All Chapters of HR Picked the Wrong Girl: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

I'd just walked into the office when Lynn—my coworker—hit me with it: no bonus this year.My stomach sank.They called it a "bonus," but it was really 30 percent of our commission they held hostage all year. Now? Gone. Straight-up robbery.I was gonna use that money to take Mom on a trip. Yeah, forget that.Then, right as I was freaking out, last month's pay stub landed.I checked it five times—had to be a glitch.Base pay said $700. My contract says $1,100.We weren't allowed to talk numbers, so I DMed HR to ask if it was a mistake.No reply.Waited thirty minutes. Sent another.Crickets.Just when I was about to log off, HR dropped a message in the company group:[December salaries have been issued. If you have any questions, message me privately!]I was on it:[Ms. Lawrence, I think there's an issue with my paycheck. Could you check the message I sent you privately? Thank you.]A second later, she finally hit back in DM:[Ms. Crawford, do you have a problem with our

Chapter 2

[Work is work. Don't waste time on this. Your paycheck is correct. If you think there's a problem, talk to your direct supervisor.]If Esther had been in front of me, I would've drop-kicked her. Twice.This job was hell. Clients, bosses, deadlines—fine. But now HR thought they ran the show?Then again, she was a nepotism hire. Meanwhile, I came from a long line of busted knuckles and graveyard shifts. "Suck it up" was practically a family motto.Still ticked off, I hunted down my supervisor—Giselle. She blinked like I was speaking alien, then told me to "ask Esther."So I did. Again.Same copy-paste nonsense:[Your paycheck is correct. If you think there's a problem, talk to your direct supervisor.]***Back to Giselle. She hit me with the classic disappointed mom face."Celina, clearly you've offended someone you shouldn't have. Just let it go."Sure. Just shrug off four hundred bucks like it's spare change."Giselle, seriously? That's four hundred bucks, not four bucks!"

Chapter 3

Boom. Just like that, I was the office punching bag. Everyone was mad, and apparently, it was all my fault.Lynn pulled me aside. "Can't you just play along for once? Why keep poking Esther?"Someone even ran to Giselle like, "If Celina's the issue, dock her. Worst case, kick her out. Don't drag us down with her."Brutal. Like getting iced in July.I used to jump on all the tasks no one wanted. Always first to help out.Now? No one remembered a thing.Guess that's how it goes. No one gets sentimental in the office.And it wasn't even just me—we all filed our out-of-office forms the same way. I was just the unlucky one who got nuked.How was that on me?The longer I sat with it, the angrier I got.I wasn't going down quietly. They wanted to shove me out? Cool. I'd make them bleed for it.I wanted Esther and her cousin, Mr. Lambert—the genius who owned this circus—to grind their teeth every time they heard my name.Didn't take long to find my opening.I grabbed my contract a

Chapter 4

I shot her a look. "You really think I'd stick around a dump like this? Didn't they dock you a few hundred too? Wanna fight back together?""You go first. I'll wait and see."Cool. No point arguing when we clearly lived on different planets.Next day, Esther made her next move.Giselle came to snatch my work laptop.I asked what gave her the right."Idiot. It's company property. I can take it whenever I want."Couldn't tell if I should laugh at her ignorance or her baby-level naïveté.Sandra was right—nepotism hires like Esther should be tucked in a corner somewhere, far from where they can screw up everyone else's job.I told Giselle to fill out a handover form, signature included, clearly stating the company took the laptop. No way I was taking the fall if it went missing.She didn't like it, but she signed.Once it was done, I messaged Esther:[Since you confiscated my work laptop, I assume the company's no longer providing tools for me to do my job. Just checking—what e

Chapter 5

I opened the email. Termination reasons?[1. Refusal reassignment and noncompliance with work arrangements.][2. Missed performance targets.]Cute.Giselle was already smirking. "Take my advice—walk away with some dignity. HR's connected. You still want a career?"Yeah, I'll pass.I retorted. "This company thinks it runs the world? All this chaos over chump change? What, you went to college just to end up spineless?"She shook her head. "You're young. Hotheaded. You'll regret this."I looked her dead in the eye. "Better that than old and gutless. I'm already living the regrets you're too scared to name."She shut up after that. Just watched me pack with that tight, sour face.Everyone else steered clear, like I was contagious.What they didn't know? I was grinning inside.Thanks, Esther. Double severance, here we come.That night, I went home and stacked my receipts—over two hundred pages printed, sorted, ready to go.Next morning, I dropped it all at the Labor Board and

Chapter 6

Mr. Kane didn't fight the double severance, but he pushed back on the vacation days, comp time, and commission.I told the officer I had screenshots and a recorded call with Giselle backing it all up.After the hearing, the officer suggested mediation again.Esther jumped in first."We could've charged her for training, but we didn't. She got her paycheck and now she's whining about overtime? Please. She didn't even finish her work."I fired back. "Even capitalists would gag at your BS. Workers have rights too. You sound straight-up disgusting.""Say whatever. You're not getting a cent. You got fired. End of story. Just another broke nobody thinking she's owed something."The officer's face dropped. I cracked up.Mr. Kane grabbed her arm, trying to shut her up.I leaned in. "This place is gonna crash and burn with nepotism trash like you running it."She yanked free, yelling, "Still better than you! I don't even work and I make more than you ever did, slaving away!"She said

Chapter 7

I didn't. And no one at work was risking their neck to send me receipts.As much as it killed me, I had to let it go—for now.Esther clearly wasn't planning to follow the Labor Board's ruling. If she appealed, I'd be stuck road-tripping to their city just to keep up.So I moved first. Filed my lawsuit the next morning.She did not see that coming. Now it was on record, officially.She called right away, all sugar. "Celina, I messed up, okay? My cousin already tore into me. Think you could drop the case?""Wire the full payout, and I'll drop it. Oh—and you're apologizing to me. Publicly. In the office.""You drop it first, then I'll agree to whatever you want."Cute. Like I'd fall for that. If I blinked first, she'd flip it and leave me scrambling.So I ghosted her.Over the next few days, she spammed my phone like crazy, begging me to drop the lawsuit. I didn't answer once.Lynn said Mr. Lambert tore into her in front of everyone—screamed, kicked her twice. She ran out of hi

Chapter 8

"One more condition. I want the money today. And Esther's apologizing in the company group chat for lying."Esther lost it—cussing up a storm—until the judge threatened to toss her out. That shut her up fast.Mr. Kane nodded. Esther didn't.People started whispering, pointing.With no way out, Mr. Kane stepped out to call Mr. Lambert.A few minutes later, Esther's phone lit up. That smug face? Gone in a flash.***It was Mr. Lambert. I could hear him yelling through the phone—either she apologized or she was done.Didn't matter how much she hated it. The threat landed. Right in front of me, she typed out an apology in the company group chat.I got paid on the spot. Full amount.Still fuming, Esther stormed out, calling Mr. Kane useless. He trailed behind her, head down, saying nothing.And yeah—she got fired.Because I made the call.Told Mr. Lambert about her power trips and floated the idea—maybe I should take her spot in HR.I knew labor law inside out. Knew how the Bo

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