Chapter 2

"Exactly! No one would want to make cold calls all day if it weren't for work! Getting hung up on is child's play; some short-tempered people curse us out instead!"

When I noticed the anger on my teammates' faces, the pent-up anger in my chest finally broke loose. I immediately abandoned the dinner plans and stormed straight into the management's office.

It was the first day back after the Thanksgiving holidays, and the company was holding its routine monthly meeting.

I aggressively shoved open the conference room door and thrust my phone in the face of the manager, Warren Rose.

"You'd better explain that announcement in the WhatsApp group chat."

Moments ago, everyone in the conference room had been listening to his pumped-up motivational speech. My sudden interruption instantly shattered the harmonious, laidback atmosphere.

Once Warren knew why I was there, he awkwardly rubbed his nose before slipping back into his usual, arrogant demeanor.

"Watch your tone. Why do I owe you any explanation? The group chat's announcement is clearly written. Are you trying to go against the company?

"You people camped out here for seven days straight over the Thanksgiving holidays and made calls nonstop. The company's already being generous by only charging you for phone expenses. If you have any more complaints, maybe you should cover the water and electricity bills, too!"

I laughed in anger at his words and didn't bother to hold back.

"Before the holiday, Bill promised us overtime pay. Now, not only is there no overtime pay, but you want us to pay out of the pocket instead. Is this how you treat your employees?

"One of our team members nearly collapsed after work. Just earlier—"

I didn't get to finish because Warren cut me off in a matter-of-fact tone. "The company cares about results, not your process. I don't care what you went through these past few days; all that matters to me is how many new orders showed up in the system.

"Given how well you completed the task, the company's going easy on you by deducting your overtime pay. If you're even complaining about covering the phone bills, how can the company trust you with future tasks?"

He took a sip of water and looked utterly certain, like he had us cornered.

Furious, I immediately called Bill, but the phone kept ringing without an answer.

Warren sneered. "Save it. These announcements came straight from Bill himself."

I stiffened, feeling as if all the blood in my veins had frozen.

It struck me that years of friendship couldn't outweigh profits either. Bill had decided I was no longer useful and was ready to toss me aside.

Seeing how shaken I looked, Warren grew even more brazen. "It doesn't matter that you and Bill were college classmates. That was years ago, and now, he's the owner of a listed company, while you're still here making cold calls every day.

"If I remember right, you're planning to transfer your son to Spark Academy, aren't you? The tuition is 50,000 dollars per year. Can you even afford that?

"You're middle-aged with no real skills, and all you can do is make calls. Your family wouldn't survive without this company, so what makes you think you're in the position to have an attitude?"

Furious, I was breathing so hard my chest heaved. As I stared at Warren's smug, petty expression, I wanted nothing more than to smash my fist into his face.

Seeing how mad I was and knowing I couldn't touch him, he laughed out loud.

After seven days straight of nonstop work, my teammates and I looked worn out and hollow. Even our clothes carried a sour, stale smell.

Others in the room dared not speak up after witnessing the way Warren humiliated us. They just laughed along and whispered among themselves.

I felt like I was walking on glass, with every stare from others a fresh humiliation. My phone kept ringing with failed attempts until Bill finally decided to block my number.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down as soon as possible before blocking all of Bill's contact information in return. Then, I logged into the company's system and submitted my resignation without a second thought.

When it was immediately approved, I let out a cold laugh.

"At least try to hide your greed, Bill. You aren't even bothering to keep up the pretense anymore," I muttered under my breath.