Chapter 2

Trent clearly didn't expect me to stand my ground.

In his mind, I was still that quiet pushover who kept his head down, took all the abuse, and swallowed every insult without a peep.

He blinked, caught off guard, before humiliation morphed into pure rage.

"Fine! You asked for it, Chase!"

He spun around and began shouting at the top of his lungs to the people walking through the lobby.

"Hey! Everyone look over here!"

"This is your so-called senior engineer!"

"He stole proprietary components from his last employer, sabotaged our production line, and ran away like a coward!"

"How could a reputable company hire a dishonest thief like him?!"

His two goons joined in right on cue.

"That’s right! He stole high-precision parts from our warehouse!"

"He wiped the machine code and left hundreds of blue-collar workers without paychecks!"

A security guard walked over, his brow furrowed.

"Sir, you need to lower your voice and leave the premises immediately."

Trent shoved the guard’s arm aside, pointing an aggressive finger directly at my face.

"Don't touch me! I'm doing public service by exposing this fraud!"

I watched the ridiculous circus unfold without batting an eyelash.

Was this Richard’s grand strategy?

When playing nice failed, try muscle; when muscle failed, sling mud.

Too bad they had no idea where they were standing.

This was the regional headquarters of the Schmidt Industrial Group.

Our corporate security protocol was top-tier.

Before Trent could yell out his third accusation, the chief of security strode out from the command room, flanked by four burly, uniformed guards.

"Subdue them and call the police," the chief commanded coldly.

Within seconds, the guards tackled Trent and his two cronies, pinning them firmly against the cold marble floor.

Trent’s cheek was squished against the tile, but his mouth kept running.

"Get off me! Assault! I’m suing all of you!"

"Chase, you coward! You're going to rot in hell!"

I walked over, crouching down in front of him.

"Trent, do you have any idea how much a defamation lawsuit costs?"

Trent’s thrashing instantly stuttered.

"Every square inch of this lobby is covered by high-definition security cameras with omnidirectional audio. Every single lie you just spewed was recorded in 4K."

"Grand larceny? Sabotaging industrial property?"

"My attorneys are going to have a field day running through your bank accounts."

All the color drained from Trent’s face.

He was just a petty shift supervisor whose entire courage relied on bullying meek technicians. He had never faced real corporate legal firepower in his life.

"Chase... I-I was just heated..."

"Mr. Leach put me up to this! I swear!"

"He told me if I dragged you back, he’d give me a promotion and a raise!"

I stood up, brushing a speck of imaginary lint from my trousers.

"Save that confession for the officers."

The police arrived within minutes and escorted the handcuffed trio out the revolving doors.

Peace returned to the lobby.

The security director walked up and asked with genuine concern, "Mr. Vance, do you need our corporate legal team to step in?"

I shook my head. "No need. Just a couple of pests."

Back at my desk, I snapped a crisp photo of that old five-hundred-dollar deduction receipt and posted it straight to my public social feed.

Caption:

"Some bosses have a vision worth exactly five hundred bucks."

I put my phone on silent and dove back into my designs.

Sure enough, early the next morning, an official legal notice landed in my inbox.

Sender: Richard Leach's manufacturing firm.

The claim was laughably absurd:

Suing me for malicious property damage and industrial sabotage, demanding five million dollars in damages.

Looking at the ridiculous number on my screen, I burst into laughter.

Five million?

The sheer audacity.

It meant the production line was completely fried.

Richard was backed into a corner, foaming at the mouth, trying to shake me down before his ship sank.

I picked up my office phone and dialed our in-house legal counsel.

"Hey, Warren. I've got a hilarious document on my desk. Care to take a look?"