I had special luck that would cause others to lose their money. If anyone tried to scam my money from me, they would suffer financial loss.

When I was in elementary school, a female classmate stole five dollars from me to buy a snack. The next day, her father suffered a fifty-thousand-dollar loss in his business deal.

When I was in high school, my homeroom teacher withheld my prize money. The next day, his wife got into a pyramid scheme, and he lost his house because of it.

After I started working, I encountered my extremely snobbish boss, Fiona Anderson.

I submitted a claim for five thousand dollars, which I had paid in advance for a company event. However, she refused to approve the claim for three months.

As for the rich intern who drove a luxury car, she would immediately approve his claims with a huge smile on her face, even though he would submit fake receipts.

I urgently needed to pay my credit card bill, so I went to talk to her.

Fiona pointed at me and snorted. “Poor men like you always try to covet the company’s money!

“How dare you ask me for money? You must be out of your mind!”

I had forked up five thousand dollars for a company event.

When I brought the receipt for my reimbursement, Fiona Anderson did not even bother to look at me.

“Five thousand dollars? The company’s recent cash flow is tight. Hold on to the receipt first.”

I stood before her desk and suppressed my anger.

“Ms. Anderson, this claim has been pushed back for three months. To appease our important client from Cloud Corporation, I forked out my own money because you said the company’s cash flow was tight and you would immediately reimburse me afterward.

“The event was a success, and the client relationship was maintained. I should be reimbursed for the claim now.”

I took a deep breath and continued, “Besides, I paid with my credit card. Tomorrow is the payment deadline. It’ll be overdue soon.”

I was one of the most senior employees in this company. Five years ago, when the company was set up in a basement, I was already working here for Fiona.

Back then, she did not have enough money to pay me, and I endured that tough period with her.

After the company moved into the central business district, she bought a luxury car and a mansion. However, she was unwilling to pay me a mere five thousand dollars.

Fiona slammed her delicate coffee cup on the table and looked impatient.

“Nick, can you look at the big picture? You’re a senior employee here, but you’re acting worse than an intern.

“Does the company lack such a small sum of money? Why are you chasing after me like a poor man? Others might think that I’m going bankrupt at the rate you’re asking for it!”

Big picture?

All I cared about was getting my money back.

Just then, someone opened the office door, and I smelled a strong cologne.

The intern, Liam Taylor, walked in with his impeccable hair and fitted suit.

He was waving a receipt as he walked toward Fiona with a grin. Then, he sat on the edge of her desk, as though they were best friends.

“Fiona, last night I brought Mr. Smith out for dinner. I’m so tired. Look at my eyebags!

“This is the dinner expense for last night. It’s twenty thousand. Sign it for me, please.”

I glanced at the receipt.

Even though it was from a restaurant, when I looked at the itemized bill, it had charges for expensive wine and a private room. There were even a few thousand dollars of gaming charges on the bill.

I thought Fiona would chastise him for wasting money like how she did with me.

However, her initially grumpy expression immediately turned into a smile.

Without any hesitation, she signed his claim. She did not show a hint of annoyance like she did when she spoke to me about the tight cash flow.

“Thank you, Liam! You’re doing a good job. I like decisive young people like you who know where to spend money!

“I already informed the finance department earlier. You can just head over to get your claim, and they’ll immediately reimburse you.”

After she signed it, she took out an envelope from the drawer and passed it to Liam.

“Here’s some healthcare allowance for you. Buy some supplements to take good care of yourself. Don’t overwork yourself.”

Liam took the envelope, and immediately, there was a notification ping of a bank transfer on his phone.

He cocked an eyebrow tauntingly at me, and I was furious.

I had worked here for five years, and he managed to get Fiona wrapped around his fingers in just five days.

The five thousand dollars that I had saved up cautiously was spent on the company. Yet, I had not been reimbursed for three months.

However, he managed to get his fake receipt of twenty thousand dollars approved instantly.

“Ms. Anderson,” I said coldly, “why did you immediately approve his fake claim but withheld my money?”

The smile on Fiona’s face immediately disappeared.

She grabbed my claim form and crumpled it before throwing it at me.

“Nick! How dare you accuse me of that?!

“Liam is helping our company to expand our network! Do you know who Mr. Smith is? He’s our future client! Twenty thousand dollars is nothing! If we can win his bid, I’ll even approve a bill for two hundred thousand dollars!

“As for you, Nick, look at you!”

She sized me up in disgust.

“You’re dressed like a poor worker with zero taste. If I get you to meet our clients, you’ll only know how to drink. You don’t even know what to say.

“Your pathetic appearance will only embarrass the company! Now, you’re talking back to me? If you waste any more of my breath, I’m going to forfeit your claim!”

Liam was suppressing a grin with his arms crossed. Then, he said sarcastically, “Fiona, don’t get too angry. After all, Nick’s old. He’s in his thirties, and he has a mortgage and a car loan to pay. It’s normal that he’s stressed.”

He extended his hand, and there was an expensive watch on his wrist. He then lightly tapped on my phone, which I had placed on the desk.

“But Nick, you don’t seem poor. This phone is the latest model, and it costs a good few thousand dollars,” Liam exclaimed exaggeratedly.

Then, he turned toward Fiona. “Fiona, he’s only earning four thousand dollars a month. After mortgage, utilities, and food, how did he have so much money left for an expensive phone? Could he…”

When Fiona heard this, her eyes immediately became sharp and wary.

“Nick, how dare you tell me you’re poor?”

She walked out from behind her desk and approached me.

“You’re earning four thousand dollars a month, so how are you able to buy an expensive phone? Poor men like you are shallow and entranced by money.

“Tell me! Did you manipulate our purchasing bill and use the company’s money to buy luxury goods?”

The accusation was massive.

In this industry, if I was accused of embezzlement, my career would be over.

“Fiona, you can’t say that without any evidence!” I was shaking from anger. “I bought this in installments! I’m paying a few hundred dollars every month, and I have to pay for twelve months! All my accounts are cleared for audit!”

“Stop faking it!” Fiona sneered with disdain.

“I’ve seen many people like you who appear to be honest on the surface but are sneaky behind the scenes.

“I didn’t approve that five-thousand-dollar bill because I wanted to audit your accounts! Before it’s cleared, don’t even think of using a single cent from the company!

“Not only am I not approving your claim, but your salary will also be withheld for this month!”

Liam grabbed Fiona’s arm and said in a sugary sweet voice, “Fiona, you’re so smart! You have to teach this dishonest person a lesson. Otherwise, the company will go bankrupt because of him.”

Fiona patted the back of Liam’s hand and dotingly said, “Liam, you’re the best. You always think about the company first.”

I felt disgusted when I looked at them.

I had wasted five years of my youth here.

Suppressing my anger, I picked up my claim form and left.

She would not be able to survive the consequences of stealing my money.

That afternoon, Fiona suddenly announced a company-wide meeting.

“We have two agendas for today.”

Fiona cleared her throat and swept her gaze across everyone.

“Firstly, I wanted to recognize one of our new colleagues, Liam.”

Liam’s professional photo appeared on the big screen.

“Even though Liam has only joined us for a short while as an intern, he’s hardworking, proactive, agile, and always looking at the big picture!

“Yesterday, he managed to get an important client on his own. He’s the face of our company and our rising star! Everyone should learn from him.”

There was sparse applause from the crowd, and it was mainly from colleagues who were closest to Liam.

Colleagues with longer tenure hung their heads expressionlessly.

Everyone clearly knew that Liam was not hardworking.

He had just been buttering Fiona up.

“Secondly…”

Fiona suddenly sounded very serious.

“I want to criticize a very problematic behavior! Some people are not performing and are only relying on their tenure here. All their efforts are spent on cheating the system and stealing the company’s money!”

After that, she pressed on her clicker.

The slide on the big screen changed to a photo of my five-thousand-dollar claim form on the screen.

Someone had crossed it out with a big red “X,” and it looked stark.

“Nick!” Fiona yelled and pointed at me as I sat in a corner.

Everyone was staring at me.

Some were sympathetic, some were gloating, while others were waiting for a good show.

“This claim isn’t detailed, and the amount is too high! How dare you ask for five thousand dollars for an event? You must have grown brazen over the years!” Fiona yelled before everyone.

“We hired you to create value for the company, not for you to suck the company dry! I will not let anyone off the hook for these fake claims and potential embezzlement!”

She paused and stared at me coldly.

Then, she announced, “Due to Nick’s misconduct, I have decided that the company will not reimburse him for the five-thousand-dollar claim!

“One more thing. I’m deducting your salary, allowance, as well as project bonus for this month. That’s a total of eight thousand dollars!

“This is your punishment and compensation for the company! Everyone should take this as a lesson and be wary of such actions!”

Everyone was shocked.

Liam was sitting in the front row, and he looked at me smugly.

He mouthed, “Old man, you won’t win against me.”

At that moment, my anger strangely disappeared.

I smirked.

“Are you sure you’re going to deduct my salary? Fiona, it’s not good to burn bridges. I’m afraid you’ll suffer from coveting my money.”

Fiona was momentarily stunned before she yelled in anger immediately after, “I started this business from scratch, and I’m not afraid of anything! I’ve seen too much to be timid! Do you think you can really curse me over this?”

Her face fell, and she slammed the table.

“Nick, you’re suspended! If you don’t want to work here, you can just leave!”

She did not have to prompt me, as I wanted to quit too. However, when I thought of what was going to happen tomorrow, I decided to stay for another day.