Firing Me From My Dad's Company

I'm scheduled to work overtime for all five days of the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. However, I decide to just put up with it because I remember that I have a 200,000-dollar year-end bonus at stake. On the first day of overtime, the HR manager, Karen Beech, deducts 200 dollars from my pay, citing "lack of attention to personal image and affecting the company's overall reputation" as the reason. I look at my neatly pressed dress shirt and slacks and frown. "I've strictly followed the company's rules regarding my appearance. What's the problem?" Without saying another word, Karen grabs a cup of hot coffee and splashes it all over me. "Well, you've got a problem now." That day, an official message is pinned on the company's Slack channel. "Alex Sutherland violated our company's policy, affecting the company's overall reputation. Thus, he's fined 200 dollars." Nobody speaks up for me in the channel. That's because the newly appointed General Manager, Remy Lincoln, says that he wants to reduce costs and increase the company's efficiency, which would mean random layoffs. As a result, the entire office has been thrown into a state of panic, and everyone is looking out for themselves. As for me, I am the highest-paid employee in the company with a monthly salary of 10,000 dollars. On the second day of overtime, someone locks my front door from the outside, making me almost a minute late for work. When I reach the company, Karen writes me up for being tardy and fires me on the spot. I look at another sales associate behind her, Sandra Leach, who is pretending to be busy with work to avoid my gaze. She is the only person in the entire company who has ever been invited to my home. I refuse to leave without a fight and request to see the company chairman, Mr. Richard Lincoln. However, Karen scoffs disdainfully at me and says, "Don't think that you have any influence on the company's decisions just because you're a sales manager. "Mr. Remy Lincoln is Mr. Lincoln Senior's only son, which means his will is also the chairman's." She then glances at my chest and adds, "Did you seriously think that a woman with zero assets like you could even attempt to seduce the chairman into changing his mind? In your dreams!" I'm at a complete loss for words. For starters, I am a man, and Karen has to be completely blind not to notice that. And secondly, if Remy really were my dad's only son, then who am I supposed to be? Chapter 1 "Really? Well then, if you're a man, I'll chew up this coffee cup and swallow it whole today!" the HR manager, Karen Beech, sneered as she jabbed a finger at my nose, doubling over with laughter. Some makeup powder even fell loose from her heavily made-up face due to her exaggerated expression. She continued scrutinizing my body, her eyes full of contempt as she said, "Look at your non-existent boobs and your narrow hips! You look so withered, yet you think you're the star of some movie show here just because you're covering it up with a gender neutral outfit? "Don't think I don't know what you low-level female employees are always up to, dressing differently just to catch the eye of the company's higher-ups. Let me tell you, to Mr. Lincoln, people like you with no feminine charm whatsoever are nothing but a liability to the company!" Then, she splashed her coffee on me again, just like she did yesterday. I pulled a few paper napkins out and tried to dab off the wet coffee stains on my shirt that were still dripping. I took a deep breath, forcing down the disbelief rising in my chest. "Ms. Beech, you do know you can donate your eyes to someone who actually needs them if you're not going to use them properly, right? "I am a man. Also, throwing coffee at an employee for no reason constitutes workplace harassment." Karen crossed her arms at her chest and sneered. "Harassment? I'm just teaching you how things work around here! Mr. Lincoln already said that we won't be keeping any loafers at the office, and certainly not troublemakers like you!" Just then, the glass door to the office slid open, and a man in a custom-made suit and a Rolex on his wrist walked in. It was Remy Lincoln, the company's newly appointed "king". Officially, he was only the branch's general manager, but for some reason, everyone treated his word as law. Sandra Leach followed closely behind, all smiles and eager deference. "What's all the noise about? Don't you know that I'm meditating in my office?" Remy demanded, with a frown, adopting an air of superiority. Karen immediately put on a fawning smile and nodded her head respectfully at him. "This is the situation, Mr. Lincoln. Alex Sutherland here is a full 30 seconds late today, and I was just following your instructions to optimize costs and increase the office's efficiency." Remy glanced at me, his eyes filled with undisguised contempt and disgust. "Alex Sutherland? The highest-paid person in the whole office, right? 10,000 dollars? "Yet, with how much you're being paid, you can't even manage something as basic as showing up to work on time. Do you even think that you're worthy of the company's investment in you?" I looked at his pasty face and laughed in exasperation. "I was late because somebody decided to padlock my door shut this morning, Mr. Lincoln." I then turned to Sandra, who was hiding behind him, and said, "And the only person who has ever been to my house is Sandra." Sandra stiffened at once. Then, she puffed out her chest and said defiantly, "Don't you dare make false accusations against me, Alex! I was only doing it for your own good!" She then walked over to Remy's side, looking like a loyal, devoted lackey, and said, "Mr. Lincoln, I was only trying to teach her how to handle a crisis. After all, young people nowadays are too pampered and spoiled, making excuses for every difficulty they run into. "I only locked the door to see whether she could still make it to work on time despite the adversity!" I was rendered speechless for a long time, stunned by her absolutely absurd remark. "You call illegally restricting someone else's personal freedom and physical movement 'crisis management training'?" Sandra rolled her eyes. "Why can't you just accept that it's all for your own good? You're so ungrateful. I went to great lengths to train you to embody the workplace culture Mr. Lincoln is trying to promote!" Remy nodded in agreement. "Sandra is right. See how these veteran workers get the assignment, Alex? And now, look at yourself. Not only are you slacking off, but you're also talking back to your superiors and slandering your colleagues! "Now, pack your things and get out! Your salary for the month and your year-end bonus will be deducted as compensation for the reputational damage you caused to the company!" I clenched my fists and stared at Remy. "You have no legal right to withhold the wages I've earned, let alone my 200,000-dollar year-end bonus. I want to see the Chairman, Mr. Richard Lincoln!" Remy looked at him as though he'd just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world. He slammed his hand on the table and barked, "How dare you call him by his full name! He is my father! And here, everything I say is law! "Who the hell do you think you are to think you're worthy of seeing my father?" Karen chimed in, her disdain apparent on her face. "Have you gone out of your mind, Alex? Trying to bypass your superiors? Did you really think that your little tricks would work on Mr. Lincoln? "Security! Where are the security guards when you need them? Throw this madwoman out!" Chapter 2 Several burly security guards rushed into the office. Karen then pointed at me like a general commanding her army. She ordered, "Throw away all of the junk on her desk! It's nothing but an eyesore!" The guards immediately did as they were told. They forcefully swept all of my personal belongings, including my documents and mugs, onto the floor. I shoved off the guards trying to grab me and rushed over to my desk. "Don't touch my things!" My gaze then landed on a black fountain pen on the floor. That was the pen that my dad, Richard Lincoln, had given me at my college graduation. My name was carved into the body in gold letters. I was just about to pick it up when someone stepped on it with a sharp stiletto heel. A crisp crack rang out beneath the shoe, and a deep fracture appeared along the pen's body. Karen then looked down condescendingly at me and ground the ball of her shoe against the pen's body. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry. I didn't see it," she said. She covered her mouth as she giggled, her eyes filled with unmistakable malice. "It's just a broken pen. Consider it a lesson to you, you androgynous piece of shit!" A wave of anger surged through me. I shot to my feet and swung my palm hard against her face, delivering a sharp slap to her ugly, heavily made-up features. The slap reverberated across the office, echoing loudly. Karen was hit so hard that she staggered backward and fell to the floor. She then held a hand to her swollen cheek and let out a shrill, pig-like squeal of pain. "Ah! How dare you hit me! Mr. Lincoln! She hit me!" Remy's expression was dark and thunderous. He pointed a finger in my face and roared, "This is mutiny! Mutiny! Security, grab her! Call the police! I want her locked up behind bars forever!" The security guards grabbed me from both sides, but I only looked at Remy coldly, making no attempt to struggle. "Call the police? Go ahead. We'll leave it to the police to investigate Sandra's illegal restriction of personal freedom and Karen's intentional destruction of someone else's property! "And while they're at it, we'll also ask them to find out just what kind of person you really are and where you came from!" A hint of panic flashed in Remy's eyes. However, it was quickly replaced with ruthlessness. He walked up to me and spoke in a low voice. "Who do you think you are, Alex? I have a thousand ways to make your life impossible in Waverton. Care to find out?" Then, he took a step back and raised his voice deliberately. "Still, I have always been a magnanimous person. As long as you get down on your knees, grovel at Karen's feet, and lick up every drop of coffee on the floor, I might consider letting you stay on as a janitor. "After all, flat-chested women like you only deserve to work as a janitor and nothing else." The rest of my colleagues lowered their heads, not daring to defend me. I looked at Remy's extremely arrogant face, a cold smile curling at the corners of my lips. "Remember everything you said to me today, Remy Lincoln. Let's see if you can keep smiling like that in a few days." I forcefully shook off the security guards holding me down and straightened my disheveled suit. Then, I bent down to pick up the broken pen and carefully put it in my pocket. With that, I turned and strode toward the door. I'd only just stepped out of the office building when I heard hurried footsteps behind me. It was Sandra. She was breathlessly trying to catch up with me. "Wait, Alex!" There was a fake smile plastered on her face as she reached out to grab me. "You're just too hot-headed and impulsive for your own good. Mr. Lincoln's just in a bad mood right now. Why won't you just back down and admit that you were wrong to appease him?" I evaded her hand and glared coldly at her. I snapped, "Get to the point." Sandra's face stiffened. However, she forced another smile and said, "About those huge clients you were in charge of… You still haven't handed over their information and account passwords. "Give me the information, and I'll consider putting in a good word for you. Maybe you'll even be able to get some of your pay back." I stared at this shameless, two-faced woman and felt utterly disgusted. "You want the passwords? Sure," I said, leaning closer and making sure every word sank in. "Tell your so-called master to come and beg me personally." Chapter 3 Ignoring Sandra's string of curses behind me, I walked straight toward a cab waiting on the street. Once I was inside, I dialed Dad's private number. "Sorry, the number you dialed is currently unavailable…" A familiar robotic female voice sounded in my ear. It wasn't until then that I remembered that Dad was in Eropah for an important closed-door business deal. To keep the details confidential, all of his communication devices would be centrally managed. The earliest opportunity I had to get in touch with him was three days later, at Lincoln Group's annual dinner event. I gripped my phone tightly. Fine. If that were the case, I would just let these clowns continue to make fools out of themselves for another three days. I didn't stay idle for the next three days. I used my connections and began to look into Remy's background, and what I discovered was nothing short of hilarious. Remy wasn't Dad's illegitimate child or anything. Instead, he was just the grandson of one of Dad's distant cousins, twice removed, who grew up in the country. He had spent his days idling away without ever going to work, and his family shamelessly begged Dad for a job. Since they were somewhat related, Dad casually told his subordinates to give Remy a low-level position at Lincoln Group's branch office in Waverton so he could gain some experience. However, Dad's subordinates had misunderstood him. Remy also intentionally kept his explanation vague, implying that he had been sent by the "higher-ups" to join the management team. Karen had always been a snobbish opportunist eager to curry favor with people with power and influence. She never bothered to verify his identity, yet she was already fawning over him and treating him like royalty at the branch company. Remy just went with it, readily accepting the position and believing that he was the heir to the company, lording over everyone here. On the third afternoon, I was in my apartment organizing the evidence I had collected when my doorbell began ringing urgently and relentlessly. I opened the door and saw two uniformed policemen standing outside. "Are you Alex Sutherland? Someone reported you for allegedly stealing Lincoln Group's confidential trade secrets. Kindly follow us to the police station for further investigation." I cocked an eyebrow, instantly grasping the situation. I guessed that those major clients refused to continue working with the Waverton branch of Lincoln Group the moment they realized that I wasn't working there anymore. Remy and Karen probably couldn't handle it, so they decided to pin the blame on me instead. I didn't resist and cooperated fully with the police, following them to the police car. Upon arriving at the police station, I immediately spotted Remy sitting in a chair with a leg crossed over the other. Meanwhile, Karen and Sandra were sitting on either side of him, fawning over him like loyal lapdogs. The moment they saw me being escorted in, Karen jumped to her feet and screamed, "That's her, officers! This vile, vicious bitch is the one who did it! "She held a grudge against the company after getting fired and didn't just delete the company's core client information. She even sold confidential trade secrets to our competitors!" Next to them, Sandra wiped her tears. Her acting was quite convincing. "I've always treated you well, Alex. How could you have responded to our kindness by committing such heinous acts? How could you do this to the company?" Remy stood up, straightened his suit, and walked up to me. His eyes were filled with a smug, gloating, and malicious look. "I gave you a chance, Alex. But you didn't take it, so you can't blame me for being ruthless with you. You stole trade secrets worth tens of millions of dollars. That's more than enough for you to be put behind bars for the rest of your life!" I looked at him like he was an idiot. "Is your brain filled with mashed potatoes or something, Remy Lincoln? "Those clients were relationships I had cultivated long before I joined the company. They have absolutely nothing to do with Lincoln Group. "As for the trade secrets? I wouldn't even take it from you if you begged." The officers interrupted our argument and brought me into the interrogation room. Two hours later, I was free to leave the police station without any consequences. Remy's expression immediately changed when he saw that I wasn't being charged or detained for anything. "Officers! How could you just let her go like that? She's a spy! A corporate spy!" The lead officer glared coldly at him. "We've already verified the allegations against Mr. Sutherland, and the evidence is conclusive. Those clients are indeed his personal connections. Furthermore, there is no evidence that he stole any of your company's trade secrets. "On the contrary, you are all now being investigated for filing a false police report." The officer had deliberately emphasized the title "Mr." when he addressed me. Hearing that, Karen's eyes widened into saucers, and she pointed at me as though she'd just seen a ghost. "Mister? Officer, you must be mistaken! She's clearly just a flat-chested woman!" I walked up to Karen and looked down at her condescendingly. "You don't even know the gender of your employees, do you, Ms. Beech? Some HR manager you are." Chapter 4 After giving Remy, Karen, and Sandra a stern warning, the officer left them to work on another case. Remy turned pale, then red with anger and humiliation. Obviously, the public humiliation was too much for him. He glared at me and gritted his teeth. "Don't get too smug just yet, Alex! The police may not do anything to you, but I can still make sure that you're completely blacklisted across the entire industry in Waverton! "I will expose your true colors as a leech in front of all the senior executives and business partners at the company's annual dinner event tomorrow!" Karen also recovered from her shock and viciously echoed, "Yes! Scum like you should be despised by the entire industry! So what if you're actually a man? You're still a useless piece of shit!" I had no desire to entertain their nonsense. Without saying another word, I turned around and walked out of the police station. That night, rumors about me began circulating wildly in various Slack channels and WhatsApp groups within the Waverton business industry. They accused me of bullying my colleagues at work, having a chaotic and unrestrained personal life, and even resorting to under-the-table methods to secure business deals. It was obvious that Karen and Sandra were the ones behind it all. They were trying to completely shut me off by destroying my reputation and pushing me off the cliff of despair. I read the vile insults on my phone screen, feeling absolutely nothing. In fact, I found it all rather amusing. After all, the higher they climbed, the harder they would fall—and the more painful their downfall would be. And if Remy was determined to make a huge show about this, then I was more than delighted to play along with him. … The next evening, Grand Wave Hotel was ablaze with lights and luxurious décor as the Lincoln Group's annual dinner event was held in the ballroom. Luxury cars lined the hotel, and almost all of Waverton's prominent business figures were present. Meanwhile, I arrived at the hotel entrance dressed casually in jeans and a shirt, my hands tucked into my pockets. Just as I reached the door, two familiar figures got in my way. "Well, well, well, if it's not the bitch—I mean, bastard—who got fired from the company for petty theft…" Karen sashayed over in a cheap knockoff evening gown, with Sandra trailing behind her, both of them wearing expressions of disdain. "What the hell are you doing here, Alex Sutherland? This is not a place for poor wretches like you." Karen gave me a once-over before bursting into shrill laughter. "What, did you think that you could attend the company dinner dressed in thrifted clothing? Are you planning to mooch off the free food? Or maybe steal a couple of things from the people here? "Where's security? Kick this street beggar out of this place at once! Don't let him be an eyesore to Mr. Lincoln!" Just then, Remy arrived with his arm wrapped around an heiress dressed in an extremely revealing outfit, making his way toward the entrance surrounded by a crowd of people. His face darkened the instant he caught sight of me. "You've got some nerve to show your face in front of me again, Alex Sutherland!" he yelled while pointing a finger at my nose. Then, he shouted at the security guards nearby. "What the hell are you guys doing? How dare you let in a street beggar like him! Throw him out at once and break his legs! I'll take responsibility for it all!" Several ruthless-looking security guards began marching toward me menacingly, drawing their batons as they approached. Karen and Sandra cheered excitedly from the side as if they could already see me being beaten to a pulp. I remained standing there, perfectly motionless. Just as the guards' batons were about to strike me, the sound of screeching brakes was heard. A limited-edition Rolls-Royce Phantom came to a stop right in the middle of the hotel entrance, exuding an unmistakable air of authority. The door was kicked open, and a man in a bespoke suit and sunglasses rushed out. "I'd like to see who the hell dares to lay a finger on him!"