always wondered why everyone just swallowed their anger.

Turns out everyone was terrified of his “Thelma Appleton’s son” title.

Tyron’s face flushed bright red as he jabbed a finger at me.

“Boy, stop trying to act tough here! Without my mom, this company would already be bankrupt. I’m telling you right now—tonight’s dinner goes by my rules! If I say you don’t order, you don’t!

“You’re just a piece of shit! How dare you act cocky? You order one dish, just one, and I’ll make sure you’re fired tomorrow!”

The waiter looked at me nervously.

“S-Sir, should I still place your order?”

“Yes, please,” I answered without a hint of hesitation.

What the hell was this? I bring in projects worth tens of millions in this company, and I’m not allowed to order one damn dessert?

“What’s all this yelling?”

Our CEO, Rayner Fogarty, pushed open the door, his face dark as storm clouds.

“A company dinner isn’t where you come to fight. What’s going on?”

But Tyron cut him off, spinning the story as if he were the victim.

Before I could speak, Rayner’s sharp gaze landed on me.

“Conley, you’ve been here for a year. You should know by now that frugality is one of our core policies.

“Tyron was just thinking about the company’s finances. Was one dish really worth the trouble?”

“You hitting someone just made everything worse, Conley. Apologize to Tyron right now and pay over ten grand for emotional damages, and then maybe we’ll consider this matter settled.”

I couldn’t help but laugh and stare straight at my boss.

“Sir… you seriously want me to apologize and pay him?”

Rayner’s face darkened, unreadable, while Lilla yanked at my sleeve.

She hissed, “Conley, don’t be an idiot. Tyron is Thelma Appleton’s son. You can’t afford to cross him. Sir Rayner is still counting on him to close the Aptivion deal.”

I couldn’t help but snort in bitterness.

“He says his mother is Thelma Appleton and you all just believe him? Did he even show proof when he joined?”

Lilla pulled out her phone, scrolling to Tyron’s Facebook.

“It’s legit. First day, Mrs. Appleton drove him here personally.”

I stared at the figures in the photo and almost dropped my jaw.

My goddess-level flawless aunt—standing there looking sharp in front of a luxury car—and next to her… was really Tyron.

Tyron even captioned the photo.

[Thanks, Mom, for taking time from your busy schedule to drop me off for my internship. I won’t let you down.]

I immediately dialed my aunt, but all I got was the mechanical message saying her phone was powered off.

Seeing that I refused to apologize, Tyron shot me a vicious look.

“Boy, don’t regret this. I’ll make sure you pay for it.”

The next day… he really did make me pay.

At the awards ceremony, the top sales trophy that was supposed to be mine—along with the 500,000 dollar bonus—were somehow handed to Tyron.

They didn’t even have time to swap out my name on the PPT slide for the acceptance speech.

It was a straight-up daylight robbery. A surge of anger quickly burned through my chest.

I spoke up on the spot.

“What were the criteria for choosing the top salesperson? This month, my projects brought in over one billion in total sales and generated tens of millions in profit. I’m five million in profit ahead of second place. Meanwhile, Tyron hasn’t closed a single deal. So I’m asking all the executives here—on what basis does he get my award?”

The hall fell completely silent.

The CFO and sales director exchanged glances, but neither dared breathe.

Tyron looked at me with pure arrogance.

“Obviously, your projects weren’t clean. The company can’t condone your kind.

“Right now, we’re only stripping your top salesperson title. Keep playing these dirty games, wrecking the company’s rep… and next up? Termination.”

I was shaking with fury, my eyes scanning the stage.

All those executives who once praised my remarkable performance, called me promising talent… were all avoiding my gaze, heads lowered like spineless cowards.

I had no choice but to turn to the CEO.

“Sir… is that your take, too?”

Being called out publicly clearly pissed him off. He frowned, annoyed.

“Conley, the company has its considerations. Don’t let this small thing ruin the ceremony. Look at the bigger picture.”

“The bigger picture?” My eyes were flames, my voice raw.

“The bigger picture? I grind all year—no days off, midnight nights, my back broken on these projects… just for my work to be handed to someone else?

“One baseless rumor wipes out every damn thing I’ve done, and you all stand there? Doing nothing?

“Tell me—where’s fairness? Where’s justice? Do you feel nothing treating someone who’s carried this company like this?”

Rayner was completely speechless, but Tyron didn’t show the slightest shame. Dude even lifted his chin at me.

“Fairness?” He let out a mocking laugh. “Boy, don’t be naïve. In this world, fairness belongs to whoever holds the power.”

“You want justice so damn bad? Then go get yourself a rich mother to fight your battles. Oh wait—right. You don’t have one.”

Tyron didn’t even bother hiding the contempt on his face. He looked at me coldly and said, “Me? I’m Thelma Appleton’s son—the CEO of Aptivion Group. My status alone is enough to crush you for the rest of your life.”

I stared straight at him, genuinely wondering where this guy got the balls for that kind of confidence.

Hell, for a second I even started doubting my aunt—did she really sneak around and pop out some secret kid behind the family’s backs?

Then, I asked, “I heard Mrs. Appleton has a nephew she treats like her own son. Tell me, ‘top salesperson,’ have you actually met him?”

Tyron’s face froze. Then he clicked his tongue and shot me a dismissive look.

“That’s my cousin. Of course, I’ve met him. But he’s been overseas for years. He barely comes home. Even I hardly see him, so a nobody like you? Don’t even dream about it.”

I chuckled. “Is that so? If he’s not low-class, then why’d someone steal another man’s top-sales title and bonus? Don’t tell me you’re not a real Appleton.”

“Son of a—!” Tyron’s face went dark, his eyes filled with rage. Tyron’s face went dark, rage twisting his features.

“I’m telling you, Conley. Don’t push your luck. Your title was revoked because you didn’t deserve it. I earned mine with real skills!”

“With skills?” I stepped forward, staring straight at him. “You mean the skill to slack off and play games every day at work? Or the skill to take two-hour lunch breaks and clock out right at five?”

“Or maybe,” I added slowly, “the skill to stare at your computer all day and only type the word ‘Proposal’ on a PowerPoint slide?”

I wasn’t talking fast, but every word landed hard.

His mouth moved, but nothing came out. He just flicked his eyes toward our boss in desperation.

Rayner’s face twisted with disappointment—like Tyron had embarrassed him by being useless. Then he turned to me, his voice cold.

“Conley. Watch your tone. This is a company, not a street corner. You don’t get to yell as you please!

“Just because you won a few projects before doesn’t mean you get to be untouchable. Survival of the fittest—you were replaced by someone better. You need to accept that. Stop making trouble!”

Everyone turned to look at me, waiting to see how big of a fool I’d make of myself for a five-hundred-thousand bonus.

Five hundred thousand?

Five million wouldn’t even interest me.

What I wanted was fairness.

I didn’t get angry. I didn’t argue. I just let out a cold, mocking laugh.

“Fine. I accept it. The top salesperson title should go to someone ‘more capable.’”

The moment I sat back at my desk, HR blasted out two announcements.

[Our employee, Conley Myntti, has misused company funds for excessive dining, severely violating company policy. Effective immediately, he is removed from the Sales Manager position and suspended for reflection.]

[Our intern Tyron Appleton, who has ‘bravely defended company interests’ and shown ‘outstanding performance’—creating massive profits—is now hired full-time. He will take over the Sales Manager position and all ongoing projects.]

Right after that, the CEO mentioned me in the group chat.

[@Conley, due to your wastefulness and disregard for company rules, your monthly bonus is deducted. Write a 10,000-word self-criticism and post it in the group chat for everyone to learn from!]

Unbelievable.

They stripped my title, cut my bonus, turned me into a public example, threw me onto a sacrificial altar—using my humiliation to flex their power.

The group immediately fell silent. Even the whole office went dead quiet.

Everyone’s eyes drifted toward me—some sympathetic, some angry, some gloating.

The message just sat there, unmoving, like everyone was waiting for me to swallow my pride and apologize in the group chat.

Then Rayner mentioned my name again.

[@Conley. Did you not see it?】

I still didn’t respond.

He kept tagging me like a madman.

Then Lilla sent me a private message.

[Hey, don’t be stubborn. Just bend a little. Your job matters more.]