Theater: NovelMaster | Language: English | NEW
Synopsis
I worked until 2:00 AM every single night over Thanksgiving week. Just when I thought I could finally clock out and go home,
My boss’s side chick called, demanding I deliver condoms to her and our boss right then and there.
Exhausted to the bone, I had no choice but to order a delivery driver through DoorDash.
Yet, the moment Thanksgiving break ended, the first notice waiting for me was that all my holiday overtime pay had been completely canceled.
Stunned, I marched over to the finance director—the very mistress who placed the order:
"Is this a joke? I worked overtime all five days through Thanksgiving!"
"I came in at 9:00 AM and didn't leave until 2:00 AM. How could my overtime pay be zero?!"
The little mistress scoffed, looking at me with pure disdain.
"You couldn't even deliver condoms properly, and you still have the nerve to ask for overtime?"
"I specifically told you to get them here within ten minutes. Instead, you were lazy and hired a DoorDash driver who took fifteen."
"You ruined the mood for both Mr. Crawford and me. Consider this docked pay a warning. Slack off again, and you're fired!"
I gritted my teeth in pure fury. Then, at 2:00 AM that night, she called me again, demanding another emergency condom delivery.
I smirked. Placing the order, I filled in the CEO’s wife’s mansion address and her private phone number.
You dare rob an underpaid, overworked worker of her hard-earned overtime? Fine. Then nobody gets to survive tonight!
Hearing this absurd excuse for stripping away every cent of my holiday pay,
My brain buzzed, and my sanity completely snapped.
I spun around, stormed out of the finance office, and shoved open the General Manager's door, shouting my outrage.
"Mr. Crawford! Chloe just told me that because a DoorDash driver was five minutes late delivering your condoms, she canceled all my Thanksgiving overtime pay!"
"That is completely absurd! I demand the company pay me what I earned!"
Julian Crawford let out a soft chuckle, his voice dripping with condescending reassurance.
"Nicole, calm down. I just heard about this."
"Chloe can be a bit impatient, but honestly, so were you. How could you hire a random delivery driver for something so private?"
"It shows zero respect for company leadership."
I clenched my jaw and fired back.
"That was after my shift was over!"
"And that was your personal business, not part of my job description!"
The smile instantly vanished from Julian's face, replaced by a cold, sinister glare.
"Nicole Davis, trusting you to handle such private matters was a sign of respect. Don't push your luck."
He stood up and walked around his desk, towering over me.
"I heard your grandmother is lying in a hospital bed, scheduled for heart bypass surgery any day now."
"That surgery, plus post-op recovery... that's not a small bill."
My heart clenched tight, a wave of cold sweat drenching my back.
Watching my reaction, Julian tapped my shoulder with smug satisfaction.
"If you don't want to get fired, and you don't want your grandma kicked onto the street because her bills aren't paid..."
"Then learn to behave."
"Whatever Chloe asks you to do, do it. Don't piss her off, and don't piss me off."
I bit my bottom lip so hard I tasted copper.
Julian sighed, shaking his head with fake pity.
"If you had just agreed to be with me six months ago, all you had to do was nod,"
"You’d be the one running finance and living the high life today, not Chloe."
"Why put yourself through working until 2:00 AM every night and swallowing all this humiliating shit?"
The second he brought that up, my stomach churned violently with disgust.
Six months ago, Julian used a business dinner as an excuse to trap me in a VIP booth, putting his hands all over me.
I threw a scalding cup of tea right in his face and slammed the door on my way out.
Soon after, our colleague Chloe Vance crawled into his bed. She got fast-tracked straight to Head of Finance.
Ever since, the two of them treated me like an eyesore that needed to be erased.
Julian hated me because my rejection bruised his fragile male ego.
Chloe hated me because she saw me as her biggest rival, finding every petty excuse to make my life a living hell.
To keep this job and pay for my grandma's medical bills, I had swallowed every insult.
But today, I reached my absolute breaking point.
Seeing my silence, Julian assumed I had yielded.
"Alright. Go back to your desk and reflect on your attitude."
"Show me some respect, and I'll handle your overtime pay."
I stared coldly at his hypocritical face, said nothing, and turned on my heel to walk out.
I foolishly thought he meant he would actually give me my money back.
Yet the moment I stepped outside his office, a shadow loomed before me.
Before I could even register who it was, a gust of wind whistled toward my face.
SLAP!
A sharp, ringing strike whipped my head to the side, my cheek instantly burning with fire.
Chloe stood in front of me, venom dripping from her eyes.
"Feeling bold, are we, Nicole?"
"You dare contest my decision and throw yourself at Mr. Crawford to get your punishment revoked?"
The entire open-plan office fell dead silent. Everyone stopped typing and turned their heads.
I held my burning cheek, staring at her in utter disbelief.
"What the hell are you talking about?!"
"I went in there to talk about my legally earned overtime!"
Chloe sneered, raising her voice so every single person could hear.
"Save your pathetic lies!"
"Mr. Crawford just texted me everything."
"He told me you hated my disciplinary notice, stripped off your clothes in his office, and tried to seduce him into letting you off the hook!"
"You shameless little slut, have you no dignity at all?!"A collective gasp echoed across the floor.
I trembled with pure rage.
"Chloe Vance, stop making up disgusting lies! Julian Crawford literally just used my dying grandmother's hospital bills to blackmail me!"
Chloe smacked my hand away with disgust.
"Still trying to twist the truth?!"
Our coworker, Lisa, jumped out of her chair, looking at me with pure scorn.
"Wow, Nicole. I never knew you were this kind of girl."
"Acting all pure and professional on the outside, but totally rotten and cheap behind closed doors."
Kevin chimed in instantly, his tone dripping with mock righteousness.
"Seriously. If every employee acted like you, seducing the boss whenever they mess up, this company would collapse!"
"Chloe, you absolutely cannot let this slide. We need zero tolerance for this garbage."
Chloe tilted her chin up triumphantly, looking down her nose at me.
"Nicole Davis, not only is your Thanksgiving holiday overtime completely revoked,"
"You can kiss your entire base salary from last month goodbye, too!"
My eyes widened in shock. I took a step forward.
"On what grounds are you withholding my base salary?! I had the number one sales performance in the entire company last month!"
Chloe stepped back slightly, letting out a cruel laugh.
"On the grounds of severe moral misconduct and damaging our corporate image."
"Go reflect on your trashy behavior. Otherwise, you won't see a single dime this month, either."
With that, she sashayed back into her private finance office.
I dragged myself back to my cubicle, my chest heaving as I fought for air.
Lisa rolled her eyes, slamming a heavy stack of folders onto my desk with a smirk.
"Guess all that hard work you put in before was just an act to catch Mr. Crawford's eye."
"Since you love showing off so much, take care of these files for me, will you?"
Other colleagues immediately followed suit, tossing their folders onto my desk while whispering cruel mockeries.
Looking at these people kicking me while I was down, a bitter laugh caught in my throat.
Whenever they ran into work roadblocks or wanted to slack off, I always helped them out without asking for anything in return.
Turns out, I had been feeding a pack of ungrateful vipers all along.
I grabbed the thick folders off my desk and hurled them right back into Lisa's chest.
"If you think my hard work is an act, do your own damn job."
"From this second on, don't even think about dumping a single page of your work on me."
Lisa stumbled back two steps from the impact, her face twisting in fury as she pointed a finger at me.
"Nicole Davis, drop the attitude!"
"You just made an enemy out of Chloe Vance. Your days here are numbered!"
"Just wait until you're begging us on your knees for help!"
Before I could tear into her, my phone began vibrating frantically on my desk.
It was the hospital. My heart skipped a beat, and I snatched it up instantly.
The doctor's urgent voice came through the receiver.
"Ms. Davis, your grandmother's account has insufficient funds. The automated transaction just bounced."
"You must clear the remaining balance for her bypass surgery before 6:00 PM today."
"Otherwise, we will have no choice but to cancel tonight's procedure."
I frantically rummaged through my bag for my debit cards, my voice trembling uncontrollably.
"Doctor, how much is missing?"
"Three thousand dollars. Find a way to get it here as fast as you can."
The line went dead. I collapsed back into my chair, completely numb.
My checking account was supposed to have more than enough.
Then it hit me—over the past month, Julian and Chloe had made me run errands, buying luxury goods, paying out of pocket for their hotel suites, and ordering condoms during Thanksgiving.
It added up to exactly three thousand dollars.
And not a single one of those expense reports had been reimbursed.
I shot to my feet and charged straight back into the finance office.
"Chloe Vance, give me my money back!"
Chloe jumped, startled by my sudden entrance.
"Are you insane, Nicole? Who owes you money?!"
I slammed the stack of itemized expense receipts onto her desk.
"You're the one holding up my reimbursements, aren't you?!"
"Approve the three grand I fronted for you and Crawford right now!"
"My grandmother needs that money for life-saving surgery tonight!"
Chloe glanced down at the receipts, a venomous smirk spreading across her lips.
She picked up the receipts and invoices between two manicured fingers—and ripped them right down the middle.
My eyes blazed with fury. I lunged forward to grab them.
"What the hell are you doing?!"Chloe casually tossed the torn shreds into the trash can by her feet, dusting off her hands with theatrical boredom.
"What reimbursements? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Those designer handbags, vintage wines, and Thanksgiving condoms... weren't those gifts from you to show respect to Mr. Crawford and me?"
"Who ever heard of an employee asking the company to reimburse brown-nosing gifts?"
I shook with so much rage I could barely breathe, glaring straight into her eyes.
"Chloe Vance, do not push me too far."
"That is my grandmother's life-saving money. You are literally killing her!"
Chloe stood up and shoved me hard.
"Stop trying to guilt-trip me with your dying old hag."
"There is no money. Cause another scene in here, and I'll have building security drag you out into the street!"
She shoved me violently out of the finance office and slammed the door shut in my face.
The force sent me stumbling backward, my shoulder crashing into the hallway wall.
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes, but I clamped my jaw shut, refusing to let a single tear fall.
I frantically pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts.
I called every friend, acquaintance, and distant relative I could think of.
By 5:00 PM, after swallowing every shred of my pride, a distant cousin finally agreed to wire me the last thousand dollars.
With the three thousand dollars scraped together, I immediately wired the funds to the hospital's billing department.
Only when the doctor confirmed that the surgery would proceed on schedule did my frayed nerves finally loosen slightly.
I checked the time. It was almost the end of the workday.
I needed to ask for time off to be at the hospital with my grandma.
She was going under the knife tonight; she had to be terrified being all alone in that ward.
I walked straight into Julian Crawford's office.
"Mr. Crawford, my grandmother has surgery tonight. I need to take tonight off to be by her side at the hospital."
Julian didn't even look up from the document he was reviewing.
"Denied. The entire project team is working mandatory overtime tonight to push through a new proposal."
"As a core member, how can you just walk away?"
Panic flared in my chest.
"I already completed the entire core proposal! Lisa and the others can easily handle the minor formatting and wrap-up."
"My grandmother really needs me right now!"
Just then, Chloe pushed the door open and walked in.
She glanced at me, her lips curling into a sneer.
"Nicole Davis, drop the devoted granddaughter act."
"The company is at a critical juncture. Asking for leave right now proves you have zero team spirit."
She paused, a flash of malicious amusement glittering in her eyes.
"Besides, Mr. Crawford and I might need you to run a few personal errands for us tonight."
"If you leave, who's going to buy our condoms?"
My hands clenched into tight fists. I stared at them, stunned.
"Can't you two buy your own damn protection for once?!"
Chloe took two steps toward me, her tone dripping with deliberate provocation.
"No."
"I want you to buy them in person, and I want you to hand-deliver them to our door."
"Aren't you supposed to be so proud and pure? I just love watching you swallow your pride, looking humiliated while being forced to obey."
In that split second, everything became crystal clear.
They didn't need me for the project. They didn't even need a courier.
They just wanted to torture me. They wanted to grind my dignity into the dirt and stomp on it until there was nothing left.
I looked at their smug faces, the fury in my chest turning into ice-cold resolve.
I turned around, walked out of his office, and immediately began packing my purse at my desk.
If they wouldn't approve my time off, I was clocking out at 6:00 PM sharp and walking out that door.
No one was going to stop me from being there for my grandmother.
5:59 PM.
I slung my bag over my shoulder, my eyes locked onto the digital clock in the corner of my screen.
The moment it flipped to 6:00, I stood up without hesitation and marched toward the glass exit doors.
Just as my hand touched the handle, someone grabbed my forearm with a bruising grip.
I whipped around. It was Kevin.
He yanked me back, a malicious, triumphant grin plastered across his face.
"Nicole, Mr. Crawford ordered mandatory overtime for everyone tonight. Are you really trying to ditch work?"
I ripped my arm out of his grasp, my eyes slicing into him like daggers.
"Let go of me! My shift is over, and I have every legal right to leave."
Lisa and three other colleagues quickly moved in, forming a human wall between me and the exit.
"Not so fast. If you leave, who's finishing the proposal?"
Looking at these hideous, groveling faces, I let out a humorless laugh.
"My part has been done for hours!"
"Get the hell out of my way!"
I shoved Lisa aside with all my strength, trying to force my way through.Right then, Julian Crawford and Chloe Vance stepped out of the executive suite.
Kevin instantly switched to a groveling, eager-to-please posture.
"Mr. Crawford! Nicole is trying to make a run for it! She's refusing to work overtime!"
Julian strolled up to me, looking down at me with cold mockery.
"Nicole Davis, you actually have the guts to openly defy my direct orders?"
"Fine. Tonight, you'll stay behind and work overtime all by yourself."
Chloe covered her mouth, letting out a sharp giggle.
"Keep your phone on tonight, sweetie. When I text you our errand, you better hand-deliver it to our hotel room personally."
"Try calling a DoorDash driver again, and don't bother showing up tomorrow."
With that, Julian waved dismissively at the rest of the staff.
"Great work today, everyone. You're all dismissed early."
The office instantly erupted into cheers. Everyone scrambled to pack their bags and head for the elevators.
As they filed past me, each of them shot me sneering, gloating glances.
Within five minutes, the entire floor was dead empty.
When I tried to push through the glass doors, the building security guard blocked me with his arms crossed.
Julian and Chloe walked through the doors, and Julian turned around, pulling out his key fob to lock the electronic glass doors from the outside.
I lunged forward, slamming my palms against the heavy glass.
"Julian Crawford! Are you out of your mind?! This is unlawful imprisonment!"
"Let me out! I have to get to the hospital!"
Julian stood on the other side of the glass, a cruel, mocking smile playing on his lips.
He pointed up at the security camera mounted right above the entrance.
"Work hard tonight. I'll be watching you the whole time."
I watched in pure despair as the elevator doors slid shut, feeling every ounce of strength drain from my limbs.
Right at that moment, my phone rang. It was the surgical ward nurse.
"Ms. Davis, right before your grandmother was wheeled into the operating room, she kept holding my hand, calling out your name."
"Are you really not able to come see her tonight?"
Listening to the nurse's gentle voice, my heart felt like it was being shredded by dull blades. Tears streamed down my cheeks.
On one side was my sick grandmother, clinging to life on an operating table, desperately waiting for me.
On the other side was an abusive boss and his petty mistress, treating me like subhuman cattle, trampling all over my soul.
The volcano of rage I had suppressed deep inside me completely erupted.
I stared out into the pitch-black hallway, my teeth grinding together until my jaw ached.
I sat there in the dark until 2:00 AM.
Suddenly, a crisp click echoed through the silent office.
Julian had remotely unlocked the door via his phone app.
At the exact same second, my phone lit up with an incoming call.
It was Chloe.
Her voice came through the speaker, haughty, arrogant, and commanding.
"Nicole, the door is open. Buy two boxes of Trojan ultra-thins and bring them up to Room 2808 at the Grand Vienna Hotel."
"You have ten minutes. Be one minute late, and you're fired."
Gripping the phone, I didn't say a word. Instead, a freezing, hollow chuckle escaped my lips.
I opened DoorDash and ordered the items via express delivery.
In the delivery instructions box, I typed:
[Room 2808, Grand Vienna Hotel. Hand directly to recipients: Julian Crawford and Chloe Vance.]
Then, in the drop-off address and recipient contact fields,
I typed in the private luxury villa address and personal cell number of our company's true owner—Julian's wealthy wife, Victoria Sterling.
Everyone in the office foolishly believed Julian was some self-made tech prodigy.
But because I constantly worked overtime managing his private accounts and expense books, I knew the dirty truth.
Julian was nothing more than a broke freeloader living off his wife's fortune.
Every single cent of this company's startup capital came directly from Victoria Sterling's trust fund.
Even the commercial lease on this prime office tower belonged to a holding company under Victoria's name.
If Victoria found out these two were blowing her fortune on luxury suites and cheating behind her back,
Julian and Chloe's fairy tale would be over forever.
Having submitted the order, I shoved open the glass doors and sprinted toward the street without looking back.
Hailing a cab, I directed the driver to speed to the hospital. Halfway there, Chloe called again.
"Nicole, why the hell are you taking so long?! Are you here yet?!"
Staring at the blurred city lights flashing past the window, my voice was eerily calm.
"Almost. It's arriving right now."
Over the receiver, I heard a doorbell chime.
Followed by Julian's irritated shout: "Nicole, you're dead meat! How the hell did you take this long to bring some damn condoms—"
A few seconds later.
Ear-piercing, bloodcurdling screams of sheer terror erupted from both Julian and Chloe.
"Aaaahhh!"
Chapters (4)
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Watch & Promotions
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