Chapter 1 The New Rules

The entire company was pushing hard to get the year off to a strong start on the first day back after the holidays.

I was the only one leaning against the window, staring blankly outside.

Just then, the sharp click of high heels echoed down the hallway.

"Is that him?"

"Yes, Ms. Parker. This is Ethan Hayes, the employee I told you about, the same one who's been receiving special treatment."

I recognized the other woman. She was Madeline Blake, the newly promoted deputy director.

I turned around to find a woman in her early 30s standing in front of me.

Madeline stood behind her, carrying herself with the same affected poise.

Madeline lifted her chin slightly. "Ethan, this is Ms. Grace Parker, our new operations director."

Grace's eyes landed on the computer sitting on the windowsill behind me. "Is that yours?"

I said nothing.

Madeline immediately stepped forward. "Ms. Parker, that's his personal computer. He doesn't use the one the company provides—"

Before she could finish, Grace had already reached out and picked up the laptop. "You might be using your own computer, but that doesn't mean you can sit around daydreaming during work hours!"

Then, she raised her arm high and let go.

The laptop slammed onto the floor, the sharp crack of the screen shattering rang through the office.

The entire floor fell silent.

Grace stepped over the shattered screen and walked up to me. "Ethan, your performance was good last year, right? Still, that was last year. It's a new year now, so there are new rules."

Madeline chimed in beside her, "Ms. Parker, he did well last year and started acting like he was above the rules. He's been skipping all the company activities. And now he's slacking off on the most important day of the year. He needs to be severely punished."

Grace pulled out her phone, tapped the screen a couple of times, and held it up in front of me.

It was a notice from the company's internal system.

It was also posted three days ago by one Grace Parker. The post even had her position, Operations Director, written in bold.

"See that? Look at the third rule. Anyone caught slacking off during work hours will be fined 500 dollars. Anyone who openly violates workplace rules and has a seriously negative impact will face a heavier penalty, starting at 5,000 dollars."

She lowered her phone and continued, "Your case qualifies as a serious offense. You're being fined 20,000 dollars. Pay it to Accounting by the end of today. If you refuse, you're fired."

I looked down at the computer lying on the floor. Then, I picked up my phone and called Claire Morgan.

She answered after two rings, sounding surprised. "Ethan? Happy New Year—"

I cut her off, saying, "Ms. Morgan, the new operations director just smashed my computer and ordered me to pay a 20,000-dollar fine or get lost. I wanted to clarify something: are you aware of this?"

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the line.

Then, Claire's voice shot up as she blurted, "What? Grace Parker? Wait right there. I'll call her right now."

I hung up.

Grace and Madeline were still standing there.

Grace had a smirk on her face. "You called Ms. Morgan? Fine. I'll wait."

She turned and headed toward the office. She'd just taken two steps before she turned around and said, "Madeline, you'll stay here with Ethan while we wait."