Chapter 3

Day three. Last day of my transition period.

The company was going berserk.

Bonus deposits had hit everyone's accounts, and the numbers were jaw-dropping, way higher than any previous year.

I swiped open my banking app, finger trembling.

Deposit: $2,000.00.

Before I could even process it, my phone rang. UCSF Medical Center, Pediatric ICU.

A heart monitor screamed in the background.

"Ms. Reeves, your daughter is coding. We're doing CPR."

The doctor's voice cut through like a blade.

"We have a potential donor match, but we need immediate authorization and a fifty thousand dollar deposit to lock in the surgical team. She won't survive another arrest."

The world went white. My knees almost gave.

"Save her. Please, God, save her. I'm transferring now."

I hung up and ran. I didn't knock. I kicked Vance's door open.

He was stuffing a stack of dollar bills into a Tiffany gift bag, handing it to Briar.

"Vance! That $200,000 commission. Give it to me now. My daughter is dying."

I was crying. My voice cracked.

Vance didn't even look up. He tied the gift bag closed with a little red ribbon.

"Sloane, stop making a scene. That money's been redistributed."

He gestured to the cheering floor outside his glass wall.

"Briar boosted performance by 30 percent. The team earned it."

My entire body started to shake. Something hot and red climbed up my spine.

"That's my daughter's surgery money. You can't just hand it out like party favors."

Vance smiled. He stood up, grabbed my collar, and dragged me out into the open floor like a dog.

"Everyone! Gather round!"

He shoved me into the middle of the bullpen. A hundred pairs of eyes locked on me.

Vance threw up his hands, performing for his audience.

"Sloane here wants her $200,000 bonus back. Problem is, I've already Venmoed it to all of you as bonuses. So if she gets it, you all cough yours up."

He scanned the room, baiting them.

"Any volunteers?"

Garrett was the first to bark. He shoved his envelope deeper into his pocket and pointed at me.

"Hell no! You think we're just giving our money back because her kid is sick? Not my problem!"

"Sloane, have some shame. You trying to raid the team to pay your own bills?"

One voice became ten, then fifty. The jeers piled on top of each other.

Briar raised her hand like a kindergartener, giggling.

"Vance, since Sloane's leaving anyway, why not split her salary budget into raises? Five hundred a month for everyone!"

People were jumping, screaming her name.

Vance waved both arms like a game show host.

"Approved! Briar's got the heart of a leader. Unlike some people who only take."

I stood in the middle of it, something jagged twisting in my chest.

Last year, my team pulled five straight all-nighters to patch a critical zero-day.

We slept on the server room floor. I begged Vance for a $500 bonus per engineer for three days straight.

He smashed a glass in my face and screamed, "Sloane! We're a startup! Stop thinking about money! Think about the mission!"

Now he was buying loyalty with my daughter's surgery fund and looked like the most generous man alive.

"Briar for the win! Briar's our real team mom!"

The faces around me shifted from contempt to something darker. Pure hatred.

Like I was the villain trying to steal food from their mouths.