Chapter 4

Walter was right. In the eyes of the team, I was just a hothead who trashed everyone's livelihood out of spite.

The thought sent a fresh wave of rage crashing through me. I swept the file rack off the desk, sending papers flying everywhere like confetti.

"Responsible?" I pointed toward the administrative office, and my voice rose sharply as I roared, "How the hell am I supposed to be responsible?

"They pointed in our faces, called us low-level trash, and said we weren't even worthy of using the company's paper! Was I supposed to get on my knees and beg for her charity?"

The office went dead silent. Everyone looked at me in shock, paralyzed by my outburst.

I stood there, chest heaving. I scanned their pale faces as I spat the words through gritted teeth, "We're not submitting the bid! If you still want to work with me, stay. If you think I'm reckless and screwed this up, you can walk out right now. No hard feelings!"

With that, I kicked a chair out of my way and stormed to my desk to shove my belongings into a cardboard box.

The office was dead quiet, and no one moved.

A few seconds later, Jason walked over. His eyes were red-rimmed as he silently picked up a box to start packing.

Walter ripped the project timeline off the wall, crumpled it, and tossed it into his box. Then, he grabbed the half-dead plant on his desk and shoved it in, too.

As I watched them, the anger and resentment boiling in my chest slowly began to settle.

I packed the last of my belongings and picked up the box before taking one last look at the place where I'd given three years of my life. The awards on the wall and photos of us working until dawn now looked like a bad joke.

"Let's go," I said. My voice was completely calm now. "I know a co-working space in the south city that stays open all night."

I led the way out of the project department and stepped over the mess with my footsteps echoing down the empty hallway, leaving the humiliation behind.

From here on out, I was carving my own path.

…

The night air hit my face as I stepped out of the office building, carrying the cardboard box.

Jason caught up to me and asked, "Elliot, are we just gonna give up that 200-million-dollar project?"

"Of course not! But we're going to win it standing on our own two feet!" I said, sliding my box into the trunk of a cab.

Saying it out loud lifted the weight that had been pressing on my chest all night.

Walter looked back at the lit-up office building and sighed. "So, what's our plan?"

"We start our own thing." I opened the car door.

In the car, I took out my cracked phone and sent Harvey a voice note. "Mr. Cross, I've left the company and taken the entire team with me.

"I have the Gyrfalcon Projects with me. If you're still interested, I'll be at the bidding meeting tomorrow morning with the proposal myself."

Jason sucked in a breath. "That's bold!"

I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes. "We're betting on the fact that he knows quality when he sees it."

Three seconds later, the phone buzzed with a reply from Harvey. "See you at 9:00 am."

"Holy shit!" Jason slapped his thigh.

Walter finally cracked a smile. "Hardcore."

As I got out of the car, I noticed Lydia posting "paper conservation notices" in the work group chat. I let out a cold laugh and tagged everyone.

"I, Elliot Ward, have officially resigned. All core technology and intellectual property for the Gyrfalcon Project belong to me and have no legal ties to the former company. Also, enjoy your paper."

With that, I resolutely left every single work group chat.

After pushing open the door to the co-working space, I turned to my team and announced, "From now on, we play by our own rules."