Chapter 1

...

"Casper, got a form here that needs your signature."

That familiar voice of the intern rang in my ears, and I snapped my eyes open.

I froze for a second, then realized that I had been reborn. The sight of Oscar Kaufman's phony grin made rage boil up inside me.

My face fell, and I refused flatly, "I'm not signing it."

In my previous life, while I was buried under a mountain of work, he had shoved this form at me just like this. I had scribbled my name without looking closely.

Little did I know it was a voluntary pay-cut request! My salary had plummeted from $10,000 to $2,000 as a result.

When I blew up and went after him to settle the score, my boss and colleagues all rallied around him.

"The economy is shaky these days, and the company is taking a hit. Oscar was just looking out for the bottom line. Do you have to be such a tightwad about it?"

With my paycheck slashed so drastically, I couldn't swing the cost of my ongoing migraine treatment medication.

During one bad episode, the pain knocked me out cold at my desk. Taking his chance, Oscar filmed me unconscious, uploaded the video to the company's website, and created a detailed 100-page slideshow accusing me of sleeping on the job and shoving all my responsibilities onto him.

In no time flat, I was branded a workplace bully. My boss iced me out, my colleagues gossiped about me, and I faced relentless online harassment.

Even worse, some radical "anti-bullying" activists hunted me down to my home, armed with two gallons of gasoline, and burned me and my parents alive.

God pitied me, giving me a second chance to change my fate. This time, I would not let the tragedy repeat itself.

I'd tear off Oscar's mask and reveal his true colors to everyone.

Oscar was stunned, clutching the form behind his back. He looked all wounded. "I'm just doing my job. Why are you so mean, picking on a new guy?"

I snatched the application right out of his grip. "What the hell is this? Why don't you apply for it yourself? Did I ever say I wanted a pay cut? How many times have I told you not to assume things? Are you really that dumb, or are you just pretending?"

The grown man pouted like a kid. "I'm doing it for the company. The economy is in the tank. We need to cut costs. Your salary's so high anyway. Why can't you make a sacrifice for the team?"

"Well said!" Our boss's voice cut in from behind us.