My Ex-Boss Begged Me to Return After Blacklisting Me

Just after the New Year, as I was about to return to work, my phone suddenly rang. "Charlie." With just one word, I immediately guessed who it was. Franklin Wood, my former colleague and superior, who had my ex-company and the entire industry blacklist me. We had not been in contact for three years. I did not understand why he was calling me out of the blue. "Is there something you need?" Hearing my response, the man on the other end of the line suddenly took a deep breath, his voice becoming a bit urgent. "Charlie, do you have a job now? What happened back then was my fault. The company needs you now. Can you come back?" 'Needs me?' I thought and laughed. Three years ago, he was the one who told me, "The company's success depends on the connections of its employees, not on their personal merits." 'Now, he's asking me to go back?' I thought, hanging up without replying. After all, the company I was working for now, Apex Systems, was their biggest rival. Chapter 1 "Charlie, who was calling you?" My assistant, Alex Langdon, walked over with freshly brewed coffee and set it on my desk. I put away my phone and replied with a smile, "No one important." I turned on the computer and quickly went through the work that had piled up during the New Year holiday. Alex was silent for a moment, hesitating to speak. "Charlie, did your former company come to poach you?" The smile on my face faded. "You know about it too?" Alex pursed his lips and pulled up a financial news article titled ‘Once an Industry Titan, Now in Decline’. He pointed at it to show me. "It's been spreading around the industry. Kinetix Group has been losing customers due to the delayed update of its core system and is on the verge of bankruptcy. Their boss, Franklin Wood, is a self-made man and surely won't accept this. “But he brought this upon himself. Back then, they relied on you to become the industry leader, but they drove you out and even banned you from the industry because of salary issues. “Well, they're about to go bankrupt. It’s time for Charlie Grey’s great revenge!" I smiled and was about to speak when my phone rang. It was an old colleague from my previous company. "Charlie." He paused for a moment, as if considering his words carefully. "How have you been doing recently? Is your work going well? We all miss you very much." I remained silent. He gulped hard and continued, "Have you seen the recent news? The company is in a tough spot right now. The new programmers we hired aren't as skilled as you. They've made quite a few mistakes. “Mr. Wood wanted to ask... if you would come back. The company is willing to let bygones be bygones." "Let bygones be bygones?" I repeated the phrase and laughed. Was he saying that I was the one who had been in the wrong? After hanging up, I met Alex's curious gaze and began to explain what had happened. When I joined Kinetix, it was not an industry titan. It was just a small, failing company on the brink of bankruptcy. The boss, Franklin, would drink until he vomited and get kicked around like a football just to secure partnerships. However, nothing worked. Partners dismissed their technology as outdated and abandoned them one by one, and the company was on the verge of liquidation. At a critical moment, I saw their recruitment ad and went to see him with the program I made myself. It was a simple big-data model that quickly analyzed customer needs and identified the most suitable solutions and products. That one small program saved Franklin. In just one year, Kinetix transformed from a tiny, failing firm into one of the industry's top players. At the celebration party held after the move to their new downtown headquarters, the drunk Franklin patted my shoulder and spoke as tears streamed down his face. "Charlie, you've been a blessing and the hero of Kinetix. As long as you're with us, Kinetix will never let you down." Chapter 2 I firmly believed what Franklin said. Over the course of seven years, I turned down countless offers from various companies, devoting myself wholeheartedly to making Kinetix thrive. Working overtime was a common occurrence. Black coffee was always on my desk to keep me alert. Countless nights, while the city slept, I sat at my computer, repeatedly debugging the program. When tired, I would lean my head against the desk for a nap. When hungry, I would just eat a simple sandwich to make do. Franklin repeatedly advised me to rest more, but I felt all my efforts were worthwhile when I saw the company's business booming. In the summer of my seventh year, the company's system was maliciously attacked, nearly causing a complete shutdown. From then on, everything changed. "Shutdown?" Alex widened his eyes in surprise. "So you and Kinetix had a falling out because of a problem with the company's system? He blamed it on you?" I shook my head. It was actually the opposite. Three years ago, when the company's system was attacked and the entire operation was nearly jeopardized, it was Franklin who personally sought me out, patted me on the shoulder, and said, "Charlie, I trust you the most in the entire company. “Only you can complete this system upgrade. Time is tight, and the task is demanding, but the company won't forget your contribution. Once you finish upgrading the system, the position of Tech Director and a cash bonus of $100,000 will be yours!" It was my seventh year working at Kinetix. Over those seven years, I had solved countless technical challenges for the company, often at the expense of my own health. I did it to earn a promotion and a raise and give my family a better life. I took on the task. For three full months, while others clocked in and out right on time, I bought a folding bed to the office and practically made the company my home. While my colleagues enjoyed weekends off and traveled during holidays, I ordered sandwich deliveries and made do with quick, simple meals for lunch and dinner. I dared not stop for a moment. I poured my best technical skills into the project and devoured five programming manuals during the time. Finally, I completed the company-wide technical upgrade on the day the three-month mark arrived. I remembered it was a beautiful sunny day. After inspecting the upgraded system, Franklin slammed his hand on the desk. "Excellent! Charlie, you've done a fantastic job! You truly are my most valued employee. Take the afternoon off to rest. I'm hosting a celebration dinner for you tonight!" I was overjoyed and secretly called my mom to tell her I was about to get a promotion and a $100,000 bonus. Once the money was in hand, I would buy her a wheelchair, take her on a nice trip, and finally give her the good life she deserved. Afterward, I went home, showered, shaved, and put on a dapper outfit. I returned to the office in high spirits, ready to hold my boss to his promise. Just as I reached the doorway to Franklin's office, I heard him say, "This system works so well that it won't need an update for the next three years. Charlie is useless now. “Find a reason to fire him." Franklin's words were spoken casually, yet they left me frozen in place. Useless now? Fire me? I had worked so hard for three months. My hair had grown long enough to cover my eyes, my face was scruffy with stubble, and my health was even suffering. Not only did Franklin have no intention of honoring his promise of a promotion and raise, but he also planned to fire me? All because I had done my job so well that the system would not need maintenance for three years? I stood there for a full ten minutes, my mind completely blank. Before I could process it all, I heard voices from inside again. "Firing him is easy. Any excuse will do. But how do we handle the severance package?" Ben Zachary, the colleague I considered myself closest to, answered with an ingratiating chuckle, "According to the employment contract, the company needs to give him a severance package plus an extra month's pay. Charlie's been here seven years, so that sum isn't a small amount." Franklin lit a cigarette and took a drag. "A severance package plus an extra month's pay won't do. The company would lose too much." He paused and continued speaking. Chapter 3 "Try to make him make a mistake. Don't be too lenient with him." His remark sent a heavy blow to my heart. I recalled my past seven years at the company. The first year, the company was resurrected thanks to my data model. Franklin hugged me excitedly and said I was his greatest blessing. The second year, I won the largest investment of $5 million for the company. At the signing ceremony, Franklin held my shoulders and choked up several times. The third year, the company officially established a technical department and made me the leader, but I did not get a promotion. He just bumped up my salary by an extra $2,000, saying it was a sign of his trust in me. The fourth year, the fifth year, the sixth year, the seventh year... More and more people were recruited to the department, and my burden became heavier and heavier. Training new employees, maintaining systems, creating models... I was overwhelmed. In the end, I was fired because I did too well. They even tried to nickel-and-dime me on the severance. I was completely enraged. I pushed open Franklin’s door, tore off the ID tag around my neck, and threw it forcefully in front of him. "Franklin, I quit!" After saying that, I immediately returned to my workstation and packed up my things. Franklin and Mr. Zachary followed behind, not trying to persuade me, but just staring at me. "Charlie, you can leave if you want, but hand over Kinetix System’s entire source code and development documents. They’re company assets." "No problem," I replied crisply. Franklin smiled, though the expression held an unsatisfied malice. "And hand over the source code and development documentation for that Project Whisper you mentioned last month." I slowly clenched my fists. Project Whisper was an AI program I had built in my spare time. It could aggregate reports on industry trends and new technologies into a coherent article in record time. It was only half-finished, so there was no final product yet. I had not expected Franklin to have his eye on that too. "Fine," I replied through gritted teeth. I opened my computer, compressed the files labeled ‘Whisper’, and sent them all to him. "Can I go now?" Franklin finished reviewing the documents, his eyes crinkling into slits as he smiled. "Sure. Grey, let's part ways amicably." He wore a triumphant grin, as if he had just won a battle. I was practically kicked out of the company that day. As I walked from the office area to the main entrance, everyone cast sympathetic glances my way as they whispered among themselves. "I heard he even had to hand over the projects he developed privately. How pitiful." "Yeah, Mr. Wood went way too far. It’s shameless bullying." "So what if he's a bully? You can't fight your boss." "Seven years of service, only to be unceremoniously booted out. Poor guy." I walked hurriedly with my head down, desperate to leave behind the place that had caused me such heartache. However, it was not over yet. The very evening I resigned, Franklin published a letter to industry peers on the company's official website. In the letter, he cast himself as a benevolent boss betrayed by an employee and warned the rest of the industry. He detailed how he had valued and supported my talent, only for me to repay him with ingratitude—abandoning the company during its most difficult time, stealing core trade secrets, and attempting to set up a rival business to compete with him. Every word and sentence was designed to smear my reputation. Over the next few days, I sent my resume to other companies, but the outcome was the same every single time. "Sorry, we aren't hiring right now." "Apologies, but you don't meet our requirements." "To be honest, your reputation in the industry is ruined. You should just go back to your hometown." In the span of three days, I was rejected by over a dozen companies. Among them were firms that had previously shown interest in me, but had now completely changed their tune. Just as the 21st company rejected me, I received a call from Franklin. Chapter 4 "Charlie." He had clearly been drinking. His tone was languid, like a victorious general looking down at a defeated foe he had trampled underfoot. "I hear you're having trouble finding a job lately? Haha! I get it. Young people have ambition, but you have to face reality sometimes. “What do you think? How about you consider apologizing to me? Then sign an agreement promising not to take a technical role at any other company for five years—no, make that ten. “If you do that, I’ll drop the blacklist order. What do you say?" He spoke with absolute confidence, certain he had me in the palm of his hand. Ten years? How many decades does a person have in a lifetime? Franklin was not just trying to fire me. He was trying to crush me completely. I said, "No way in hell!" I hung up, spent the night gathering evidence, and filed for arbitration. Barely half an hour after I submitted the paperwork, Franklin showed up with a lawyer to accuse me of ‘stealing company secrets’. Their grounds were that I had frequently lingered at the office after hours, acting suspiciously. They twisted my hard work and overtime into evidence against me. Refusing to accept this, I stormed back to the office and made a scene. I wrote countless letters of complaint and filmed endless videos to prove my side of the story. However, I just got drowned out in the comments section of every post. [This guy is a former colleague of mine. He was always acting weird. He’s probably suffering from paranoid delusions.] [Former colleague here too. He was just struggling at work and wanted to extort money from the company.] [People like him should’ve been fired ages ago. They just poison the company culture.] A tidal wave of online abuse and skepticism crashed down on me, leaving me gasping for air. I had worked overtime for the job and to prove my worth. How did I end up branded a shady villain who stole company secrets? I could not understand it, nor could I accept being misunderstood and slandered like this. Thus, I fought even harder to prove myself. In the end, even my mother was alarmed. She sounded terrified over the phone, as if she were holding back tears. "Charlie, people are calling the house every day, and there are people downstairs cursing us in the middle of the night. “We can't win this fight. Just come home. I'll take care of you." Her voice trembled as she pleaded with me. As I recounted this, I let out a light chuckle as if I were telling someone else's story. However, Alex’s eyes had turned red with rage. He asked me hoarsely, "And then?" Afterward, I chain-smoked all night in my rented apartment. The next day, consumed by bitter resentment, I returned home. I did not touch a computer for a year after that. My hands were fine, but my spirit was dead. I took a job delivering food, forcing myself to forget everything about Kinetix. I transformed from a highly educated tech elite into a down-and-out, middle-aged man. As I spoke, I pulled a lighter from my pocket and lit a cigarette, speaking in a casual, nonchalant tone. "But fortunately, there’s always a way out. Two years ago, Apex Systems’ executives approached me with an offer on Christmas. A chance for revenge! “Come to think of it, I actually owe Franklin some thanks. If it weren't for him, I never would have had the opportunity to join Apex Systems and become their fiercest rival to take them down." I enunciated those last three words slowly. The hallway grew noisy. My current boss, Jack Everton, approached me, flanked by a group of men who were bowing and scraping. He turned and said to another man, "This is Apex Systems’s current Tech Director. You should speak with him regarding the technical partnership with Kinetix." "Sure, sure." Franklin nodded obsequiously, his face plastered with a sycophantic smile. However, he froze at the sight of me.