Chapter 1
The day I got laid off, HR was the one who told me my position had been reposted at seventeen thousand dollars a month.
I blinked in surprise and asked her, "So what about me?"
She hesitated, mumbling that the company was restructuring and my spot would be given to someone new.
I scoffed, "Seventeen thousand a month for somebody new? And what about me?"
She lowered her head and said nothing.
I sat in the office for a while, staring at my empty workspace, and it finally hit me.
I picked up my phone and called a headhunter.
Three days later, I had five offers in hand, and the lowest of them started at forty thousand dollars.
HR from my old company called me, saying the boss wanted to talk and asked if I'd consider coming back.
I laughed, genuinely happy. "Sorry, I've already signed with another company."
As I hung up, it finally hit me. They hadn't just laid me off, they'd let go of the one who brought them luck.
*****
When Emily Grant from HR slid the termination notice across the desk to me, her expression was awkward.
"Julia, this is the company's decision," she said.
Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she couldn't meet my eyes.
I picked up the paper. The language was sterile and impersonal, nothing but cold corporate jargon.
"Due to company restructuring, and after careful review, the company has decided to eliminate this position."
I stared at it for a few seconds, then set it back down.
I felt no anger, not even surprise.
I'd been with this company for five years, starting as a project assistant and working my way up to core tech lead. I'd seen this kind of thing happen more times than I could count.
I had never thought it would be my turn.
"Severance is a month's pay for every year you were here, plus one extra month," Emily added.
She sounded like she was reading it off a list to get it over with.
I nodded.
"Got it," I said.
My calm threw her off, and whatever comforting script she'd rehearsed froze in her throat.
The office fell into a brief silence.
The only sound was the hum of the air conditioning.
I looked up at her and asked one question.
"Who takes over my position?"
Emily was caught off guard, clearly not expecting that question.
"The company is going to bring someone new in," she said.
"A newbie," I drawled, and my fingers started tapping the desk.
With every tap, Emily's eyelid twitched.
"I heard the posting for this job went out at 17 thousand dollars a month," I said, slow and even, as if it had nothing to do with me.
Emily's expression shifted instantly.
Her awkwardness turned into downright panic.
She was gripping her hands under the desk.
"It's to attract better talent. That's part of the company's plan," she stammered.
"So what about me?" I cut in.
I leaned forward and looked her straight in the eye.
"Me, apparently not good enough. Five years here at 3,300 dollars a month.
"Now the job is worth 17 thousand dollars, and I'm the one getting let go.
"Emily, tell me, why is that?"
My voice wasn't loud, but every word hit her like a sledgehammer, breaking right through whatever walls she had left.
She hung her head, not daring to look at me anymore.
"Julia, this was Mr. Brooks' decision," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm just doing what I'm told."
She was quick to shrug off all responsibility, as if she had nothing to do with it.
I gave a cold, bitter laugh.
"Mr. Brooks?" I echoed, my tone laced with sarcasm.
"You mean the same Mr. Brooks who patted me on the shoulder three years ago and swore the company would never screw over anyone who contributed?
"The same Mr. Brooks who just last month, at the project celebration, said I could do the work of an entire team on my own?"
Emily ducked her head even further, avoiding my gaze completely.
The air in the office felt frozen.
Seeing her like that, I decided not to push any further.
There was no point.
She was the messenger.
The real betrayal came from the guy sitting in the corner office, probably sipping his coffee without a care in the world.
I stood up.
"When do I need to sign the paperwork?" I asked.
Emily looked like she'd just been let off the hook. "We can get it done this afternoon. I'll take care of it as soon as possible."
"Alright," I said.
I turned, pulled open the door, and walked out.
I didn't look back.
When I got back to the empty tech department, the light at my corner desk was still on.
The plant on my desk looked healthy. I'd just swapped it out two weeks ago.
My computer screen still showed the final project optimization plan I'd sent off late last night.
That plan was projected to save the company a million dollars a year.
How ironic.
I sat down, leaned back in my chair, and closed my eyes.
Five years.
More than two thousand days and nights.
Countless all-nighters, countless emergency fixes.
I gave this company the best five years of my life.
I thought they actually valued me.
I thought all my hard work would earn me some respect.
It turned out that to them, everything I had done and everything I had given up wasn't worth the extra thirteen thousand dollars.
They weren't just laying me off.
They were tossing me aside like I was some bargain-bin nobody, in the cruelest, most humiliating way possible.
And it was all so they could welcome in somebody worth 17 thousand dollars a month.
A cold chill rose up inside me, spreading all the way down to my fingertips.
I opened my eyes, and the last of the warmth in them was gone.
My phone buzzed on the desk.
It was a ping from the company group chat.
Victor Brooks had just dropped a message in the exec chat, complete with a smiley emoji.
Victor: [Congrats to the tech team for finally lightening the load. Time to welcome some fresh blood.]
That message accidentally popped up on my screen.
I stared at that obnoxious smiley face, and a cold smirk tugged at my lips.
Fine.
Victor.
I picked up my phone and unlocked the screen.
My finger slid across the screen, not a hint of hesitation.
I pulled up my contacts and scrolled to a number I'd kept for ages but never once used.
The contact was labeled: [Top Headhunter, Daniel Mason.]