My Boss Fined Me, So I Stopped Caring

I spent a few minutes in the bathroom during work hours, and my 20,000‑dollar salary was cut down to 3,500 dollars. I went to my boss to demand an explanation. He acted fair‑minded, and every word carried sarcasm. "According to last month's security footage, you spent a total of 40 minutes in the bathroom. Don't tell me you were working there. "Five hundred dollars for every minute you spent in the bathroom. "It’s a new company policy. As a senior employee, you should set an example. Honestly, I went easy on you." I had been one of the company's key employees for ten years, and the deals I brought in had generated over 100 million dollars in revenue. Now, even my most basic rights were taken away. When I did not react, he smiled coldly. "If you don't like it, quit. You really think this company can't function without you? "And don't forget that you still have five years left on your contract. Who's going to hire you?" I did not argue with him. However, when my contract expired five days later, he was the one who panicked. Chapter 1 He still would not let up. "Jason, you’ve been with the company for years. You should know the rules by now, right? "Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a job these days? I’m only docking your pay because we go way back. If you were anyone else, I would’ve told you to pack your things and get out! "We’re both men. You think I don’t know how long it’s normal to spend in the bathroom?" I could not help laughing. I had spent five years at this company giving it everything I had, and I had focused only on closing deals and bringing in business. My performance had always spoken for itself, and plenty of companies had offered to pay my contract buyout to poach me. However, I had stayed out of loyalty to this place and the people here. I had never considered leaving. Even with only five days left on my contract, I had planned to renew it. Still, there was no need to do so anymore. My boss threw that insulting pay stub at me without a hint of remorse. "Think carefully. Are you staying or leaving?" I picked up the paper and replied calmly, "I understand. I won’t use the bathroom during work hours anymore." He was startled for a second, clearly surprised that I would swallow my pride so easily. However, when he saw me standing there looking defeated, he broke into a smug grin. "That’s more like it. Not a single minute wasted." As I reached the door, he took one last shot at me. As I was about to leave, he sneered, "I don’t know what some pathetic wage slaves are trying to prove. You stood there arguing with me for all that time, and what happened? You still came crawling back to work like a good little dog. I can’t stand people who act like you!" I opened my mouth, but I said nothing. I simply walked out. Outside the office, everyone was in a good mood. Payday always had that effect. However, the moment they saw how quiet I was, the room fell silent. The company’s newest intern, Logan Reed, did not care at all. He swaggered past me and snatched my pay stub without asking. He looked at it and put on an exaggerated expression of shock. "James, you only got 3,500 dollars? That’s not even enough to buy one pair of my sneakers. "Aren’t you supposed to be one of the company’s biggest assets? Guess you’ve really fallen off." He passed my pay stub around the office, laughing as he kept repeating, "James, what did you do? Did you seriously screw up that badly and piss off the manager? "How’d you end up with only this much?" My coworker, Helen Walls, patted my shoulder and asked with concern, "James, why did they only pay you this much? Did payroll mess up?" I forced a smile. "New company policy. Five hundred dollars for every minute spent in the bathroom." Helen looked confused. "What kind of nonsense is that? The company’s never had a rule like that." The smile disappeared from my face. Before I could say anything, my manager, Mr. Lawrence, slowly walked out of his office. "Let’s clear this up. The company has a new policy. Five hundred dollars for every minute you spend in the bathroom. "We tested it on our team leader, James, this month. The results were pretty good, so we’ll implement it company‑wide starting next month. "And one more thing. Just because you’ve been here longer doesn’t mean you can order everyone around. "Everyone needs to mind their own business and follow the company’s policy." Chapter 2 After he said that, he patted my shoulder. "James, you're a man. Just take it like a man, okay?" I stood there frozen, unable to process what had just happened. So that was it. He had been targeting me all along. He singled me out for the pay cut and took a jab at me for bossing people around. Unfortunately, he had forgotten one detail. My five‑year contract expired in five days. Besides, I had been the one doing everyone else’s dirty work all these years. Fine, then. He could not blame me for having no loyalty left. I opened the message I had received the night before from a competing company and replied: [I’ll be leaving in five days. Will be there on time.] … They were thrilled to hear from me. Apparently, they did not expect me to say yes. To be safe, I asked about the salary and benefits. The reply came almost immediately. "Don’t worry. As long as you deliver, you may name your price." I stared at the message and let out a long breath. I spent the entire afternoon working as usual. The only difference was that now, with bathroom breaks practically forbidden, my efficiency had taken a serious hit. There was nothing I could do. Those were the company’s new rules. Around five, someone came to ask me to help negotiate a deal with a client. They said the client was tough, and they needed me to handle it. Previously, I would have agreed without hesitation. I used to believe the company was a team. If the company succeeded, I would succeed too. So whenever anyone needed my help, I never said no, as long as it was for the company, even if it meant running myself into the ground. However, after they singled me out with that new rule, I realized that I was nothing more than an employee. Who would care for me even if I worked myself to the ground? I was not about to make that mistake again. I put on an innocent expression and answered, "Sorry. I’d love to help, but I can’t." "Why not?" "Didn’t you hear what happened this morning? I get fined just for using the bathroom. If I leave the office with you to negotiate a deal, what if he decides I’m slacking off? "My paycheck is already small enough. One more deduction and I’ll be in the negatives. "I’m single, with no family to support, but I still have to feed myself first." When he heard what I said, he went silent. After a moment, he walked away without another word. At seven sharp, I shut down my computer and left. Without constantly cleaning up everyone else’s messes, my workload had dropped dramatically. I could not believe how much easier life felt. So this was what it felt like to stop worrying about everything that was not your problem. I walked out of the office with a spring in my step. A cool breeze brushed against my face. It felt incredible. For once, I did not bother spending my own money on a taxi. I grabbed a shared bike and rode to the market. After five years of working myself to the bone, I realized this was one of the few times I had ever taken my time going home. What had I been putting myself through all those years? When I got home, I cooked myself a proper dinner and took a long, relaxing hot shower. For once, my food was not something prepackaged or something I had left sitting around until it went cold. For years, I had been drinking and entertaining clients to land deals. My eating schedule was a mess, and eventually I developed chronic stomach problems. I was going to start taking care of myself. After dinner, I was about to order groceries for the next day when my phone exploded with notifications. There were video calls, work‑group messages, and texts from coworkers. I opened one of the group chats at random. It was filled with people begging me to call back. [Urgent! Mr. Lawrence is furious! Call back ASAP!] Just then, Mr. Lawrence called me. I pondered for a moment before answering. The second I picked up the call, he started yelling at me. "James!!! Where the hell did you go?! You had unfinished work and still left without permission? That’s a 1,000‑dollar deduction!" I replied calmly, "Mr. Lawrence, let’s get one thing straight. I finished my work. I sent the entire checklist to everyone. Everyone can see it. "And since I respect you as my boss, I even stayed a few extra minutes, but don’t worry about paying me for those extra minutes. "We’re both men. I know everyone’s got it tough." Chapter 3 "I’ve always been reasonable. You know that." After I said that, I suddenly felt a lot better. … There was silence on the other end of the phone, as if he were bracing himself for a storm. While I waited, I checked the messages in the work‑group chat. It turned out that the deal had fallen through without me there to handle it. The company took a huge loss, and the boss personally called Mr. Lawrence and tore him apart. Just because I stopped dealing with all the random extra tasks they kept dumping on me, everyone else’s workload had skyrocketed. They were not used to it, and their productivity dropped sharply. Before long, the entire office descended into chaos. It was only when they were completely overwhelmed did they finally start calling me. However, I had already turned on Do Not Disturb after work, so I did not receive a single call. As for Mr. Lawrence, he remained silent. After a long while, he finally forced the words through clenched teeth. "Fine, I got it. James, make sure you’re at your desk on time tomorrow." I knew he was up to something, but I did not care anymore. I was leaving soon anyway. There was not much he could do to me now. The next morning, I arrived at my desk right on time, not a minute late. However, Mr. Lawrence still came looking for me. He smiled and said, "James, this company isn’t exactly hell. Do you really need to avoid it like the plague? "You used to never leave before nine. What happened yesterday? You left early. Be honest. Are you upset with me? If you are, I can fix it. "I just didn’t expect a grown man to be this petty." I let out a cold sneer in my mind. I knew it. All that smiling was just an act. He was up to something. Honestly, I understood exactly why he was doing it. If he could have fired me outright but chose to dock my pay instead, that told me everything I needed to know. I was too valuable to lose. The fact that he kept threatening me with my contract made it even more obvious that he did not want me walking away. There was just one flaw in his plan. His memory was terrible. He had forgotten the exact date my contract ended. I kept my voice calm. "Mr. Lawrence, what are you talking about? Of course I’m not upset with you. We’ve worked together for years. Why would I have a problem with you?" When he saw me play along, he let the matter drop, then casually knocked another 200 dollars off my paycheck. "Sorry, James. I told everyone they had to be here on time today, but you were late." I stared at him in confusion and was about to argue. He immediately cut me off, pretending to suddenly remember something. "Oh, right. I forgot. When we were working late last night, I told everyone to come in thirty minutes early today. "But you weren’t there for overtime, so obviously you didn’t hear me. Next time, make sure you check the messages after work. Don’t miss anything important. Got it?" He emphasized those last two words, making it clear he was trying to put me in my place. Then he tossed a file onto my desk. "I’m leaving on a business trip. Take over this project ASAP. This is a new deal. The client is one of those notoriously difficult clients you managed to win over before. This time, take Logan with you and get the deal done. "Next week, we’re bidding against Company Y. I’ll be there in person. Once we win, don’t keep stealing the spotlight in front of the boss. Give the younger guys a chance. Got it?" Before I could respond, someone called him away for his business trip. I had to admit that he played his cards well. Everyone knew Logan was his nephew. This whole thing was designed to have me pave the way for his nephew, let Logan shine in front of the boss, and then kick me out. I knew Mr. Lawrence had always been bitter about the fact that I was better at my job and that the boss valued me more. He had been quietly targeting me for years, trying to sideline me and strip me of my influence. However, I was not falling for it. It was Tuesday. I had only three days left before I left the company. I was not touching this deal for those three days. After all, I would be reporting to Company Y in three days. I was not about to leak confidential information. That would be illegal. Still, before I left, I was going to give them a taste of their own medicine. That, I was absolutely going to do. Chapter 4 "Mr. Lawrence, I’ll be there, but not as your employee." … The intern, Logan, walked in and took the files. I followed him out, and he immediately assumed I was trying to steal credit. He stopped me. "James, this project is extremely important. Mr. Lawrence said I’ll be leading the negotiations, and you’ll assist me. So please don’t overstep." The moment I heard that, the weight on my shoulders disappeared. I had been wondering how I was going to distance myself from this project. It looked like I did not have to do anything at all. A while later, I deliberately brought it up in the office. "Helen, I heard this project is a huge deal. The entire management team is paying close attention to it. If it goes well, the intern could get a full‑time position, and senior employees could even get promoted." My coworkers immediately agreed. Logan, who sat across from me, did not say anything. However, his eyes kept darting around. By the time we were almost off work, he came straight to my desk. "James, you know I’m the person in charge of this project, right?" I nodded. He continued, "Then you don’t need to be involved anymore. I’ll tell Mr. Lawrence." I almost laughed. He had taken the bait exactly as I expected, but I kept my expression furious. "Logan, what do you mean? Are you messing with me? What happens if something goes wrong later and they blame me for it?" As I continued pressing the issue, his composure began to crack. Frustrated and irritated, he snapped, "Then what do you expect me to do?" I smiled. "Provide me with a written statement confirming that, during my employment with the company, I had no involvement whatsoever in this project. Not the bidding process, the pricing, the proposals, or any related matters. "Only then can I make sure nobody tries to shift the blame onto me later." After arguing back and forth for a long time, he finally agreed. Before leaving work, I had the statement in my hands. With that, I would not have to worry about anyone coming after me in the future. For the next few days, Logan worked with the team he assembled, trying to handle the project. Meanwhile, I focused on preparing for my resignation. Every day, I took screenshots from the work‑group chats, documenting that I had no involvement with the project. Finally, my contract expired. I officially resigned. When I left, many of my coworkers were reluctant to see me go. Some even offered to take me out for dinner. However, Logan looked completely smug. He thought I had been fired. Before I left, he walked over to my desk. I did not need to look at him to know exactly what kind of expression he had. "James, are you really resigning? Or did you actually get fired? If you ever need anything in the future, you may come to find me. Maybe I can help you out. I do have some connections, you know." I ignored him and walked straight out of the building. Things had not ended well between us, but I had to admit that this place had witnessed my growth. Now, it was time to start a new chapter. The bidding was only three days away. I did not waste a single moment resting. Instead, I used every bit of time I had to prepare. This was not just about proving them wrong. It was about proving my own worth, earning the respect, and earning the compensation I deserved. Soon enough, the day arrived. I entered the building alongside Company Y’s team. Logan and his team followed closely behind us. Just before the bidding began, a sudden pain twisted in my stomach. I had no choice but to make a quick trip to the bathroom. I never crossed paths with them because of that. More importantly, Mr. Lawrence never saw me. When I returned, the bidding was about to begin. I dared not look too obviously, but I could still sense the panic written all over Logan’s face beside me. There were three companies competing for the contract. The first presentation ended quickly. Then, it was Logan’s team’s turn. That was when Mr. Lawrence and the company president finally arrived, late as always. The moment Mr. Lawrence stepped through the door, his eyes landed on me. "James, get up there right now. Do you have any idea how it looks for you to be standing with our rival?!"