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Generosity Cost Me My Job

Generosity Cost Me My Job

Short Story · Emotional Realism
By:  Perfect TimingUpdated just now
Language: English
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Synopsis

Workplace

Revenge

Feel-Good Story

Bias

Independence

After I hand over my five-million-dollar commission to my departmental colleagues, they drag me to a hotel and celebrate with me for three days straight. But when I walk past the bathroom, I overhear a conversation between two of my colleagues that stops me cold. "Have the results of the vote been released yet?" What vote? Confused, I check my phone and find that I've been removed from the Project Department's group chat. "Who else could it be? Our hero, Zane Carter, received 11 votes. It was unanimous, and the motion was passed." "Serves him right. I've never liked him anyway." I freeze. I can't believe that my colleagues would betray me after what I've done for them. After taking a moment to calm down, I immediately decide to resign. The next thing I know, I receive a call from the company chairman, Wilson Smith. "Have you made up your mind? Quitting now would breach your contract. As a result, your five-million-dollar commission would be revoked. "You're also a key technical staff member. If you leave, your entire department would most likely be dismissed. Once that happens, your colleagues will end up unemployed. Are you sure about this?" I lower my gaze and let out a cold laugh. "Absolutely."

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Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I heard laughter and conversation coming from the private room well before I reached the door.

"Thank god we get to vote on who's getting laid off. I have no idea how we're going to deal with Zane otherwise," one of my colleagues said.

Another person laughed and added, "Serves him right! We all put in the same eight hours every day, so why is his commission so much higher than ours? He's already pocketed a fifth of the five-million-dollar commission."

"Right? All he does is stare at his laptop all day. What's so great about his stupid algorithm anyway?"

"I bet he's lying about the actual amount. He's not that generous. There's no way he would've agreed to share the money with us if that's all that he's been given."

All of my colleagues' comments were laced with jealousy, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. What was there to be jealous about? Was it my balding head and glossy forehead?

The project only succeeded because of the work I'd put into it. I worked tirelessly to improve the product so our company could stand out from its competitors and impress our clients.

While I was working on the project, I barely slept for almost an entire week. In order to secure more clients, I even utilized the connections I'd made over the years.

I emailed multiple senior industry figures and asked them to put in a good word for our team. Thanks to my efforts, we managed to get to where we were today.

I'd poured everything into this project. So, initially, my company only planned to award the commission to me. However, I knew that my colleagues had families to support. So, I spoke with my boss and volunteered to give my commission to the rest of the department instead.

My colleagues were only able to receive the five-million-dollar commission because of me. But unfortunately, no good deed went unpunished.

Instead of acknowledging what I'd done, they were spreading rumors about me and stabbing me in the back. Their actions made me feel incredibly disappointed.

The room fell silent as soon as I walked inside. After a moment of awkward silence, my colleagues began to look at me with concerned expressions.
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10 Chapters
Chapter 1
I heard laughter and conversation coming from the private room well before I reached the door."Thank god we get to vote on who's getting laid off. I have no idea how we're going to deal with Zane otherwise," one of my colleagues said.Another person laughed and added, "Serves him right! We all put in the same eight hours every day, so why is his commission so much higher than ours? He's already pocketed a fifth of the five-million-dollar commission.""Right? All he does is stare at his laptop all day. What's so great about his stupid algorithm anyway?""I bet he's lying about the actual amount. He's not that generous. There's no way he would've agreed to share the money with us if that's all that he's been given."All of my colleagues' comments were laced with jealousy, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. What was there to be jealous about? Was it my balding head and glossy forehead? The project only succeeded because of the work I'd put into it. I worked tireless
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Chapter 2
"Where did you go? We were looking everywhere for you!" several of my colleagues gathered around me and exclaimed in an exaggerated manner.Subsequently, Sam patted my shoulder."I need to tell you something, Zane. Just remain calm and hear me out, okay?" he said with feigned sadness.I glanced at the smirk on his face and pretended to look puzzled.While he observed my reaction, he cleared his throat and declared, "I think you're on the layoff list this year." Then, everyone proceeded to blame the decision on our company. "I can't believe it! How could you be included on the layoff list? What are the higher-ups thinking?" "She's right! You should be the last person they fire. What a stupid decision." "Our supervisor is an idiot!"A couple of them voiced their complaints almost simultaneously. They were incredibly good at putting on an act. If I hadn't already discovered the truth, I would've assumed that they were actually sticking up for me. To my dismay, the very pe
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Chapter 3
I scoffed inwardly. I couldn't believe how obnoxious Michael was being. When I didn't react like Michael had thought I would, he grew slightly upset. "You should be grateful, Zane Carter! The economy is terrible right now. Do you know how difficult it is to find a job?"Countless fresh graduates are unemployed right now. You should be thankful that I got you a job at all!"When I remained expressionless, he changed his tone and pretended to be thoughtful and considerate. "Tell you what—I won't do you this favor for free. You just came up with a brand new algorithm, didn't you? "How about you give me that algorithm in exchange for a dollar and a job? Doesn't that sound like a great deal?" he asked.I stared at him in shock. I was furious. I'd worked on this algorithm myself for a considerable amount of time. I couldn't believe he had the nerve to ask for it so blatantly.I had invited him to work with me from the very beginning. However, every time I approached him, he'd cla
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Chapter 4
"I've already gotten what I want," replied Michael. As it turned out, Michael wanted me gone so he could get a promotion and take my place. When he saw me entering the room, he raised his voice and continued, "Working for this wretched company is so exhausting. I'm so jealous of the people who get to leave this nasty job."When the rest of the group caught sight of me, they instantly realized what Michael was trying to do. "Maybe you should make an instruction manual for the rest of us, Zane. How does one get themselves laid off? It sounds like such a difficult feat…" someone else mocked.Subsequently, they all began to laugh even louder. I sighed inwardly and gently shook my head. Initially, I'd wanted to head over and give them a casual reminder. However, judging by how things were at the moment, I didn't think I needed to do so anymore.Just as I was about to walk away, someone started yelling after me. "Hey! Hey—you! I'm talking to you here. Are you deaf?"I turned ar
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Chapter 5
Unfortunately for my colleagues, things didn't go the way they'd wanted it to.All of a sudden, our supervisor, Charlie Truman, entered the room."Come with me, Zane," he said solemnly.I nodded in response. Behind me, Michael and the rest instantly burst into laughter. "I was wondering why he was still lingering around the office. I didn't know he was waiting for Mr. Truman to usher him out of the building." "I would just get out of here if I were him. Being told to leave is so embarrassing…"Little did they know, Charlie was anxiously waiting in his office while they made fun of me outside. The minute I entered his office, he walked up to me in an appeasing manner and said, "Here—please take a seat, Zane."Charlie had never been this polite and respectful toward me before. After he invited me to take a seat, he even took it upon himself to pour me a glass of water. "Mr. Smith told me everything, Zane. Surprisingly, a few of our newer clients immediately stopped contactin
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Chapter 6
Before I could walk away, Charlie hastily blocked my way before raising yet another finger."Triple! I'll triple your salary!" he yelled."That won't be necessary," I replied firmly.Charlie was determined to change my mind. Upon seeing how adamant I was, he switched up his approach and tried to guilt-trip me into staying instead. "You shouldn't behave in such a reckless manner. Even if you don't care about me, you should at least think about the rest of your colleagues. They might've wronged you, but it was nothing personal. They were just trying to protect their livelihoods."It's incredibly difficult to find a suitable job in times like these. Some of your older colleagues are already in their 50s. What do you expect them to do if they get laid off at such an old age?" he asked.I scoffed inwardly. None of them seemed concerned about my future when they voted to have me laid off. What if I had a family to support as well? Since that was the case, I had no obligation to care a
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Chapter 7
"What?" Michael exclaimed as he stared at Charlie in disbelief. "Are you serious, Mr. Truman? Surely you're joking?"The sudden turn of events shocked the rest of the department as well. "Have you made a mistake, Mr. Truman?" one of my colleagues asked. "Isn't Zane the one who's getting fired today?"Upon hearing this, Michael recomposed himself and swiftly patted his chest. "Right? Mr. Truman must've made a mistake," he added. "Only one of us is getting laid off before the year ends. Why would the company just fire me out of nowhere?"Charlie glanced at the cold sweat on Michael's forehead and replied, "I'm not joking. You're fired, Michael. In fact, you're not the only one who's getting fired."Subsequently, Charlie glanced at the group and declared solemnly, "Due to the resignation of our key technical staff member, Zane Carter, the company has decided to terminate all ongoing projects after conducting an assessment. So…"After a huge sigh, he continued, "Headquarters has d
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Chapter 8
Everyone in the office agreed with Michael and proceeded to look toward Charlie for an answer. In response to this, Charlie awkwardly looked toward me instead.Upon seeing this, Michael immediately lunged at me and pointed his finger at my face. "I knew you had something to do with this," he barked. "What kind of dirty trick did you pull? Since you're unemployed, are you trying to make us lose our jobs too?""It took me a great deal of effort to land this job, and I work extremely hard at it every single day. How could you treat me this way?" Veronica sobbed.I found Veronica's words laughable. She'd show up late to work and proceed to leave before her shift ended every single day. On top of that, she would also take naps in the office during the day. If I hadn't witnessed all of that for myself, I might've actually bought her sob story. Come to think of it, all of my colleagues from the Project Department were essentially cut from the same cloth. I handled almost 80% of our dep
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Chapter 9
Everyone agreed in unison. Then, all of a sudden, someone finally realized that something was amiss. "Speaking of money, the five-million-dollar commission should be deposited into our accounts by now. The commission and the compensation we're due to receive is quite a substantial amount of money. We should be able to use it to get by even if we're dismissed by the company.""You're right!" someone else exclaimed. "We're supposed to receive our paycheck today."In an instant, everyone's attention shifted over to the commission—even Veronica was eagerly checking her phone too.A few moments later, my colleagues began to frown. "What's going on? I already received my pay, but there's no sign of the commission anywhere," someone said.As she stared at her phone in a perplexed manner, Veronica declared, "I'll call the Finance Department and ask about it. Maybe the payment has been delayed.""Hurry up and get to it then!"Veronica made a call to the Finance Department while the
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Chapter 10
When I repeated my colleagues' sarcastic remarks back at them, they became entirely dumbfounded. They were at a complete loss for words. Then, one of them finally realized the truth. "Actually…" my colleague, Natasha, said in a small voice. "I think this is actually Michael's fault."She continued, "He badmouthed Zane during the voting process and convinced us to vote him out of the team. Now that I'm thinking about it, Zane hasn't done any of the things Michael accused him of doing. Michael was the one who made everything up.""She has a point.""You need to take responsibility for everything that happened, Michael. You must compensate us for our losses."With just a few passing comments, everyone was now blaming Michael for what happened. Michael was shocked. He'd never thought that the same people he rallied against me would wind up betraying him instead. The outcome was genuinely satisfying to witness.…Due to how skilled I was, I managed to find a new job two days aft
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