All Chapters of The Layoff That Made Me Legendary: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

At that moment, I was sitting in Dustin Kline's office, listening to his toxic motivational talk."Brooke, you're still young. So, how about handing over your current project to the new hire, Sandy Richmond, and let her achieve some results first?"It sounded like a question, but his tone was firm and left no room for discussion.I was utterly confused. If the goal was to help Sandy secure her position by having her take on a new project, why did he have to drag me into it?I might not have much education, but he had better not try to fool me."Mr. Kline, according to the contract, today is my last day as an intern. How will my salary be handled?"Dustin saw my clear yet puzzled expression, and a look of "just as I expected" appeared on his face."You young people shouldn't always focus on money. Your internship salary will remain as before."I was still bewildered and didn't quite catch on.Seizing the opportunity, Dustin continued, "Brooke, look—you're still young and not as

Chapter 2

"Brooke, did Mr. Kline mention why he wanted you to—"I cut off my teammate's question. "Since you all already know, you'll have no problem climbing the ladder from now on. Not only will you make money easily, but your futures will be limitless too."At my sarcastic remark, my colleagues couldn't hold back and started firing back at me."Pfft, sour grapes much?""Ms. Richmond is a graduate of a top-tier overseas university. You really think you're in the same class as her? Get real. It's like comparing a dumpster to a diamond.""She's way prettier than you, and her academic background is better too.""You're just jealous."With one remark after another, the whole exchange took on the feel of haggling at a flea market.Everyone knew perfectly well that Sandy had only landed the manager position because she was Dustin's girlfriend.In truth, she was just a recent graduate, and all that praise for her excellent education and good looks was mere lip service.When Dustin claimed I

Chapter 3

In the workplace, experiences like being targeted by a supervisor, unpaid internships, or even having to pay to work, and uncompensated overtime were all too common. In the end, it often came down to nothing but mental resilience.Over the past year, I worked tirelessly from dawn to dusk.Dad felt for me, so he promised to transfer the final nine million dollars to the company regardless of how the project turned out—all because he had my back.When Dustin caught wind of this through the grapevine, he couldn't wait to claim the project's success as his own just days before my contract renewal.Unfortunately, not only were there still unresolved bugs in the software, but Dad also had no intention of paying them the remaining funds.What Dustin didn't know was that his threats meant nothing to me, as I could easily file a labor arbitration claim to recover my rightful wages.The day after the incident, I decided to slack off and see what Dustin and his darling girlfriend could come

Chapter 4

Dustin hadn't expected me to completely step back and not care at all.He and Sandy exchanged uneasy glances, clearly at a loss.The client's representatives looked at each other before one spoke up."In that case, let's have Ms. Richmond go over the project progress."Sandy hesitated and stumbled over her words, too afraid to admit she didn't yet have a full grasp of the project.As she passed by me, I couldn't resist giving her a cheeky, insincere cheer.Sandy forced her way through the presentation, stumbling and fumbling from start to finish.Then came the Q&A session."Ms. Richmond, we'd like to understand more about the bugs you mentioned earlier—specifically, which ones are currently unresolved?""Uh, it has to do with incomplete scenario restoration in some areas," Sandy stammered."A friendly reminder, Ms. Richmond—we'd like to know about all of them."Sandy stood stiffly in place, silently pleading with me to step in and save the situation. Sitting nearby, Dustin a

Chapter 5

"Hello? Mr. Kline? Mr. Kline, are you there? Hello?" I ended the call with a sly smile and switched it to "Do Not Disturb" mode.I decided to treat myself and took my parents out for a shopping spree.During the workweek, to ensure I could work with a peace of mind, I would wake up each morning with one thought only—get to work. I couldn't even count how many late nights I pulled.The moment my alarm went off, I would wash my face, brush my teeth, throw on some clothes, and head straight out the door. There was never any time to dress up properly.Seeing how worn out I had become, my mother, Melissa Hart, whisked me off to a beauty salon. Dad, for his part, was perfectly content to just tag along and pay the bill.Looking at my well-groomed reflection in the mirror, I truly was the epitome of fair skin, delicate features, and long legs.The feeling of having shifted the pressure onto someone else left me refreshed and clear-headed.The company was still in its startup phase, and

Chapter 6

Someone was scheming behind the scenes and told Dustin that my contract was about to expire.I picked up the employment contract and took a look.What a brutal deal. The terms were downright exploitative."1. The company may adjust the employee's specific working hours as needed."2. The company reserves the right to review the employee's salary periodically or as necessary and may adjust it based on the company's operational status, the employee's job responsibilities or work performance, market salary trends, and other factors."3. Based on the employee's actual capabilities and the company's operational needs, the company has the right to adjust the employee's job position and work location."4. If the employee terminates this contract early and causes losses to the company, the employee shall compensate the company for corresponding economic damages."It was a whole list of clauses that were legal but utterly reasonable.There wasn't even annual leave. It looked like they w

Chapter 7

In that case, I decided to forget about being the bigger person. It was time to live a little shamelessly, stop overthinking, and channel my rage outward. After all, why should I bottle it up and suffer in silence when I could make it everyone else's problem?Not only would I not settle the final payment, but I was also determined to demand the return of the upfront project development initiation funds and my salary.At 2:00 pm, I met up with my best friend, Roxanne Ewing, for coffee and casually brought up the arbitration matter.After hearing about my experience, Roxanne not only didn't laugh at me but also felt indignant on my behalf.She lovingly patted my head and said that we wouldn't even need the lawyers from Dad's company for arbitration, because she was fully capable of settling it by herself.It was apparent that Candice had aligned herself with Sandy. No doubt the company must have won her over with the usual perks—an early promotion, a raise, things like that.Just a

Chapter 8

"Oh? I'll have to give this some serious thought then." Ken turned to me and asked, "Brooke, is there any truth to what Mr. Kline is saying?""Of course not," I replied. "I've always done my job diligently, and I'm known for being a team player. Mr. Larsen, you can't just treat people like this. I worked my butt off for that company, and I didn't even make a fuss when Mr. Kline refused to pay me my final wages when I left."Before I could finish, Dustin hastily refuted, "Bullshit. Don't think just because a country bumpkin like you has cozied up to Mr. Larsen, you can do whatever you please. A single word from Mr. Larsen, and you'll be in for it!"Seeing Ken's expression, he seemed to think he had his silent approval. Thus, he added, "You should spend more time on your appearance. Maybe then someone might actually be interested in you."Sandy jumped right in to back him up. "Brooke, no offense, but you should just quit now and save yourself the embarrassment of being thrown out. Yo

Chapter 9

"Now, everyone, please direct your attention to the software in operation."However, the screen on stage displayed nothing but lines of code.The software had failed to launch.No matter how Dustin tried to operate the system, the software simply wouldn't run.A murmur rose from the reporters below the stage."Didn't they promise a foolproof software?""Exactly.""How did this happen?"Dustin began sweating on stage and hastily signaled for Sandy to go find Johnny.After Sandy stepped out briefly, the project on stage flickered to life. But instead of launching the software, it began broadcasting a live feed from backstage.Sandy was arguing with Johnny. "Didn't you promise that with your skills, nothing could go wrong? Why won't the software run?""Sandy, you haven't paid what we agreed on. Did you really think I'd work for free? Everything goes smoothly once the payment is made.""Who said we weren't going to pay you? Get the software running right now! You'll be well com

Chapter 10

"Don't worry, Brooke. I mean no harm. I just want to ask for another chance. Do you think that might be possible?"My silence made him think I would soften. But I wasn't some naive little girl who was easily deceived.The proverb was true—one couldn't play with fire without getting burned.Luck, after all, was part of one's strength. And unfortunately for him, his had run out when he crossed someone like me, who always repaid in kind.Watching him advocate so fervently for himself, I lazily raised my eyes and gave him a once-over."And why exactly should I trust you? Is it your age? Your knack for dangling empty promises in front of employees? Or perhaps your expertise in workplace bullying?"That single glance I gave him wasn't really hurtful. It was just brutally humiliating.Watching him cower meekly, no longer dare to act tough, and still having to shamelessly plead with me felt indescribably satisfying."I-I just want another chance. I didn't mean anything else by it. I'll

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