Chapter 1

Ten minutes later, Maya Lowe from HR called me into a small conference room. A Project Commission Settlement Agreement was waiting on the table.

Vivian Dunn from Accounting sat across from me without even looking up.

"Sign it," she said.

I glanced over the agreement.

Settlement Amount: 88,000 dollars

Payment Method: Automatic payment via the AI Payroll Assistant

Employee Acknowledgment: I confirm that I have received the full amount and have no further claims against the company.

I pushed the agreement back across the table. "I haven't received a dime."

Vivian finally looked up. "Zoe, how long are you going to keep this up? Mr. Zeller already posted the payment confirmation in the group chat."

I pulled up my banking app and held out my phone, showing a balance of 18 dollars and 20 cents.

"This is all I have," I said.

Maya frowned. "How do we know you don't have another account? Showing us one balance doesn't prove anything."

I let out a humorless laugh. "Then which account did the company send the money to? I know how many bank accounts I have. Show me the transaction record."

Vivian's expression hardened. "If the system says the payment went through, then it went through. You're a project manager. Why are you trying to pick a fight with Accounting?"

I held her gaze. "Because the AI marking the payment as complete doesn't mean the bank actually processed the transfer."

Maya tapped her pen against the table, her tone turning cold.

"Zoe, the company is paying you an 88,000-dollar commission. That alone should tell you how much we value you. But if you refuse to sign, this becomes something else entirely."

"Like what?" I asked.

"You could be accused of trying to extort additional compensation and putting the project delivery at risk."

She pushed the agreement toward me again. "The Evercrest project is at a critical stage. Don't ruin your career over this!"

I looked down at the agreement.

Evercrest Group was the company's biggest client that year.

From the initial requirements meeting through three rounds of proposals to the final proposal, I had worked late into the night every step of the way.

Mr. Lloyd, the executive in charge of the project, refused to work with anyone but me. For an entire month, I hadn't made it to bed before 2:00 am because of that project.

One night, I stayed so late revising the proposal that I ended up working from the convenience store downstairs from Evercrest. All I had beside me was a cup of broth that had nearly gone cold.

Now the project was finalized, but my commission was nowhere to be found. And somehow, I was the one accused of extortion.

I refused to sign.

Vivian scoffed, picked up her phone, and sent a message to the project group chat.

"Zoe has refused to sign the Commission Settlement Agreement. Keep a record of everything work-related from this point forward."

The chat fell silent for a few seconds.

Then Janet Sloan chimed in. "Seriously? You already got 88,000 dollars, and you're still not happy?"

She was Jim Zeller's niece and had joined the company just last month. She couldn't even explain what Evercrest Group did.

Another coworker quickly followed. "We still have a meeting with Evercrest tomorrow to finalize everything. Don't let your personal feelings drag the whole team down."

I stared at the messages, my fingers stiffening.

Just then, a new message appeared in the Evercrest project group chat. It was from Mr. Lloyd.

"Zoe, are you there? I need you at tomorrow's final proposal review at 10:00 am."