Chapter 1

After being treated unfairly at the annual gala, I refused to put up with my bastard of a boss. I left early and returned to the office area that had witnessed countless days and nights of my life.

I silently began gathering my personal belongings from my desk.

“Well, look at that. You’ve already started packing? You’re pretty quick!”

A flippant yet familiar voice sounded behind me.

My body went rigid, and I didn’t turn around because I already knew who it was.

Behind me, Ryan held the giant novelty check symbolizing the $300,000 year-end bonus and slowly strolled over to my desk.

Without the slightest hesitation, he picked up the sales case notebook I had left on my desk and began flipping through it.

“Ethan, this all belongs to the company, doesn’t it? If you just take it away, could that be considered stealing company property?”

He deliberately emphasized my title, “manager,” his voice filled with mockery.

I snatched the notebook back from him and forced down my anger.

“Ryan, this is my personal notebook. It has nothing to do with you.”

“Personal notebook?”

Ryan let out a mocking laugh, and his voice echoed especially loudly through the empty office.

“If you wrote it at the company and used the company’s pens and paper, then it all belongs to the company. Victor was right. There’s something seriously wrong with your attitude!”

I clenched my fists, wishing I could smash one of them into his revolting face.

Just then, several coworkers who had attended the annual gala began returning one after another.

The moment he saw them, Ryan cleared his throat.

“Everyone, come take a look. Our former sales manager, Ethan Carter, is packing up and leaving. But before he goes, he needs to leave the company’s property behind, right? Who knows if he’ll sneak out with confidential client information?”

He raised an eyebrow and gave a meaningful look to two coworkers who usually followed him around.

“Tom, Chris, help us ‘inspect’ Ethan’s luggage. Don’t let him accidentally take anything that doesn’t belong to him.”

The two coworkers hesitated, but they still came over and reached for the items I had already packed into a cardboard box.

I quickly shielded the box. “Who dares touch it?”

“And what if we do?”

Ryan stepped forward until he was almost in my face, his expression openly provocative and contemptuous.

“Ethan, do you think you’re still a manager? Didn’t you hear what Victor said? You’re fired!”

“I’m the manager now. I’ll inspect your things however I want!”

He swung his hand violently, knocking the cardboard box from the corner of my desk onto the floor.

With a loud crash, the books, pen holder, folders, and the little potted pothos inside scattered everywhere.

Soil splattered from the shattered pot, mixing with the papers and leaving the floor in complete chaos.

As I looked at the pothos lying pitifully among the broken ceramic and dirt, I felt as if I were looking at myself.

I had given the company everything, only to end up being trampled on at someone else’s whim.

Ryan smiled smugly, raised his foot, and used the shining toe of his dress shoe to kick the dying pothos aside.

“Trash belongs in the trash can.”

At that moment, all the blood in my body rushed to my head.