Chapter 2

After he said that, he patted my shoulder. "James, you're a man. Just take it like a man, okay?"

I stood there frozen, unable to process what had just happened.

So that was it.

He had been targeting me all along.

He singled me out for the pay cut and took a jab at me for bossing people around.

Unfortunately, he had forgotten one detail. My five‑year contract expired in five days.

Besides, I had been the one doing everyone else’s dirty work all these years.

Fine, then. He could not blame me for having no loyalty left.

I opened the message I had received the night before from a competing company and replied: [I’ll be leaving in five days. Will be there on time.]

…

They were thrilled to hear from me. Apparently, they did not expect me to say yes.

To be safe, I asked about the salary and benefits.

The reply came almost immediately.

"Don’t worry. As long as you deliver, you may name your price."

I stared at the message and let out a long breath.

I spent the entire afternoon working as usual. The only difference was that now, with bathroom breaks practically forbidden, my efficiency had taken a serious hit.

There was nothing I could do. Those were the company’s new rules.

Around five, someone came to ask me to help negotiate a deal with a client.

They said the client was tough, and they needed me to handle it.

Previously, I would have agreed without hesitation.

I used to believe the company was a team. If the company succeeded, I would succeed too.

So whenever anyone needed my help, I never said no, as long as it was for the company, even if it meant running myself into the ground.

However, after they singled me out with that new rule, I realized that I was nothing more than an employee.

Who would care for me even if I worked myself to the ground?

I was not about to make that mistake again.

I put on an innocent expression and answered, "Sorry. I’d love to help, but I can’t."

"Why not?"

"Didn’t you hear what happened this morning? I get fined just for using the bathroom. If I leave the office with you to negotiate a deal, what if he decides I’m slacking off?

"My paycheck is already small enough. One more deduction and I’ll be in the negatives.

"I’m single, with no family to support, but I still have to feed myself first."

When he heard what I said, he went silent. After a moment, he walked away without another word.

At seven sharp, I shut down my computer and left.

Without constantly cleaning up everyone else’s messes, my workload had dropped dramatically.

I could not believe how much easier life felt.

So this was what it felt like to stop worrying about everything that was not your problem.

I walked out of the office with a spring in my step.

A cool breeze brushed against my face. It felt incredible.

For once, I did not bother spending my own money on a taxi. I grabbed a shared bike and rode to the market.

After five years of working myself to the bone, I realized this was one of the few times I had ever taken my time going home.

What had I been putting myself through all those years?

When I got home, I cooked myself a proper dinner and took a long, relaxing hot shower.

For once, my food was not something prepackaged or something I had left sitting around until it went cold.

For years, I had been drinking and entertaining clients to land deals. My eating schedule was a mess, and eventually I developed chronic stomach problems.

I was going to start taking care of myself.

After dinner, I was about to order groceries for the next day when my phone exploded with notifications.

There were video calls, work‑group messages, and texts from coworkers.

I opened one of the group chats at random. It was filled with people begging me to call back.

[Urgent! Mr. Lawrence is furious! Call back ASAP!]

Just then, Mr. Lawrence called me.

I pondered for a moment before answering.

The second I picked up the call, he started yelling at me.

"James!!! Where the hell did you go?! You had unfinished work and still left without permission? That’s a 1,000‑dollar deduction!"

I replied calmly,

"Mr. Lawrence, let’s get one thing straight. I finished my work. I sent the entire checklist to everyone. Everyone can see it.

"And since I respect you as my boss, I even stayed a few extra minutes, but don’t worry about paying me for those extra minutes.

"We’re both men. I know everyone’s got it tough."