I was the company's marketing director, but my salary had always been only sixteen hundred dollars.

One day, Timmy Sunderland from finance accidentally sent the payroll spreadsheet to me by mistake. On it, I saw the lines: Technical Director–10,000 dollars. Marketing Assistant–5,600 dollars. Receptionist–2,000 dollars.

It also clearly stated that my salary was ten thousand, but most of it had been deducted and given to Timmy!

Only then did I realize that after a decade of service at this company, they still treated me worse than everyone else.

I rushed into the office belonging to my boss, Jessica White. "I want an explanation."

She said to me, "This is a business decision, and I'm not at liberty to explain anything to you. Haven't you always been the one who understood me the best?"

Because I had feelings for Jessica, I gave in.

A few days later, when the holiday arrived, I did not rest. I went out to negotiate an investment of five million for the company.

I treated the client to dinner and drank with him until I suffered internal bleeding.

When I took the receipt of 2,000 dollars to Timmy for reimbursement, he transferred only 100 dollars to me and even said I was just trying to take advantage of the company.

Jessica also scolded me to my face. "Only incapable people need to spend that much on clients. Timmy's right, you're just trying to take advantage of the company."

This time, I decided not to endure it any longer.

In anger, I quit and joined another company. The first project that I was put in charge of was worth over ten million, and Jessica's company was the investment target…

A new message popped up on my screen. I opened it and saw a payroll list. "This month's salaries: Technical Director–10,000. Marketing Assistant–5,600. Receptionist–2,000..."

Timmy Sunderland in Finance instantly deleted the text, but I had already seen my salary.

It was also ten thousand dollars a month, but...

Most of it had been deducted and given to Timmy!

Anger surged through me as my whole body started to shake.

Timmy sent another message right away. "Sent by mistake, please ignore!"

How was I supposed to ignore that?

I rushed straight to my boss, Jessica White's office, and pushed open the door. "Ms. White, I want an explanation about my pay."

"Don't you know you are supposed to knock before you come in? Don't treat the company as your own apartment. Just because you're a senior employee here, it doesn't mean you can do whatever you want! I can still fire you at any time!"

I stepped back and knocked on the door a few times.

"Ms. White, can I come in now? Why am I only getting sixteen hundred a month? The other directors all get ten thousand dollars. Even the receptionist gets two thousand!" My voice was trembling as I spoke.

"In this company, your pay is confidential. Who permitted you to discuss it? Who do you think you are?" Jessica asked sternly.

"And why is my salary being deducted and given to Timmy?" I asked again.

Jessica's expression immediately changed as she slammed her hand on her desk and stood up. "I'm warning you, don't make up any stories and kick up a storm here. The economy is bad right now. I kept you only because you're a senior employee. You should be grateful."

"Ms. White, I'm asking for a raise now! I honestly can't survive with this amount!" I said, my voice hoarse.

"Claude, this is a business decision, and I'm not at liberty to explain anything to you. Haven't you always been the one who understood me the best? This company is not a shelter. If you can't survive with that amount, you should find a way to solve it yourself," Jessica said as her tone finally softened, but my heart had already gone ice-cold.

I had worked for Jessica for a decade and was among the first batch of employees who helped build up the company. I had watched it grow from a nameless company into a major player in the industry. I had deep feelings for the company, but more importantly, I had fallen for Jessica from the first day I joined.

Everyone said I was a fool, a total simp for Jessica, and I was happy to be one.

But now, it seemed that I was not even fit to be alive in this company!

I walked out of her office as I held my anger in and ran into Timmy at the doorway. He arrogantly walked right past me into the office without even looking at me, saying, "Ms. White, I accidentally sent the payroll to Mr. Arkwright."

I stayed outside and did not leave right away as I heard Timmy say, "The senior employees in this company are so shameless. They talk about a raise every time they open their mouths. What does he know? Does he really think his pay is decided by how long he has worked here? He must think a decade in the company is something special.

"I've noticed his attitude at work has been really negative lately. Maybe he has already got a problem with the company or with you, Ms. White."

My stomach had been hurting a lot lately because of all the business dinners and drinking I had to do. Sometimes it hurt so much that all I could do was bend over and lie on my desk. Even so, I was still the one bringing in the most business for the company!

"Ms. White, what if he wants to leave?" Timmy asked.

"Does he think the company will stop running without him? He has been here all these years and has nothing to show for it! Keeping him here employed for so long is already more than he deserves! He should go outside and look around! See if he can find any other bosses that treat him as well as I have! If he wants to go, I won't stop him."

I could feel the flame in my heart burn as I clenched my fists and walked back to my desk.

Later at night, Jessica took Timmy and me to meet Mr. Newton from Victoria Holdings to discuss a deal. Mr. Newton was generous with money, but he was famous for being hard to please.

"Ms. White, your company doesn't really meet my investment standards. Still, I do enjoy having some fun. If you can give me a little entertainment, I... Can think about it," Mr. Newton said.

"What kind of entertainment do you have in mind?" Jessica asked as she smiled at him and buttered him up.

"Tell the person next to you to get down on his knees and bark like a dog. I'll give you one million for each bark," Mr. Newton said as he gave Timmy and me a malicious look.

Jessica did not even hesitate as she looked straight at me. "Claude, what are you waiting for?"

"I can't do that," I said.

"If she tells you to do something, you do it. Or do you want to leave this company already?" Timmy cut in.

I ignored Timmy.

Meanwhile, Jessica grew anxious. "Claude, this investment from Mr. Newton is crucial for our company. If the deal falls through, the company might go under!"

"Ms. White, you still have Timmy," I said with a calm tone.

"He has just joined the company and knows nothing! You're the senior employee here! You don't want to see the company collapse, do you? Do you know how hard it is for a woman like me to build and maintain this company? You've always put me first, right?" Looking at the shimmer of tears welling in Jessica's eyes, my heart softened.

Then, I went down on my knees and barked a few times.

"Haha! Not bad! What a loyal dog you have there! But that's still not exciting enough," Mr. Newton let out a big laugh. "I know... I've seen plenty of women striptease, but I've never seen a man do it. Let him dance for us! I'll invest ten million dollars after that!"

"You hear that, Claude? Start dancing!" Jessica's voice became even more urgent.

"I don't know how to," I said.

"You can't do that, and you don't know how to do this, then what can you do? This is business! If you refuse, you're not doing your job!" Timmy said, but I did not even bother to look at him.

"A lot of people rely on this company to make a living. If the company goes bankrupt, what happens to them? You know how much effort I've put into the company, right? I'll never let it go bankrupt! Just do it for me, okay?" Jessica moved closer, her voice breaking and turning into a sob.

I could not bear to see her like that any longer and gave in again.

When the music started, I stripped down to my underwear and forced my body to move stiffly.

"Good! Very good!" Mr. Newton laughed conceitedly.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Timmy holding up his phone and filming me. Meanwhile, Jessica clapped along and cheered.

-

The next day, the company held its quarterly meeting.

"Next, it's my turn to give my work report. Please look at the screen," Timmy said as he glanced at me with a faint smirk on his face.

All of a sudden, the conference room suddenly went into a riot.

I looked up and saw my striptease video playing on the big screen.

"Sorry, wrong file. This is my actual presentation!" Timmy said as he feigned panic. However, no one was paying attention to Timmy anymore. They all kept their heads down and whispered among themselves.

"I didn't expect him to be so proper on the outside but to be shameless enough to do something like this in private!"

"I bet someone is keeping him as a sugar baby, or he's working as a gigolo. Who knew he had this in him?"

"I thought Claude had always been a simp for Ms. White? He has stayed in this company for years just for her!"

My anger surged, and I almost couldn't hold my fury inside.

Jessica suddenly shot to her feet, furious. "Why did you do that? Don't you know how much this affects everyone? Why did you do something so disgusting?!"

I froze.

Was she pointing at me?

I was her target?!

I was shaking in front of all my colleagues in the conference room as I stammered, "Ms. White... Last night... I was..."

"Enough! This company won't tolerate such horrendous behavior! Don't bring your filthy private life into the company! I'm warning you, if I ever catch you again, you're out!"

Jessica leaned in, jabbing a finger into my forehead. I was still in shock and barely felt the pain.

"I always try to be fair with rewards and punishments. I never play favorites just because someone has been with the company for years! Claude's actions are unethical and severely affect the company. I'm docking three months of his salary," Jessica said as she let out a cold snort.

I felt like I had been jolted as my face went pale, but her next words chilled me even more. It's a good thing that Timmy reported this, so I'm promoting him to finance manager from today. His monthly salary is raised by 1,000."

"Thank you, Ms. White. I'll work even harder for the company." Timmy grinned in satisfaction.

"See that? This is what a good employee should be like. I hope all of you will put the company first and never do anything that ruins our reputation! Ability matters, but character matters too," Jessica finished as she shot me a glare.

Everyone looked at one another, waiting to see how I would react.

I just walked out of the conference room in silence.

A few days later, it was the holiday. However, I didn't get to rest. Instead, I took Mr. Paine from Whitewind Group out to dinner.

He was thinking about investing five million in our company. Mr. Paine cared a lot about sharing drinks at the table. So, after I forced down eight bottles of vodka, I finally secured the investment.

I threw up until bile nearly came up with blood in my vomit.

I took the receipt of two thousand dollars to Timmy for reimbursement, but he only transferred me one hundred dollars.

"Did you send me the wrong amount?"

"Fifty per person. So, that's one hundred for two people."

"But I claimed two thousand dollars," I said as I gritted my teeth.

Timmy got up to his feet and pointed at me as he started yelling at me. "How much does takeaway cost? A hundred is more than enough! Don't think for a second that I don't know what you're trying to do! Now that Ms. White has docked your pay, you're pulling every trick in the book to squeeze money out of the company!"

"Do you realize that's a five-million-dollar investment? You think I can serve that client takeaway?" I let out a cold laugh.

"Only incapable people need to spend that much on clients. Timmy's right, you're just trying to take advantage of the company," Jessica said as she suddenly appeared behind me, staring at me with icy eyes.

She continued to tear me apart as she yelled, "How ungrateful can you get?! The company has supported you for so many years, and all you ever do is look for ways to take advantage of the company! You just don't want this place to do well, right?! You can't wait for it to go bankrupt!"

"Ms. White, if I didn't care about the company, I wouldn't have drunk myself to the point that I have internal bleeding for that five million dollars."

"You really think you're some hot stuff, don't you? Do you think this company can't operate without you? Grandsun Group just agreed to meet with us, and we're talking about a fifty-million-dollar investment. That five million you got is nothing."