Chapter 2

I didn't sleep a wink that night.

I sat alone in my office and made three calls back-to-back.

…

The next day, at 8:00 am sharp, I called a company-wide meeting. All 50 workers stood in neat rows on the factory floor.

Howard stood in the front row, looking smug and triumphant.

He leaned over and whispered to Larry beside him, "Just watch. He's about to come begging. The moment he caves, everybody holds the line and demands ten times our pay."

I took the microphone, stepped in front of the group, and smiled at them.

"I did some hard thinking last night about where I went wrong," I said into the mic. "Management has taken everyone's criticism to heart and decided to make major changes. Starting today, everyone gets Memorial Day weekend off. Nobody works overtime."

The whole floor went dead silent. Everyone's expression froze.

Larry's eyes went wide, and he took an anxious step forward. "Mr. Hale, what about the order? If we don't deliver on time, we'll be looking at millions in penalties!"

I tapped the microphone, my voice carrying clearly through the speakers. "I outsourced it. That 400,000 dollars in overtime pay? I'm paying it to Liam Walker instead, the owner of the plant in the neighboring industrial park.

"We signed the contract last night, and his crew is starting work on the order in shifts today. The Verdanian client has already signed off on the arrangement."

The factory floor erupted into chaos. Panic swept through all 50 workers.

Larry's face turned pale, and his hands shook uncontrollably. "You outsourced it? So I just lost nearly 15,000 dollars in overtime pay?"

Howard shoved his way forward. "He's lying! He's bluffing! Mr. Walker's equipment can't even handle high-precision work like this!"

He jabbed a finger toward my face and snapped, "Mr. Hale, your acting is pathetic. You're just trying to scare us into settling for five times the base rate. I'm telling you right now, not a chance in hell!"

His finger was inches from my nose, a smug look plastered across his young face.

"Don't fall for it, everyone! That dump Mr. Walker runs next door only has a few outdated machines. There's no way he can handle the Verdanian client's high-precision order."

Howard spun around and held up both hands to the panicked workers. "Mr. Hale just doesn't want to cough up that 400,000 dollars in overtime pay. He's putting on a show to mess with our heads. If we cave today, we'll be busting our backs in this place for free for the rest of our lives!"

Some color returned to Larry's face. He let out a long breath and slapped his thigh hard. "Howard's right! I've worked in this industrial park for years. Everyone knows Mr. Walker's tech is trash. Mr. Hale, this little trick of yours is way too obvious."

The rest of them piled on. Whatever panic they'd felt a minute ago was gone, replaced by even more brazen defiance.

"You nearly scared us to death!"

"Unless you pay us ten times the base rate today, we're not backing down!"

"Stop trying to scare us with that breach-of-contract penalty. That's your problem, not ours!"

I swept a cold look over the 50 workers standing in front of me. The greed and stupidity on their faces made me sick. I didn't bother explaining anymore.

Howard took my silence as proof he'd read me right. Smugly, he pulled out his phone and started a livestream.

"Mr. Hale, since you insist on doing this the hard way, I'm going live right now," he sneered. "I'm going to show the whole internet exactly how a heartless boss like you exploits his workers. By the end of today, I'll make sure no one in the local manufacturing industry will have anything to do with you."