Chapter 2 · My Boss Stole My Bonus

Chapter 2

That afternoon, I spent two hours writing up the handover documents. I covered the annual renewal for Sunrise Holdings, the branding proposal for PrimeLand Realty, and the new media project for SwiftMove Logistics. I made sure every detail was crystal clear.

Joey's hands were shaking as he took the USB drive from me.

"Ryan, you're really leaving? For five weeks?" he asked.

"Yeah. If you run into any issues, just check the docs. If you still can't figure it out, just ask Director," I replied.

"But..." Joey hesitated.

"Trust yourself," I said, giving his shoulder a reassuring pat.

Before leaving work, I signed the paperwork with HR. By the time I walked out, it was still light outside.

I shot Susan a text: [All set. Vacation starts tomorrow.]

Susan replied: [Really?]

I texted back: [Yes, really.]

She asked: [So what's next?]

I texted back: [Just wait and see.]

The next morning, I was sprawled out on the couch, scrolling through my phone, when the work group chat started blowing up.

Chris: [Mr. Parker's secretary from Sunrise just called, asking when we're sending over the renewal proposal.]

Joey: [I checked the docs. The framework's set, but I'm not sure about the pricing.]

Chris: [Ask Director.]

Joey: [He's in a meeting right now.]

I locked my phone and headed to the kitchen to cook a bowl of pasta.

Halfway through eating, Joey called.

"Ryan, about the Sunrise quote. What price did you discuss with Mr. Parker? The docs don't match what his secretary just told me," Joey said.

"Just check the note on page three," I replied.

"I did. It says the base price, but Mr. Parker's secretary says you agreed to a bundled price," Joey said.

"The details for the bundled price are in my email, the one I sent to Mr. Parker's secretary. Have Director access it with admin privileges," I said.

"Okay, got it," Joey replied.

After hanging up, I went back to my pasta.

At two in the afternoon, Chris texted me.

Chris: [Ryan, gotta tell you something. Director claimed he was the lead on the Sunrise Project in last week's year-end report.]

I replied, [What do you mean?]

Chris: [In the report, he put his name as the project lead. Yours is just listed under 'support staff.']

I set my phone down and stared at the ceiling.

The Sunrise Project was my baby. I built it from the ground up, handled the launch, the first client meeting, went through seven rounds of revisions, and whenever Mr. Parker called at 2 a.m. I was the one who answered.

And Director? All he did was sign the paperwork.

I asked: [How do you know?]

Chris: [Linda in Admin is a friend of mine. She noticed it while printing the report. And it's not just Sunrise. Same thing with the PrimeLand project, he put himself down as the lead there, too.]

I asked: [What about the other projects?]

Chris: [All the same. Any big client, he put himself as the lead.]

I didn't say anything.

So that's how he ended up pocketing 650,000 dollars. As far as the execs were concerned, every one of those projects was his doing.

Chris: [Ryan, aren't you pissed?]

I replied: [I'm not angry.] I locked my phone.

It's not that I'm not angry. I just need to vent it in a different way.

That night, when Susan got home, I told her everything.

She was so upset she couldn't even eat.

"Five years? Everything you've done for five years, and now it's all his?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"Shouldn't you go talk to the boss?" she asked.

"Not yet," I said.

"Why not?" she pressed.

"Because my biggest ace right now is that those three clients only trust me. When the truth comes out on its own, it'll be way more useful than me just running to the boss," I said.

Susan looked at me and slowly nodded.

"Alright, I trust you," she said.

On the fourth day of my vacation, Joey called me three times.

At nine in the morning, Joey called. "Ryan, Mr. Mason from PrimeLand wants some changes to the proposal, but honestly, I'm not sure what he means by those points..." Joey sounded a bit lost.

At noon, Joey called again. "Ryan, Director told me to stall Mr. Mason and said he'd handle it himself this afternoon. But Mr. Mason's not happy, he's pretty annoyed about the sudden switch and wants to know what the hell is going on."

At four in the afternoon, Joey called again. "Ryan, Mr. Mason said he only wants to talk to you. He won't deal with anyone else. Director wants to know if you can call him to smooth things over."

I didn't pick up that last call.

Chapter 2

Joey's hands were shaking as he took the USB drive from me.

"Ryan, you're really leaving? For five weeks?" he asked.

"Yeah. If you run into any issues, just check the docs. If you still can't figure it out, just ask Director," I replied.

"But..." Joey hesitated.

"Trust yourself," I said, giving his shoulder a reassuring pat.

Before leaving work, I signed the paperwork with HR. By the time I walked out, it was still light outside.

I shot Susan a text: [All set. Vacation starts tomorrow.]

Susan replied: [Really?]

I texted back: [Yes, really.]

She asked: [So what's next?]

I texted back: [Just wait and see.]

The next morning, I was sprawled out on the couch, scrolling through my phone, when the work group chat started blowing up.

Chris: [Mr. Parker's secretary from Sunrise just called, asking when we're sending over the renewal proposal.]

Joey: [I checked the docs. The framework's set, but I'm not sure about the pricing.]

Chris: [Ask Director.]

Joey: [He's in a meeting right now.]

I locked my phone and headed to the kitchen to cook a bowl of pasta.

Halfway through eating, Joey called.

"Ryan, about the Sunrise quote. What price did you discuss with Mr. Parker? The docs don't match what his secretary just told me," Joey said.

"Just check the note on page three," I replied.

"I did. It says the base price, but Mr. Parker's secretary says you agreed to a bundled price," Joey said.

"The details for the bundled price are in my email, the one I sent to Mr. Parker's secretary. Have Director access it with admin privileges," I said.

"Okay, got it," Joey replied.

After hanging up, I went back to my pasta.

At two in the afternoon, Chris texted me.

Chris: [Ryan, gotta tell you something. Director claimed he was the lead on the Sunrise Project in last week's year-end report.]

I replied, [What do you mean?]

Chris: [In the report, he put his name as the project lead. Yours is just listed under 'support staff.']

I set my phone down and stared at the ceiling.

And Director? All he did was sign the paperwork.

I asked: [How do you know?]

Chris: [Linda in Admin is a friend of mine. She noticed it while printing the report. And it's not just Sunrise. Same thing with the PrimeLand project, he put himself down as the lead there, too.]

I asked: [What about the other projects?]

Chris: [All the same. Any big client, he put himself as the lead.]

I didn't say anything.

So that's how he ended up pocketing 650,000 dollars. As far as the execs were concerned, every one of those projects was his doing.

Chris: [Ryan, aren't you pissed?]

I replied: [I'm not angry.] I locked my phone.

It's not that I'm not angry. I just need to vent it in a different way.

That night, when Susan got home, I told her everything.

She was so upset she couldn't even eat.

"Five years? Everything you've done for five years, and now it's all his?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said.

"Shouldn't you go talk to the boss?" she asked.

"Not yet," I said.

"Why not?" she pressed.

"Because my biggest ace right now is that those three clients only trust me. When the truth comes out on its own, it'll be way more useful than me just running to the boss," I said.

Susan looked at me and slowly nodded.

"Alright, I trust you," she said.

On the fourth day of my vacation, Joey called me three times.

At nine in the morning, Joey called. "Ryan, Mr. Mason from PrimeLand wants some changes to the proposal, but honestly, I'm not sure what he means by those points..." Joey sounded a bit lost.

At four in the afternoon, Joey called again. "Ryan, Mr. Mason said he only wants to talk to you. He won't deal with anyone else. Director wants to know if you can call him to smooth things over."

I didn't pick up that last call.