My coworker Mia loves to take advantage of others. From small things like pens to big items like headphones and phones, she would always sneak them away when no one’s looking. “We’re all colleagues, what’s wrong with borrowing your stuff?” she would say. “Besides, that cheap brand you use ruined my hands. I should be asking you for medical expenses!” Rumor has it that her family owns the company, so everyone is angry but afraid to speak up. Until I joined and invited everyone to my birthday party. She stole an iPad from the yacht and then faked a heart attack. Hilarious. I’m a professional rescue worker, and CPR is my specialty! “Mia, why did you take my phone again? I need to call a client!” Sarah cried with a dejected look on her face. “What are you whining about? Your phone was just sitting on your desk not being used. I’m helping you make use of it. You should be thanking me,” Mia said as she scrolled through her phone with a face mask on, giggling every now and then in an irritating way. Sarah was fuming inside but didn’t dare to speak up. She could only complain quietly, “Just remember to return it when you’re done. How am I supposed to work without it?” Mia pretended not to hear her. Another coworker who couldn’t stand it anymore spoke up, “Mia, Sarah needs her phone. Why don’t you give it back to her?” “What are you yelling about? I don’t have her phone,” Mia retorted. Sarah panicked. “Then where did my phone go?” “The repair shop, of course! Your phone was broken so I took it there for you. Remember to pay me the $100 delivery fee,” Mia said, holding out her phone with a QR code for payment. Sarah’s eyes welled up with tears. “Mia, this is my new phone! How could it be broken when it was working fine?” “People can die suddenly even when they’re perfectly healthy. Why can’t a phone break unexpectedly?” Mia sneered. “You’re not refusing to pay the delivery fee, are you? Sarah, think carefully. My family owns this company. If you want to ruin your own career, be my guest!” Mia’s threats scared Sarah into silence. She scanned the QR code and paid $100 while holding back sobs. I had just finished my onboarding when I witnessed this scene. Curious, I asked a nearby coworker what was going on. The coworker rolled their eyes dramatically and lowered their voice to explain: “You’re new here so you don’t know. Mia loves to take advantage of others. From small things like pens to big items like headphones and phones, she’ll sneak them away to use when people aren’t looking.” “Things go missing after she uses them. This time she took Sarah’s phone. Sarah just graduated and saved up for months to buy that new phone. She guarded it closely but Mia still found a way to get her hands on it.” “Looking at Sarah now, she’ll probably be eating instant noodles for quite a while. I feel bad for her…” The coworker shook their head. Sarah returned to her desk, her eyes swollen from crying. Mia was happily watching videos when she heard the sniffling. She suddenly got angry. “What are you crying about?! Cry again and I’ll tell the manager to fire you!” Sarah immediately went quiet. I frowned. Is the company culture really this bad? I was about to say something when my dad called. I stepped out to take the call. When I came back, Sarah had already left. During afternoon tea time, the company had a special treat for employees. On birthdays, they would prepare a special gift for the birthday employee. Even the afternoon tea would include an extra small cake. As a new employee, I also received this special treatment. However, I didn’t really like the flavor of my cake. The male coworker at the next desk noticed my frown and offered, “You don’t like chestnut flavor? I have a mousse cake. Want to trade?” “Thanks,” I accepted his kind offer and we swapped cakes. Suddenly, Mia poked her head over unexpectedly. “We always just have fruit tea for afternoon tea. It’s so boring,” she complained. “Oh, Lucas, you have cake? Let me have a bite.” She immediately reached out her hand. Lucas quickly moved the cake away. Mia’s grab came up empty and the smile froze on her face. “Stingy! It’s just a bite of cake. You can’t even share?” Someone teased, “Mia, it’s because you always eat Lucas’ cake. He’s scared of you now and doesn’t want to share anymore.” “No way, he only has a birthday once a year. He’s too cheap to buy his own cake and has to mooch off the company. How many times could I possibly eat his cake?” Mia retorted. “Besides, this company belongs to my family. What’s wrong with me having a bite of his cake?” “Then why don’t you buy Lucas a big cake? We can all enjoy it too!” someone egged her on. Mia immediately clutched her wallet. “This is the company’s gift to employees. I won’t steal that spotlight,” she said. But eyeing Lucas’ coffee, Mia still couldn’t resist. She shamelessly sidled up to him again. “Lucas, is that hand-brewed coffee from downstairs? I’m tired of fruit tea. Want to trade?” Lucas didn’t even look at her and drank the coffee in front of her. The manager happened to call Lucas over to submit some documents. He got up and left his desk. Mia looked around furtively. Seeing no one paying attention, she quickly snatched Lucas’ cake and all his birthday gifts. She took everything back to her own desk and wolfed down the cake with her fruit tea in no time, letting out a satisfied burp. Then she slowly unwrapped the other birthday gifts and started trying them out one by one. When Lucas returned, he found his desk completely empty. Without a word, he stormed over to Mia. “What’s your problem? Why did you steal my things again?” “Watch your language! What do you mean steal? I just borrowed them to use,” Mia said. “Then give them back to me now!” Lucas demanded angrily. Mia defiantly took out the tea leaves from one of the gifts, dumped them in a cup, and took a big sip before holding it out to Lucas with a smirk. “Here, take it back.” Lucas was rendered speechless by her shamelessness. He angrily knocked the cup out of her hand. “Mia, have you no shame? Will you die if you don’t take advantage of others?” “Lucas, can’t you be more generous? We’re all colleagues, what’s wrong with me drinking some of your tea?” Mia shot back. “This limited edition dress I’m wearing costs $10,000. Remember to pay me back for ruining it.” “You-!” Lucas was so angry he was at a loss for words. Just as he was about to explode, Mia pulled out her trump card again. “Don’t forget, my family owns this company. If I want you gone, it only takes one word from me.” I couldn’t stand by and watch anymore. There had to be limits to bullying with power. My eyes swept over Mia’s dress as I said pointedly, “Your dress is fake.” “How dare you say my dress is fake? I bought it from a legitimate overseas shopping site!” Mia’s voice immediately rose. I pointed out the flaws in her dress. “The fabric is wrong, the stitching is sloppy, and there are so many loose threads.” “Would a $10,000 dress leave the factory with threads not even trimmed?” “What do you know! Designer brands sell an image. Having handmade touches proves it’s authentic!” Mia insisted. She was getting flustered and came right up to me, tugging at her dress. I took a step back. “Oh I see. Then this dress must also be stolen from another coworker.” “Are you crazy? How can you steal a dress? Did you expect me to strip it off someone?” Mia sputtered. “You can swipe phones from people’s pockets. Stripping clothes is nothing in comparison,” I retorted. Mia’s face turned red. Unable to argue back, she resorted to her trump card again. “Who do you think you are! This company belongs to my family. If I want you gone, no one can stop me!” “Stay away from me,” I said, ignoring her threats. Seeing her confused look, I pinched my nose and said, “I have allergies. I can’t stand the stench of people who love to take advantage of others.” “Hahaha!” The office erupted in laughter. Everyone was bent over laughing. Mia skulked back to her desk, seemingly truly angered this time. As she sat down, she knocked over the teacup on her desk. All the tea spilled onto her dress. Mia immediately let out a shrill scream. She grabbed her dress and ran straight for the dry cleaners downstairs. Lucas was grinning from ear to ear. He specially opened his drawer to take out some small gifts to thank me. Sarah came over with a worried look and asked me, “Mia is so high-profile. What if the company really is owned by her family?” “Aren’t you afraid she’ll get her dad to fire you for offending her like this?” I dangled my sports car keys. “It doesn’t matter.” “My family isn’t lacking either.” Sarah immediately cheered, “Awesome!” It was the weekend, which also happened to be my birthday. I wanted to get to know my coworkers better, so I invited them to my birthday party. “I have a friend whose family is in the yacht business. They’re letting us use one for free. I’d like to treat everyone to a day out on the water.” “That’s too generous! Why don’t we split the cost?” my coworkers offered. I smiled. “It’s my birthday. It only comes once a year. Let’s just have fun.” “Having everyone here is enough.” “Then we’ll definitely prepare a great gift for you!” they said excitedly. As everyone was chatting happily, I called the yacht company to request their most luxurious vessel. Mia had somehow snuck over and chimed in with a sly look, “I’ve never been on a yacht before. Fiona, can I join too?” I didn’t even look at her as I replied bluntly, “I’m inviting my friends. Freeloaders who take advantage of others aren’t welcome.” Mia’s expression immediately froze. “Come on, I’ll definitely prepare a big gift for you too. Don’t worry, it won’t be cheap,” she insisted. I agreed, and Mia happily left. The remaining coworkers crowded around me. “Why did you invite her? She always says that but ends up taking advantage of everyone!” “Exactly! Last time on my birthday, she went to my house and took my favorite Lego set. It was a Lego set! I still don’t know how she managed to sneak such a big thing out without anyone noticing.” “Fiona, you should really reconsider! Don’t let her take advantage of you.” Everyone looked very worried. I knew they were all afraid of being fired by Mia, which is why they didn’t dare speak up against her. “It’s fine. She won’t be able to take advantage of me,” I reassured them. Glancing at Mia, who was stuffing several plastic bags into her purse just to go on the yacht and swipe things, my smile deepened. “Not only that, I’ll make her return everything she’s taken from all of you.” You like taking advantage of others, huh? I’ll show her what it means to lose big by trying to gain small advantages. The yacht was huge. I told everyone to play in the pool first before trying other activities. Everyone took out the gifts they had prepared in advance. There were bags, headphones, perfumes – all quite valuable items. Several coworkers even pooled money together to buy a joint gift, which was also quite nice. Only Mia came empty-handed. When everyone’s eyes fell on her, she brazenly said, “What? I prepared a gift. I just forgot to bring it.” “That’s what you said last time.” “And the time before that!” “Mia, can’t you come up with a better excuse?” “Did you not prepare anything at all?” Everyone expressed their dissatisfaction. But Mia insisted, “I forgot means I forgot. If you really don’t believe me, I can go back to get it now.” She made a show of trying to climb out of the pool. No one stopped her. Mia kept pretending to struggle at the edge of the pool for a full ten minutes before I finally spoke up. “It’s fine. I believe Mia didn’t do it on purpose. If she says she forgot, then she forgot. I trust she’ll make it up to me later.” Everyone looked unhappy, but since I was the birthday girl, they didn’t say anything more. After we got out of the pool, a staff member brought over an iPad to ask what services we wanted. The iPad was passed around, but by the end it had mysteriously disappeared. The staff member was panicking. Everyone immediately pointed fingers at Mia. “It must be her! She hid the iPad!” “No one else here loves to take advantage of others like she does!” “She insisted on bringing her bag to the pool. I bet the iPad is in her bag!” People clamored to search Mia’s bag. Mia clutched her bag tightly. “Don’t accuse me falsely! I brought my bag because it’s very valuable and I was afraid the contents would get stolen!” “Besides, it’s just an iPad. I wouldn’t bother with something so cheap!” Seeing the situation escalating, I stepped in as peacemaker again. “Let it go. There’s only so many of us here. The iPad will turn up eventually. If not, I can pay for it, okay?” “Fiona is so generous,” Mia immediately beamed. She started stuffing the food everyone had ordered into her mouth, and even secretly poured some into the plastic bags she had prepared. Someone called her shameless. Mia immediately snapped back, “Isn’t the point of treating people to a meal to let them eat? Besides, this is Fiona’s birthday party. If she’s not complaining, what are you yelling about?” Mia kept eating and taking things, not even sparing the game controllers in the arcade. She stuffed two large bags full of various items. Afterwards, she claimed to have a headache and said she needed to rest in the yacht’s cabin. Someone grabbed her bag to stop her from leaving. “Mia, you promised not to take advantage today.” “How is this taking advantage? Fiona spent so much money, I’m just helping her get her money’s worth,” Mia retorted. “Besides, this is a yacht. It’s not like I can run away.” “Fine, I’ll leave one bag with you. This other one has my toiletries. I’m going to take a nap.” Mia left clutching her head. Lucas opened the bag she left behind and found it only contained some used tissues. He immediately flared up in anger. “I knew that woman would run off! She stole so many things. Fiona, you can’t let her get away with this! I’m going to drag her back here!” I twirled the pool cue in my hand and sank a ball with a smile. “Don’t worry. She won’t be able to escape.”
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