Chapter 3

Once all hope died out, a person could carry themselves in a strangely calm manner. At that point, I no longer had any illusions about this company.

During the day, I worked like an emotionless coding machine, handling whatever tedious little tasks Hank threw my way. At night, I stopped working overtime. I went home on time and immersed myself in labor law, corporate law, and various technical forums.

I studied every word of the company's employee handbook, approval procedures, and data management policies until I knew them inside out. I studied them the same way as I'd once studied the underlying architecture of the AI project.

Only by knowing myself and my enemy could I win every coming battle.

After being promoted to vice president, Hank was eager to establish his authority in his new position. So, he turned his attention to me once again.

Late Friday afternoon, just before the end of the workday, he summoned me to his office.

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city was bathed in the fading light of dusk. His new office was three times larger than his previous one. He leaned back in his expensive leather chair with his fingers interlaced in front of him, looking every bit like a man who had everything under control.

He said, "Mickey, put your current work on hold for now. I have an urgent assignment for you. Since the launch of the SkyDome system, several major clients have reported some lag during peak hours. Come in this weekend and optimize the system's performance."

There he went again. It was that same presumptuous tone and the same old assumption that I had to obey every order he gave me.

I sneered inwardly but kept my expression neutral. "Sure, Mr. Zucker, no problem."

My compliance pleased him. He waved me away as casually as if he were shooing a fly.

"Good. Get to it. This is important. I want to see the results first thing Monday morning. Don't disappoint me again."

I nodded and turned to leave.

But when I returned to my desk, I didn't immediately start looking into system optimization. Instead, I opened the company's internal office automation system and created a new overtime approval request.

I'd barely stepped out of the company building when my phone rang.

It was Hank.

He sounded absolutely pissed. I could almost picture him spitting as he shouted into the phone.

"Mickey! What the hell is this? Why did you send me an overtime approval request? And why the hell are you asking for double pay? Are you trying to challenge me?"

I held the phone a little farther from my ear and answered calmly, "I'm just following company policy, Mr. Zucker. Section 57 of the employee handbook clearly states that all non-routine work assignments, especially those involving overtime, must go through the online approval process and be documented to ensure compliance.

"This also protects you, Mr. Zucker. If anything goes wrong, we'll have a proper record to refer to. Isn't that right?"

There was a brief silence on the other end before he burst into an even louder tirade. "Cut the crap! You think I don't know what you're up to? You're still hung up on that lousy overtime pay, aren't you? How pathetic!

"Let me make this clear. You're working this weekend whether you like it or not! If I don't have a report on my desk first thing Monday morning, you can pack your things and get out!"

With that, he slammed the phone down.

As I stared at the darkened screen, a cold smile spread across my lips. Just as I'd expected, he hadn't taken me seriously.

Hank still thought he could push me around whenever he pleased. He thought threatening to fire me would be enough to keep me in line.

Too bad I wasn't the same person I'd been a month ago.

That weekend, I didn't touch my company computer once. I went to the movies, ran six miles at the gym, and even took the time to make myself look more presentable before meeting with a headhunter.

On Monday morning, I walked into the office feeling refreshed and full of energy. However, the atmosphere in there was downright unsettling.