Chapter 3

The moment I unlocked my phone the next morning, my screen was flooded with notification alerts.

Over forty missed calls and a mountain of unread text messages.

Most were from heads of other departments, leaving increasingly urgent texts.

“Major issue with the sales pitch. Call me back ASAP!”

“Client is demanding an in-person meeting. Give me an update now!”

“Where the hell are you?”

Even Gabriel, our CEO, had tried calling me from halfway across the world.

Clearly, no one had any idea I had been laid off.

When Gabriel finally got through on my second line, he didn't even give me a chance to speak.

"Gina! Where are you during business hours? Do you think I pay you a top-tier salary so you can idle around?

"Other departments are coming directly to me with complaints!" he barked over the phone. "The entire sales team is in absolute chaos!

"And what’s going on with Ms. James?" he continued, furious. "The deal was basically done, and now she suddenly claims the proposal is garbage and wants out?"

"You haven't dropped the ball once in ten years, why are you messing up the second my back is turned?"

"Gabriel, I've actually already…" I started.

"I don't care what your excuse is!" he cut me off. "Get your ass back to the office right now and fix this!"

Click.

He slammed the phone down.

When I tried calling back, it went straight to an automated busy tone.

---

My phone buzzed all day.

It wasn't until that evening that a friend in another department filled me in on the full disaster.

Ever since I walked out, the sales team had slacked off completely.

Besides a few legacy employees, most of the desk staff were fresh graduates Catherine brought in.

Catherine was young and she completely lacked management experience.

Without me steering the ship, a team that barely knew the core business in the first place went into a complete tailspin.

When a major client demanded a pitch on short notice, they couldn't produce a new strategy in time.

Desperate, they submitted an old draft.

The client blew a fuse on the spot, blacklisting Brown Media for good.

Apparently, Catherine, who strolled into the office at 10 AM, froze when she heard the news.

She completely dropped her sweet boss persona and lost her mind in front of everyone.

My friend sent a short clip recorded on a phone.

Catherine's screech was crystal clear on the phone.

"I gave you high benefits! I let you go home on time! Is this how you repay me?"

"Why couldn't you finish the proposal? Why did the negotiation fail? You useless idiots, are you all brain-dead?"

"Nobody goes home tonight! You're working until this is fixed, even if you have to sleep in the office!"

My friend followed up with a barrage of texts.

“Gina, you have no idea. The lower staff were completely stunned. They stood there like statues for minutes.

“And Catherine got reamed out by executive leadership for over an hour. She walked back to her office with bloodshot eyes.”

---

A crisis like this would take tremendous effort to resolve, even for me.

Building high-stakes client databases and navigating tense negotiations wasn't something you learned overnight.

Without me, they had fallen apart.

Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night for Brown Media.

At 8 PM, I deliberately posted a photo to my social media story.

A cozy, steaming pot of hotpot in my dining room.

I captioned it, “Nothing beats a hotpot and a good night’s sleep on a rainy day.”

I was no saint.

They threw me to the wolves when I left, and I wasn't going to take that lying down.

Returning the flavor felt pretty good.

A few former subordinates couldn't help themselves and commented, “Gina... I finally realize how good we had it with you.”

Minutes later, terrified that Catherine might see it, they quickly deleted their comments.

---

The next morning, my feed was plastered with a post Catherine had shared at 1:00 AM.

“Smooth seas never made a skilled sailor. What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger!”

I snorted out a laugh, closed the app, and opened my laptop to polish my resume.

Just then, my phone rang.

It was Stella.

I hesitated for a second before swiping the answer button.

Silence stretched over the line. Just as I was about to hang up, I heard quiet sobbing.

"Gina..." she choked out, her voice trembling. "Can you... can you please come to the office?"

"No," I replied without hesitation.

She gasped softly, stunned by my blunt refusal.

After all, she used to be my favorite junior associate.

"Please, I'm begging you," she sobbed. "If you don't come, I'm ruined!"

That caught my attention.

I grabbed my coat and called a ride. I wanted to see for myself just how ruined she really was.