Chapter 1 · 7 Years of Work, 7 Days to Walk Away Rich

The chairman waved his hand generously and handed out three million in bonuses on the spot.

They read through every name on the list, and mine wasn't on it.

He even joked, "As for Michael? He's here to learn. That's enough."

I smiled, clapped, and didn't say a word.

On the sixth day, the company went public with its bell-ringing ceremony. The media swarmed three layers deep.

I pulled out my phone, sold off all my shares in one tap, worth 2.5 billion, and handed him my resignation letter. "Chairman, I've paid enough tuition. Goodbye, mentor."

His blood pressure spiked on the spot, and he was carried off the bell-ringing podium.

*****

I, Michael Brooks, had been with Horizon Enterprises for seven years.

I started as an intern and worked my way up to Project Director, and the projects I managed accounted for 40% of the company's revenue.

But to the chairman, Richard Grant, I was always that intern who fetched coffee for everyone.

It was the annual awards ceremony.

The company had booked out the entire ballroom of a five-star hotel, and over two hundred people were packed in, filling every seat.

The LED screen on stage flashed this year's performance numbers, and I recognized every single one. After all, my team and I fought hard for most of those results.

Richard stood on stage, his suit immaculate and his face radiant.

He gripped a list in his hand, while his assistant stood beside him, arms full of paper money. "This year, Horizon has set a new record!"

The crowd erupted in thunderous applause.

Richard continued, "30 million dollars in bonuses, distributed right now!"

Another wave of cheers swept through the hall.

I was sitting in the third row, clapping along with everyone else.

30 million dollars was no small amount. Usually, Project Directors like me would get at least 2.5 million dollars out of the pot.

Just the contract for the Smart City Project I led this year was worth four hundred million dollars.

The names were called out from the highest to the lowest.

"Victor Stone, Vice President, 5 million dollars!"

Victor jumped to his feet, grinning so wide he could barely contain himself, and strode up to the stage to shake hands with Richard.

"James Quinn, Marketing Director, 4 million dollars!"

James practically jogged up to the stage.

"Leo Carter, Technical Director, 3 million dollars!"

Names kept coming, one after another.

The guy next to me nudged me with his elbow. "Michael, looks like you're next, huh?"

I smiled, keeping quiet.

They kept calling out names: 2.5 million, 2 million, 1.5 million, and 1 million dollars.

They went through every single name, right down to the last one. "Fiona Lewis, Admin Director, 250 thousand dollars!"

Even Fiona made the cut. Me? Not a dime.

The guy next to me glanced over, his face dropping, then quickly looked away.

My smile stayed frozen on my face; I didn't move at all.

After Richard finished reading the list, he brought the mic up and scanned the crowd. His eyes locked right onto mine.

He grinned. "Hey, Michael."

The whole place fell silent for a moment. Over two hundred pairs of eyes zeroed in on me.

"Michael's still young. You're here to learn, aren't you?" Richard said, sounding casual, like it was nothing.

A few of the execs who'd picked up their bonuses on stage started laughing along. Victor was the loudest.

I stood up and nodded at Richard. "You're right, Mr. Grant. I still have a lot to learn."

Then I clapped with real enthusiasm.

The room buzzed back to life, as if that awkward scene was a blip in the night.

As people started filing out, someone patted me on the shoulder. "Michael, don't take it to heart. That's how Mr. Grant is."

I said, "No worries."

*****

Back at my desk, I shut down my computer.

A file was on my desk. It was the proposal for the Smart City Project Phase II.

I looked at it for a couple of seconds, then turned it over and left it there.

My phone lit up with a notification from my brokerage account: [The shares you hold in Horizon Enterprises (ticker: HD0038) will be unlocked for trading in 6 business days.]

I couldn't take my eyes off that message.

Seven years. Back then, Richard put his hand on my shoulder and promised me, "Michael, work hard, and when the company goes public, you'll be the real hero."

I believed him. I went all-in, investing everything I had, and in seven years, I helped grow this company from a 30 million valuation to 10 billion.

And at the ceremony, in front of over two hundred people, he told me that I was there to learn.

I locked my phone and slipped it into my pocket.

*****

As I walked out of the office building, the night air was cold.

I glanced up at the top floor. The Chairman's office lights were still on.

Six days. I needed to wait six days.

*****

The next day, I showed up for work like nothing had happened.

At 8:30, I clocked in, made myself a cup of coffee, and fired up my computer.

The Smart City Project Phase II proposal was still face down on my desk, so I flipped it over and kept working on it. No one thought anything was off.

At nine, we had our project team meeting.

The twelve of us were all seated in the conference room, waiting for me to assign tasks.

I handed out the assignments one by one, then dismissed the team.

By ten, I'd already fielded three calls from clients.

At eleven, Richard's secretary gave me a call. "Mr. Brooks, Mr. Grant wants you to email him the Phase II proposal before the day's over."

"Got it," I said, hanging up and going right back to tweaking the proposal.

At lunch, I sat across from Leo, the Technical Director.

He set his tray down and shot me a glance. "Michael, about yesterday—"

"What about it?" I asked.

He paused, took a bite of his food. "Nothing."

I smiled, keeping my head down and eating.

Chapter 1

The chairman waved his hand generously and handed out three million in bonuses on the spot.

They read through every name on the list, and mine wasn't on it.

He even joked, "As for Michael? He's here to learn. That's enough."

I smiled, clapped, and didn't say a word.

On the sixth day, the company went public with its bell-ringing ceremony. The media swarmed three layers deep.

I pulled out my phone, sold off all my shares in one tap, worth 2.5 billion, and handed him my resignation letter. "Chairman, I've paid enough tuition. Goodbye, mentor."

His blood pressure spiked on the spot, and he was carried off the bell-ringing podium.

*****

I, Michael Brooks, had been with Horizon Enterprises for seven years.

I started as an intern and worked my way up to Project Director, and the projects I managed accounted for 40% of the company's revenue.

But to the chairman, Richard Grant, I was always that intern who fetched coffee for everyone.

It was the annual awards ceremony.

The company had booked out the entire ballroom of a five-star hotel, and over two hundred people were packed in, filling every seat.

The LED screen on stage flashed this year's performance numbers, and I recognized every single one. After all, my team and I fought hard for most of those results.

Richard stood on stage, his suit immaculate and his face radiant.

He gripped a list in his hand, while his assistant stood beside him, arms full of paper money. "This year, Horizon has set a new record!"

The crowd erupted in thunderous applause.

Richard continued, "30 million dollars in bonuses, distributed right now!"

Another wave of cheers swept through the hall.

I was sitting in the third row, clapping along with everyone else.

30 million dollars was no small amount. Usually, Project Directors like me would get at least 2.5 million dollars out of the pot.

Just the contract for the Smart City Project I led this year was worth four hundred million dollars.

The names were called out from the highest to the lowest.

"Victor Stone, Vice President, 5 million dollars!"

Victor jumped to his feet, grinning so wide he could barely contain himself, and strode up to the stage to shake hands with Richard.

"James Quinn, Marketing Director, 4 million dollars!"

James practically jogged up to the stage.

"Leo Carter, Technical Director, 3 million dollars!"

Names kept coming, one after another.

The guy next to me nudged me with his elbow. "Michael, looks like you're next, huh?"

I smiled, keeping quiet.

They kept calling out names: 2.5 million, 2 million, 1.5 million, and 1 million dollars.

They went through every single name, right down to the last one. "Fiona Lewis, Admin Director, 250 thousand dollars!"

Even Fiona made the cut. Me? Not a dime.

The guy next to me glanced over, his face dropping, then quickly looked away.

My smile stayed frozen on my face; I didn't move at all.

After Richard finished reading the list, he brought the mic up and scanned the crowd. His eyes locked right onto mine.

He grinned. "Hey, Michael."

The whole place fell silent for a moment. Over two hundred pairs of eyes zeroed in on me.

"Michael's still young. You're here to learn, aren't you?" Richard said, sounding casual, like it was nothing.

A few of the execs who'd picked up their bonuses on stage started laughing along. Victor was the loudest.

I stood up and nodded at Richard. "You're right, Mr. Grant. I still have a lot to learn."

Then I clapped with real enthusiasm.

The room buzzed back to life, as if that awkward scene was a blip in the night.

As people started filing out, someone patted me on the shoulder. "Michael, don't take it to heart. That's how Mr. Grant is."

I said, "No worries."

*****

Back at my desk, I shut down my computer.

A file was on my desk. It was the proposal for the Smart City Project Phase II.

I looked at it for a couple of seconds, then turned it over and left it there.

My phone lit up with a notification from my brokerage account: [The shares you hold in Horizon Enterprises (ticker: HD0038) will be unlocked for trading in 6 business days.]

I couldn't take my eyes off that message.

Seven years. Back then, Richard put his hand on my shoulder and promised me, "Michael, work hard, and when the company goes public, you'll be the real hero."

I believed him. I went all-in, investing everything I had, and in seven years, I helped grow this company from a 30 million valuation to 10 billion.

And at the ceremony, in front of over two hundred people, he told me that I was there to learn.

I locked my phone and slipped it into my pocket.

*****

As I walked out of the office building, the night air was cold.

I glanced up at the top floor. The Chairman's office lights were still on.

Six days. I needed to wait six days.

*****

The next day, I showed up for work like nothing had happened.

At 8:30, I clocked in, made myself a cup of coffee, and fired up my computer.

The Smart City Project Phase II proposal was still face down on my desk, so I flipped it over and kept working on it. No one thought anything was off.

At nine, we had our project team meeting.

The twelve of us were all seated in the conference room, waiting for me to assign tasks.

I handed out the assignments one by one, then dismissed the team.

By ten, I'd already fielded three calls from clients.

At eleven, Richard's secretary gave me a call. "Mr. Brooks, Mr. Grant wants you to email him the Phase II proposal before the day's over."

"Got it," I said, hanging up and going right back to tweaking the proposal.

At lunch, I sat across from Leo, the Technical Director.

He set his tray down and shot me a glance. "Michael, about yesterday—"

"What about it?" I asked.

He paused, took a bite of his food. "Nothing."

I smiled, keeping my head down and eating.