All Chapters of Holiday Overtime: My Boss Made Me Cover the Phone Bill: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

After wrapping up overtime work during the Thanksgiving holidays, I rubbed my sore neck and stretched hard.My boss, Bill Griffin, had promised a hefty overtime pay, which was supposed to hit our accounts any time now. My son was in the middle of transferring schools, so I had to seize every chance to make more money."Turn your notifications on, everyone. The bank alerts should be coming soon," I announced.The team members cheered. Some were already talking about booking a restaurant to treat themselves and celebrate seven straight days of hard work.The new intern, Trevor Nicolson, grinned at his phone. "Stan Blevins made the most calls in the last seven days. He brought in nearly all the company clients we landed!""Exactly! He deserves all the credit for our team's constant number one rank in the company.""Our car sales doubled compared to last Thanksgiving. You're insane, Stan!"Compliments from the team came one after another, all lauding my abilities.I responded with

I shook my head at the thought and smiled bitterly.Humans really are the most fickle creatures—but a man shouldn’t spend his life living under someone else’s thumb.Deep down, I vowed that Bill and Warren would surely regret today's decision.Once I'd made peace with that, I couldn't be bothered to waste another second on them. So, I turned and walked out of the conference room.Warren's mocking voice followed. "Wow, look at you being so principled. Do you still think you're some strong, young hotshot?"Face it. You're just an incapable middle-aged man now, so leave the company, and we'll see what job you can even find."I ignored his proud words behind me and returned to my desk to pack up.Another order notification popped up on the system's interface on my computer, but this time, I did nothing and continued gathering my stuff.A young woman hesitantly approached. I glanced at her badge and noticed that she was an intern, Goldie Chambers.When she saw me looking at her, sh

I scoffed. "I spent ten years calling clients day and night, one by one. They're my own connections and have nothing to do with the company."I used to share these resources because I was part of our company, but now…"I gave him a cold look and didn't finish the sentence.Bill's lips moved, but in the end, he couldn't say a word. Judging by the conflicted look on his face, I knew he must have remembered the past—how we graduated from college, and how I resolutely turned down offers from countless companies just to start a business with him.In the early days, we could barely survive. To attract clients, I stood out in the winter cold wearing a flimsy mascot costume and handed out flyers just to promote our startup company.After all these years, I could look in the mirror with a clear conscience, but Bill was deeply in my debt. He owed me more than he could ever pay back.When Hattie from Melon Wheels called to discuss work arrangements, I answered the phone and ushered Bill out

Bill transformed from an inexperienced young graduate to a high-and-mighty boss.After everything I had done, I was nothing more than a team lead of the Operations Department despite being one of the company's founders. Bill had raised my pay more than once, but promotions were never mentioned.He also had me run a sales training program and expected me to mass-produce talented salespeople like widgets on an assembly line. Trusting our years of friendship and believing that if he succeeded, I would too, I agreed without hesitation.The training program was a success, but once it ended, Bill offered no acknowledgment or reward at all. I was disappointed, but I said nothing.This latest round of overtime work was partly a test. I wanted to see if Bill would finally keep his word about the substantial overtime pay, but I'd misjudged him again.Not only did he cancel my overtime pay, but he even demanded I cover company expenses out of my own pocket.Human nature was truly the most f

With both witnesses and solid evidence laid bare, Bill had no way out this time.The judge and internet users were completely stunned. For a time, the barrage of comments froze entirely.After a long stretch of silence came an explosive backlash.Spectators in the courtroom were the first to break into an uproar and hurl curses at Bill. Some even leaped from their seats, yanked off their shoes, and slapped him across the face with the insoles.The judge struggled to maintain order.Seeing his first scheme fail, Bill immediately pivoted to his second move. "Stan, even if you didn't harass anyone, your resignation has caused the company losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. You're responsible for compensating every bit of it!"I raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "How so?"Encouraged by my response, he straightened up again. "The clients you worked with were accumulated over a decade while you were working for us. They are the company's network and resources. No