HR Picked the Wrong Girl

[Work is work. Don't waste time on this. Your paycheck is correct. If you think there's a problem, talk to your direct supervisor.]If Esther had been in front of me, I would've drop-kicked her. Twice.This job was hell. Clients, bosses, deadlines—fine. But now HR thought they ran the show?Then again, she was a nepotism hire. Meanwhile, I came from a long line of busted knuckles and graveyard shifts. "Suck it up" was practically a family motto.Still ticked off, I hunted down my supervisor—Giselle. She blinked like I was speaking alien, then told me to "ask Esther."So I did. Again.Same copy-paste nonsense:[Your paycheck is correct. If you think there's a problem, talk to your direct supervisor.]***Back to Giselle. She hit me with the classic disappointed mom face."Celina, clearly you've offended someone you shouldn't have. Just let it go."Sure. Just shrug off four hundred bucks like it's spare change."Giselle, seriously? That's four hundred bucks, not four bucks!"

I shot her a look. "You really think I'd stick around a dump like this? Didn't they dock you a few hundred too? Wanna fight back together?""You go first. I'll wait and see."Cool. No point arguing when we clearly lived on different planets.Next day, Esther made her next move.Giselle came to snatch my work laptop.I asked what gave her the right."Idiot. It's company property. I can take it whenever I want."Couldn't tell if I should laugh at her ignorance or her baby-level naïveté.Sandra was right—nepotism hires like Esther should be tucked in a corner somewhere, far from where they can screw up everyone else's job.I told Giselle to fill out a handover form, signature included, clearly stating the company took the laptop. No way I was taking the fall if it went missing.She didn't like it, but she signed.Once it was done, I messaged Esther:[Since you confiscated my work laptop, I assume the company's no longer providing tools for me to do my job. Just checking—what e

Mr. Kane didn't fight the double severance, but he pushed back on the vacation days, comp time, and commission.I told the officer I had screenshots and a recorded call with Giselle backing it all up.After the hearing, the officer suggested mediation again.Esther jumped in first."We could've charged her for training, but we didn't. She got her paycheck and now she's whining about overtime? Please. She didn't even finish her work."I fired back. "Even capitalists would gag at your BS. Workers have rights too. You sound straight-up disgusting.""Say whatever. You're not getting a cent. You got fired. End of story. Just another broke nobody thinking she's owed something."The officer's face dropped. I cracked up.Mr. Kane grabbed her arm, trying to shut her up.I leaned in. "This place is gonna crash and burn with nepotism trash like you running it."She yanked free, yelling, "Still better than you! I don't even work and I make more than you ever did, slaving away!"She said

"One more condition. I want the money today. And Esther's apologizing in the company group chat for lying."Esther lost it—cussing up a storm—until the judge threatened to toss her out. That shut her up fast.Mr. Kane nodded. Esther didn't.People started whispering, pointing.With no way out, Mr. Kane stepped out to call Mr. Lambert.A few minutes later, Esther's phone lit up. That smug face? Gone in a flash.***It was Mr. Lambert. I could hear him yelling through the phone—either she apologized or she was done.Didn't matter how much she hated it. The threat landed. Right in front of me, she typed out an apology in the company group chat.I got paid on the spot. Full amount.Still fuming, Esther stormed out, calling Mr. Kane useless. He trailed behind her, head down, saying nothing.And yeah—she got fired.Because I made the call.Told Mr. Lambert about her power trips and floated the idea—maybe I should take her spot in HR.I knew labor law inside out. Knew how the Bo