When I Stopped Carrying HerAt the company holiday party raffle, I'd barely stepped on stage when my superior, Victor Grant, shoved a crumpled slip into my hand. "Special prize for our top sales guy. Go on, open it. Let's show everyone."
All eyes were on me as I unfolded it. Scrawled across the paper:
[VIP janitor status unlocked—every toilet in the company, three days.]
The room lost it—laughter everywhere. Victor crossed his arms, grinning.
"Fair, right? Everyone knows you climbed the ranks hooking up with rich cougars. Gotta avoid hard feelings for the others, yeah? While the rest of us take a break, you can get busy. You're not gonna back out, are you?"
The crowd cracked up.
My girlfriend—and CEO—Rachel Sullivan stood off to the side, watching. Didn't say a word.
Everyone waited for me to explode. Instead, I just nodded.
Next day, over 300 refund requests hit. Cash flow flatlined.
Victor and Rachel begged me to talk the buyers down.
I shrugged. "Nah. Don't wanna save the company and make my performance too good. That'd just cause more ' hard feelings,' right?"