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Chapter 5
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Fired over Three Apples Chapter 8
When I didn't say anything, Rick thought he had a shot and quickly laid out the offer he'd prepared. "I came here today to ask you to come back. Things have been crazy at the studio lately, and I really can't handle it all on my own."As long as you bring your current projects and clients back to the company, I'll promote you to director. I'll raise your monthly base salary by two thousand dollars."As for everything that happened before, we'll wipe the slate clean. How about it?"Hearing his promises, made as if he were doing me some great favor, I couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing on the spot.A two-thousand-dollar raise to his base salary, in exchange for the millions in project profits I had in my hands?Even with his back against the wall, Rick still couldn't shake the scheming that was carved into his bones.I stood up and looked him straight in the eye, then tore his mask off without mercy. "Rick, stop the act. You really think I'd still believe your crap?"Fro
Fired over Three Apples Chapter 7
A month later, Rick's studio hit rock bottom.With so many longtime clients gone, the company's revenue fell off a cliff.Books that had once reliably cleared several hundred thousand dollars a month now glared back in deep red.When rent came due at the end of the month, Rick had to scrape together the hundred-thousand-plus to cover it.To cut costs, he started docking his employees' pay even more aggressively.Even printer paper in the office was rationed to a set number of sheets per day.As for toilet paper in the restrooms, he stopped stocking it altogether.The two interns, Terry and Buck, were the first ones to crack.They'd watched firsthand as the boss used a few apples to drive me out. They'd also seen the cold, mean-spirited man Rick really was.Now they were getting yelled at for no reason every day and taking the blame for an endless pile of problems.After talking it over, the two of them slapped their resignation letters on Rick's desk.They didn't even ask fo
Fired over Three Apples Chapter 6
I packed the few professional books that belonged to me into the box, along with my own mechanical keyboard and the battered camera bag that had been with me for ten years.I picked up the box and headed straight for the studio's front door.I didn't feel the slightest attachment or regret.I pushed open the heavy glass door.The early autumn breeze hit me in the face.I took a deep breath.I was finally leaving this stifling, cramped place, so full of scheming.All I felt was a sense of satisfaction and relief like nothing I'd ever known.During my first week after leaving the studio, I didn't give myself a single day off. The reality of starting my own business weighed on me even more heavily than I'd imagined.I took out every bit of savings I'd built up over the past few years.In a creative park way out on the edge of the city, I rented an unfinished 1,000-square-foot loft.There was no fancy decor, and no high-end coffee machine.They hadn't even gotten around to smoo
Fired over Three Apples Chapter 5
On the other end of the line, after a brief silence, Mr. Kilcher suddenly let out a hearty laugh. "Come on, Josh, what kind of talk is that? I handed over a million-dollar project because of your skills in the first place. If you're going out on your own, of course I'm coming with you."Honestly, I wouldn't trust that rinky-dink studio of theirs with someone else behind the camera. Send me your new company's account details. I'll have my accountant wire the advance this afternoon."Mr. Kilcher's words landed like a sledgehammer to Rick's face.I calmly said into the phone, "Thank you for your trust, Mr. Kilcher."Then I hung up.The dial tone echoed through the office.Rick glared at me, his eyes bloodshot. He was gulping for air, as if he were suffocating."Josh! How dare you poach the company's clients!" He jabbed a finger at my nose, practically spraying spit in my face. "This is a serious breach of professional ethics!"You stole the company's clients! You want me to call
Fired over Three Apples Chapter 4
Over the past ten years, I'd slept on floors to save Rick money and lived on boxed mac and cheese for two months straight.To help him land difficult clients, I'd drunk so much hard liquor that my stomach started bleeding and I ended up in the ER.I'd made this company tens of millions of dollars in profit.Yet, in his eyes, I didn't even deserve three apples.He wasn't upholding some stupid rule. He was simply savoring the thrill of lording it over me and keeping me down.His incredibly petty nature couldn't stand anyone getting even the slightest advantage at his expense.I let go.The apple fell to the floor and rolled to Rick's feet."Keep your apple. I'm not eating it."I forced myself to stand up straight and looked at him coldly.Rick stared at the apple on the floor and sucked in a sharp breath, as if it physically pained him. "Fine. Fine, Josh. You do something wrong, and you still have the nerve to give me attitude? Just you wait!"He spun around in a fury and stor
Fired over Three Apples Chapter 3
On the third day, I was supervising an outdoor shoot on location in the suburbs that afternoon when the weather turned against us and a sudden downpour hit.To protect the studio's expensive camera equipment, I took off my jacket and wrapped it tightly around our two main cameras and the full set of lenses.Not a single drop got into the gear, but I was drenched to the bone.The cold October rain chilled me straight through. By the time I got back to the studio, I'd started running a low fever.My soaked clothes clung to my body, and my old stomach problem flared up with a vengeance. It felt like I'd swallowed a handful of broken glass, and every breath brought another wave of twisting pain.I dug out the stomach medicine I kept in my drawer.But when I took a cup to the break room, I found the water cooler had long since run dry.To save money, Rick had ordered the bottled water delivery canceled two months earlier.He claimed boiled tap water was healthier, but really, he jus
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