After New Year’s, my wife had her assistant, Marcus Smith, host the company’s celebration banquet. At the meeting, Marcus handed out bonuses to every employee—except me. Just as I was about to step forward and demand an explanation, he publicly mocked me: “Quinn Foster, you’ve contributed absolutely nothing to this company. How do you still have the nerve to stand here begging like this?!” I gave him a slight smile, tore off my employee badge on the spot, and ground it under my foot. As I turned to storm out, Marcus called after me: “You can leave, but you need to leave the company uniform behind! Take it off right now!” I froze. Did he really not know that I was the company’s actual owner? At that moment, everyone in the room was staring at me. I dialed several times before the call finally connected. Then Vivian Caldwell’s impatient voice came through the phone: “Quinn, what are you freaking out about now?” “This meeting is critical for the company. Can’t you wait until I get back?” I glanced at Marcus from the corner of my eye and said firmly: “No!” The next second, Vivian started cursing at me through the phone. “Yes! I told Marcus to fire you. Are you satisfied now?!” I paused for a moment before speaking again. “Give me a reason.” Vivian let out a scornful laugh and said coldly: “A reason? I’m the chairman of Caldwell Group. Do I need a reason to fire someone?” “You’ve held the title of Sales Manager for three whole years without a single shred of performance. How do you still have the nerve to ask me why?!” By the end, even though I’d turned the phone volume to its lowest setting, Vivian’s voice still echoed throughout the entire conference hall. “Quinn, listen carefully! My Caldwell Group doesn’t support deadweight!” After that final statement, she hung up directly. The room fell dead silent. “Everyone just heard that, right? Even Vivian herself called Quinn deadweight. Why keep someone like that around?” Marcus stood on stage, looking at me triumphantly. “I suggest you pack up your things and go home to sleep.” Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly smiled at me. “If you’re going to live off someone, you should at least act the part. Don’t you think I’m right, Mr. Foster?” I looked at him expressionlessly and let out a cold laugh. “So what Assistant Marcus is saying is that I’m completely unnecessary at this company?” Seeing me deliberately walk into his trap, Marcus’s face lit up with glee. “Well, what else?” “During work hours, you’re either on your phone or playing games. You know absolutely nothing about the business. If it weren’t for your relationship with Vivian, you would’ve been fired ages ago.” “Keeping deadweight like you at the company is just a waste of resources.” I held up my index finger and shook it gently. “No, no, no. I think everything Marcus said before was correct, but there’s one thing I disagree with.” Marcus looked somewhat surprised at my confident tone. “What don’t you agree with?” “You don’t actually think Caldwell Group can survive without you, do you?” I gave him a slight smile, then nodded emphatically. “You’re absolutely right.” “If I leave the company, Caldwell Group will collapse immediately.” As soon as I finished speaking, the previously silent conference hall erupted. “Oh my God, this guy is so full of himself. Caldwell is a publicly listed company, one of the top 500 nationwide. How could it possibly collapse because of one little manager?” “Exactly! This guy just relies on being the chairman’s husband. He’s been lazy for years, doing no work but taking a salary for three whole years.” “He’s so disgusting. How can people like this even exist? Pretty boy, freeloader—just go die already!” The cursing around me grew louder and louder, but I didn’t care at all. Because every single word I said was the truth. The reason Caldwell Group went from a tiny company with just a few people three years ago to a publicly listed corporation with over ten thousand employees today was entirely because of me—or rather, because of the power behind me. It had absolutely nothing to do with the Vivian they kept talking about. Back then, Caldwell Group’s founder, Gregory Caldwell, traveled all the way from Boston to New York just to beg me to marry his granddaughter. And he was holding a marriage contract. It did indeed bear my grandfather’s personal signature. I was young back then and didn’t understand what love was. I just figured that since my grandfather had arranged it this way, he must have had his reasons. But I never imagined that after single-handedly building Caldwell Group into what it is today, they would turn around and call me deadweight. At that thought, my anger surged. Right then and there, I decided to confront Gregory Caldwell face-to-face and ask him clearly whether the Caldwell family was planning to turn their backs on me. If he continued to let Vivian serve as chairman, I wouldn’t mind sending the Caldwell family right back to where they were three years ago. “Wait!” Just as I turned to leave, Marcus’s voice called out. “You’re just going to leave like that?” I slowly turned back around and looked toward the stage. “What? Is Marcus planning to invite me to stay for dinner?” Marcus stared at me with a wicked grin for a long moment before speaking. “Before you go, you need to leave the company’s property behind.” I narrowed my eyes and met his gaze directly. “I already gave you my badge. What else could there be?” Marcus let out a scornful laugh, then raised the microphone in his hand. “Take off that company uniform you’re wearing!”
As soon as he said that, the entire conference hall erupted again. The vast majority of employees looked at me with schadenfreude. Only a few people I was close with gave me sympathetic glances. When the wall falls, everyone pushes. When I was still a manager, they all kissed up to me. Now that I’d been fired, not a single person stood up to speak for me. Was this the quality of employees at a publicly listed company? In my opinion, three years was too short a time for the company to grow this large. It happened too fast for the Caldwell family. Seeing that I wasn’t responding, Marcus’s tone became impatient. “Hey, I’m talking to you. Are you pretending not to hear me?” I smiled slightly and looked at him calmly. “What if I don’t take it off?” “In all my years, you’re the first person who’s dared to threaten me to my face. I wonder who gave you the guts.” Marcus raised his eyebrows, his eyes full of contempt, as if he didn’t take me seriously at all. “Quinn, even your wife doesn’t want you anymore. What right do you have to act tough in front of me?” Hearing his words, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “Who told you I need to rely on Vivian?” As soon as I finished speaking, several employees close to Marcus started bombarding me. “Oh wow, look who’s talking. Turns out it’s just the dog Vivian keeps.” “Exactly! I thought you had some impressive background. Turns out you’re just a freeloader, a pretty boy.” “If Vivian finds out about this, you’ll probably be kneeling on a washboard all night.” They talked and laughed, looking very excited. I quietly noted down all their names. “If I’m not mistaken, you few are with Marcus, right?” As an excellent businessman, sharp observation is a basic skill. From the very start of the meeting, these people had been exchanging glances with Marcus. The red envelopes they received were noticeably larger than others—some could barely fit in their pockets. Company policy clearly stated that the annual bonuses were the same amount for everyone, regardless of rank or position. But these few were obviously different from the other employees. Marcus must have done something behind the scenes. Poor Vivian, so foolishly entrusting such an important task to him. Even I, the actual owner behind the scenes, couldn’t stand watching this. “You’re talking nonsense! We have no relationship with Marcus whatsoever.” “That’s right. We’re just speaking up because we can’t stand you hogging company resources.” “You’re just a freeloader. What right do you have to question us?” I struggled to stay calm and glared hard at them. “I admit I’m better looking than all of you, and younger too, but…” Halfway through, I suddenly raised my voice, and my gaze turned sharp! “I personally hate being called a pretty boy. I hope you won’t use that term again.” “Otherwise, I’ll get angry. And the consequences will be severe.” The sudden intensity I displayed scared those lackeys badly. They couldn’t squeeze out a single word for ages. Seeing someone bullying his subordinates, Marcus’s expression immediately changed. “You little punk, I guess I’ve been too nice to you.” “You’re just some unemployed nobody who got fired from the company, and you dare lecture my employees in front of me?” “Let me tell you, today I’m not only firing you—I’m going to make you streak out of here!”
Hearing Marcus’s words, I almost couldn’t hold back my laughter. It seemed Boston’s business world was definitely more entertaining than New York’s. At least here I could watch clowns perform. “Marcus, can your words represent the company?” I looked at him calmly, though I was actually quite excited inside. As soon as I finished speaking, Marcus waved his hand dramatically: “Of course!” “Quinn, let me tell you straight—Vivian is about to divorce you.” “She never liked you from the beginning.” I smiled slightly, my face showing no trace of panic. “Oh? Really? Did Vivian actually tell you that?” Marcus nodded instinctively, his eyes full of contempt. “What else? You don’t actually think the chairman of a publicly listed company would like a useless person like you, do you?” “If it weren’t for the old chairman’s sake, you should’ve been kicked out long ago.” So I was right. The Caldwell family thought their wings were strong enough now and wanted to fly solo. But they obviously picked the wrong target. This trick of discarding someone after using them wouldn’t work on me at all. If I could make the Caldwell family the top of Boston’s four great families in such a short time, I could naturally pull them down from that pedestal and leave them with nothing. For me, it was just a matter of one phone call. But suddenly I changed my mind. This game of cat and mouse had to be played to the very end to be interesting. After all, the main character hadn’t even appeared yet. How could it end so quickly? Marcus still didn’t know what I was planning. Seeing me standing motionless, he thought I’d chickened out and became even more brazen. “Hey, Quinn, everyone’s waiting. Are you going to strip or not?” “If you don’t do it yourself, I’ll get someone to help you.” With that, he raised the microphone and shouted toward the door. “Security! Get in here, now!” Following Marcus’s shout, more than a dozen workers wearing Caldwell Group badges rushed into the conference hall. Under Marcus’s command, these security guards quickly rushed toward me and surrounded me. At the same time, Marcus had already walked down from the podium. But he was quite cowardly—he only dared stand behind the security guards, about two meters away from me. “Marcus, are you planning to use force on me?” “Don’t forget, I’m not divorced yet. Aren’t you afraid Vivian will hold you accountable?” As soon as I finished speaking, Marcus burst into loud laughter. “I knew you’d use Vivian as a shield. Good thing I prepared ahead.” With that, he pulled out his phone in front of everyone and called Vivian. After the call connected, he smiled sinisterly and handed me the phone. “Vivian has something to say to you.”
Vivian’s voice quickly came through the phone. “Quinn, I want a divorce!” I spoke expressionlessly. “Judging by your tone, Vivian, you’ve already found your next man, haven’t you?” I could feel Vivian’s excitement even through the screen. “How much money do you want? Name your price.” “As long as you agree to divorce me, you can ask for whatever you want.” She didn’t answer my question directly, but I wasn’t in a hurry. After all, boiling a frog in warm water required patience. “I don’t need the money. I’m sure it won’t be long before the Caldwell family collapses.” Then I suddenly changed my tone, my voice turning colder. “I just want to know one thing right now. Who’s the one who dared to interfere and steal my woman?” Sensing my anger, Vivian immediately let out a scornful laugh. “You’re not worthy of knowing his name.” “But I can tell you this—he’s from New York, at a level you could never reach.” Hearing Vivian’s words, I almost laughed out loud. Someone from the same place as me, and I wouldn’t know them? Impossible. I was just curious about who exactly this person could be. To dare steal my woman—they must have a death wish. Before I could respond, Marcus snatched the phone back. “Alright, alright. Even if Vivian told you who it was, what could you do about it?” “I suggest you just take off your clothes obediently. That way you’ll at least get some severance pay.” “For a freeloader like you, that’s a pretty good deal, wouldn’t you say?” Facing Marcus’s repeated provocations, not only did I not lose my temper, I endured it again and again. Not because I was afraid of him, but because I still hadn’t figured out who was behind all this. Now that the truth had surfaced, I naturally didn’t need to indulge him anymore. “Enough!” I scanned my eyes around the room. “This meeting clearly can’t continue. So now I’m giving all of you two choices.” “Those who know what’s good for them should leave immediately. The rest, I’ll consider enemies of Quinn.” “And I never show mercy to my enemies.” As soon as I finished speaking, the surrounding employees burst into laughter. “Everyone heard that, right? This pretty boy is actually giving us choices. How hilarious!” “Quinn, you don’t still think you’re a manager, do you?” “Everyone heard that phone call. Even Vivian has abandoned you. What right do you have to spout such arrogance here?” I suppressed the anger in my heart and spoke slowly. “I wonder if any of you have heard the saying: there’s always a higher mountain, always someone better.” “When I, Quinn, do things, I never rely on women.” I looked disappointedly at the smiling faces before me, feeling somewhat let down. Was this what the workplace was really like? Usually when they called me a freeloader or a pretty boy, I just took it as a joke. But I never expected that just because Vivian wanted to divorce me, everyone would laugh at me. Was this the consequence of keeping too low a profile? Because of my special status, I’d been hiding all these years, rarely showing my face in public. Even when I occasionally overheard company employees gossiping about me behind my back, I just laughed it off. But I never imagined my usual easygoing attitude would become these people’s license to be arrogant. Seeing that I still wasn’t moving, Marcus’s face immediately darkened. “Hey, Quinn! I’m counting to three. If you still don’t strip, I’ll have them do it for you!” I put my hands in my pockets and looked at him sideways. “Alright, alright. I’ve played along with your little show long enough. It’s time to demonstrate some real power.” My words instantly enraged Marcus. He rolled up his sleeves and charged at me. Just then, the conference room doors suddenly opened. All the employees, including Marcus, turned around in unison. A young man about my age swaggered into the room. “Mr. Foster, I heard you were asking about me?”
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