Chapter 3

I glanced over at Tammy, then asked icily, "You make good money with your influencer side hustle, right? So, how about you cover part of this for me? By the way, you still owe me for the gas from those three months I drove you to and from work when you were pregnant last year."

Tammy's face went pale in an instant.

Her Instagram account was built on a fake rich-woman persona using my car and bags. Clearly, she hadn't expected me to know about this.

She hemmed and hawed for a long moment before finally blurting, "It's not like I forced you to do it!"

Then, she turned tail and fled.

I then looked at Pete and said, "Just yesterday, I was still working overtime cleaning up the mess from that project you handed in before the holidays. You say I was just pretending to work late? Fine, then hand over that project bonus right now."

Pete's face flushed a deep red, and he fell silent.

Nicki, seeing how things were going and knowing she was in the wrong, muttered something about going to get water and bolted in a flash.

I sat and opened the encrypted files on my computer. Inside were all the records of expenses I had fronted for the company over the past five years. Every single item was clearly marked, and I compiled all the receipts into a spreadsheet.

My colleagues kept sneaking glances my way. But after I'd just publicly shut down Tammy and Pete, they only dared huddle together and mutter under their breath.

"Look at her, all serious like that. Does she really plan to go head-to-head with Wayne?"

"Please. What's she going to do? Whip out a bunch of evidence that Wayne owes her money?"

"She's just all talk. In the end, she'll fall in line and pay up like a good girl."

Wayne, hearing the commotion, poked his head out of his office. He took one look and scoffed.

"I don't care what stunt you pull—you're not getting out of paying a single dime. If you know what's good for you, you'll wire me the money now. Don't make the whole office wait for their afternoon tea."

"I'll settle the accounts, alright. But you don't get to decide who owes what or how it's calculated," I replied coldly.

Once I finished saving all the files onto a flash drive, I stood and left without saying another word.

Wayne shouted after me angrily, "Now you're throwing a tantrum like some kind of princess? Tammy, mark her down for leaving early and dock four thousand dollars from her paycheck this month!"

My monthly salary was only 3,500 dollars. In five years, I hadn't gotten a single raise. Even Nicki made more than I did.

In the past, I'd told myself that it was because the company wasn't doing well. But now, it was clear that Wayne simply thought I was only worth that much.

Wayne was convinced I couldn't afford to lose this job, so he expected me to crawl back and apologize. However, I turned a deaf ear and walked straight out the company doors.

After I sent the documents to my lawyer, Jerome Slater, I immediately dialed another number.

"Hello, is this the property manager, Chester Dyer? I'm Meredith Burch. At 9:00 am tomorrow, I want the water and power shut off for Springen Corporation on the 18th floor. And don't turn them back on until I say so."

Springen's biggest client was due to arrive tomorrow morning.

If I had to suffer, I was going to make sure they all suffered with me.

The next morning, Wayne was already waiting at my workstation. He slapped the bill onto my desk with a loud smack.

"Meredith, don't forget that today is the final deadline. You must wire the money before the end of the workday."

I lowered my head, feigning submission.

"Got it. I'll pull the money together and wire it to you today for sure."

Thoroughly smug, Wayne raised his voice as if he was afraid the others wouldn't know he had me under his thumb.

"If you'd been this sensible from the start, we could've avoided all this drama. A little debt is exactly what you young people need to work harder."

With that, he turned and walked away, satisfied.

I texted Chester again, instructing him to cut off the power and water on time.

I set my phone down and got up to get some water from the break room, only to unexpectedly overhear Wayne gloating on the phone in his office.

"With her measly salary and now all this debt, she'll be completely at my mercy from now on. As soon as I get the chance, I'll swoop in and snatch all her big clients. A worthless employee like her lucks into a couple of wins, and suddenly she thinks she's irreplaceable?"

Wayne's laughter was grating.

I swallowed my anger and looked at the clock.

At 8:57 am, Wayne walked out of his office.

"I'm going downstairs to meet Mr. Kurt Wilkins. Get the coffee ready."

At 8:59 am, he stepped into the elevator.

I counted down silently in my mind.

Three, two, one!

At 9:00 am sharp, the entire floor of the company went pitch black. The computer screen went dark, and the internet cut out.

The elevator to the 18th floor was one I had installed separately, and it too was connected to the main power switch. The moment the switch was thrown, the elevator carrying Wayne stopped dead between the 17th and 18th floors.

My colleagues were immediately in an uproar.

"Crap! I haven't saved my work yet."

"Why did the power suddenly go out?"

A second later, Mr. Wilkins and his entourage stepped out of another elevator.