At the company’s annual gala, my wife’s assistant, Caleb, had a couple of drinks, then suddenly mocked me in front of everyone. “Alex,” he slurred, “Serena told me you last three seconds in bed, is that true?” “Are you sure about that?” I shot back, a cold edge to my voice. “Were you hiding under my bed every night, watching?” I grabbed his collar, warning him not to take his jokes too far. But my wife, Serena, immediately stepped in front of Caleb, smashing a wine bottle over my head. “Caleb was just trying to liven things up with a joke! Do you have to be such a jerk?” I was about to retort when Caleb, feigning hurt, stopped her. “Serena, Alex is the company’s VP. I shouldn’t have joked like that in front of so many people. Please, don’t argue. He’s right to yell at me.” Hearing that, Serena told me to get lost and even threatened to strip me of my VP title. I just laughed. I was curious to see how long she’d last as CEO once she fired me. Blood slowly dripped from my forehead. I never thought Serena would actually lay a hand on me for Caleb. I stayed silent, but she mistook it for submission and continued to scold me. “Alex, it’s a fact you’re short on time, Caleb didn’t say anything wrong!” “He’s just started his career, what if you scare him off?!” “Apologize to him right now, or you can forget about being VP!” Just then, David Davis, our technical lead who’d returned from overseas with me, stepped in to calm her down. He said Caleb was out of line, and that as my wife, she shouldn’t trample on my dignity like that. But no sooner had he finished speaking than Caleb put on a wounded expression. “Serena, he’s right. You and Alex are married; you shouldn’t get angry because of me. I spoke out of turn. After all, in Alex’s eyes, I’m just a nobody. And nobodies shouldn’t speak too much.” At Caleb’s words, Serena’s temper flared even more. “Alex, you just don’t like Caleb, do you? You always bully him. Today, with me here, you won’t get away with it!” David tried to intervene again, but before he could say another word, she demoted him on the spot. “Don’t be afraid, Caleb! With me by your side, no one will dare mess with you!” Caleb nodded meekly, but when his gaze flickered to me, there was a barely perceptible glint of triumph. Watching them, so wrapped up in each other, my heart turned to ice. Caleb had been hired three months ago by Serena, straight out of a lesser-known college. As a supposed technical staff member, he had neither a high-level degree nor any real skills. But Serena claimed he was quick and efficient, diligent in his work, and told me to mentor him well. I tried my best to guide him, but he was always dismissive of me, and constantly ran to her with complaints, saying I was deliberately making things difficult for him. Each time, Serena would bring him back and lecture me. I thought Serena was just trying to build up new talent. But it wasn’t until I walked past Serena’s office one day and found Caleb sitting on her lap that I understood what was really going on. I still remember their conversation. “Serena, you’re so beautiful and you run a whole company—that’s amazing! Not like me, I’m useless.” “Oh, my sweet Caleb, your words are so charming. Just keep me happy, and I promise you promotions and raises.” “Hehe, I’ll definitely make you happy, unlike that old geezer.” Then, Serena actually let Caleb put his hand inside her clothes. When things got heated, they started kissing. When I pushed the door open, Serena claimed she was just explaining company matters to Caleb. She even accused me of having sleazy thoughts and being jealous of Caleb’s youth and good looks. After that, Serena bought Caleb countless gifts. When I confronted her, she said she was merely encouraging new talent and that I was being unreasonable. But she had forgotten that when she started her company, I had staunchly supported her, even turning down high-paying offers from major corporations. To help her succeed, I even gave her the advanced technology I’d brought back from overseas and specially brought in several core technical personnel to keep operations running smoothly. Without that technical support and my business development efforts, the entire company would have struggled to survive. Now, she was humiliating me in front of the entire company for a college graduate, and even demoting me! David looked at me, his face etched with worry. “Alex, she’s really…” 2. I signaled him to stay calm, then glared coldly at Serena. “David is a key member of this company. If he hadn’t overseen the tech department these past few years, the company would have collapsed long ago. Is this how you treat your long-term employees?!” I thought that once she heard about David’s importance to the company, Serena, no matter how arrogant, would at least reconsider. But to my surprise, she snorted with contempt. “Alex, you have the nerve to talk! The company’s technology has long been mature. If you hadn’t hyped them up all these years, why would I have paid them such high salaries?!” “And on the year-end financial report, I found you secretly gave them raises!” “They don’t even work, and you give them raises? I think you’re abusing your power for personal favors!” I retorted, my voice icy. “Serena, Caleb, a new hire who knows nothing, gets the same salary as everyone else. Why can’t I give raises to long-term employees?” “These past years, the company’s technical operations have depended entirely on them. They’ve earned it!” No sooner had I finished speaking than Serena told Caleb to take out his phone. Caleb showed me a photo of a few tech staff members dozing off during work. He whispered in a barely audible voice, “Alex, I saw this while I was working. Serena has been so good to me, I can’t just stand by and watch employees slack off while she pays them for nothing.” That rat, he was lying! Serena’s voice turned sharp. “Alex, since you claim they’ve contributed so much, what about sleeping during work hours? How do you explain that?!” My anger flared. She never said a word when they were working overtime to update technology, but she’s quick to point fingers when they’re exhausted and catch a few minutes of sleep! I was about to object, but Serena walked forward and suddenly announced to everyone: “I’m cutting everyone in the tech department’s salary by half! If anyone doesn’t like it, they can get out!” At her words, the guys I’d brought back with me immediately stood up. With their skills, they could easily command better salaries elsewhere. If it weren’t for me, they probably would have quit on the spot. Serena was truly ungrateful! I raged, “Serena, are you really trying to ruin this company?” Serena sneered, “Don’t act like the company can’t function without them! I don’t believe a company this size depends on just a handful of people!” “Fine, Serena, you said it. Since you treat my guys like this, I have no reason to stay in this VP position any longer!” “You think you’re so important? The company will run just fine without you!” At her words, someone from the sales department immediately stood up. “Ms. Hayes, your decision isn’t reasonable. These past few years, whenever we had issues on business trips, it was thanks to the tech department helping solve problems. Without them, the company’s sales wouldn’t be this high. Plus, some of our most crucial clients, the ones vital to the company’s economic lifeline, were brought in by Alex. To cause such a fuss with him over a junior employee who just graduated is really…” But hearing this, Caleb, standing beside Serena, immediately started crying, looking wronged. “Serena, he’s right. I’m just a junior employee, a burden to the company. Please don’t argue with everyone because of me. I’ll just resign now. I won’t disrupt the company’s normal operations.” With that, Caleb made to leave, but Serena grabbed him. Then she shot a cold glance at the sales colleague. “If you can’t even close clients, what’s the point of having you in the sales department? Low sales numbers prove your incompetence!” 3. “If you think you can’t do without them, then you can leave too! My company doesn’t need fools!” Hearing that, Mark sighed and sat down. Then, Serena looked at me with a sneer. “What, aren’t you going to leave with them? Why are you still standing here? Can’t bear to?” I stared at her coldly and said to David beside me, “David, I once told you guys I wanted to start our own company. I thought it would be the same here, but it seems I was wrong.” David shook his head. “Alex, don’t say that. We chose to come with you back then, and this isn’t your fault.” I nodded. “Do you remember the company we registered when we first came back? A client in a nearby city has a contract expiring soon; we can bring them over.” David froze for a moment, then his face lit up with excitement as he realized what I meant. “I remember! The guys have been looking forward to it for a long time. I’ll tell them right away!” Hearing this, Serena looked disdainful. “You think starting a company is that easy?” “Are you just spouting nonsense to save face after being humiliated here? It’s hilarious.” I calmly looked at her. “You’ll soon find out if I’m just putting up a front.” But she was dismissive. “Well, I’m eagerly anticipating it. But we should sign an agreement, just in case you go bankrupt and drag me down with you.” I looked at her calmly. “Exactly my intention.” Soon, the agreement was signed. It stated that if the company encountered any problems, each party would bear their own responsibility. The last clause was simple: may the best one prevail. At that, she shot us a disgusted look. “Alright, take your people and get out of here.” I gave her a cold glance. “Serena, you will regret this.” Then, I led out the few people who had trusted me and returned with me. Back then, my guys trusted me and agreed to come back to the country with me to build our own brand. Serena and I weren’t married yet; she was a powerhouse. When she heard we were starting a company, I even told everyone that it would be the same at her company. Because they trusted me, they had worked hard to build up the company all these years. But every time I wanted to give them a raise, Serena was reluctant. I had hoped that by landing bigger clients and generating more profit for the company, I could make Serena speechless. But in the end, she broke their hearts for a graduate from a lesser-known college! After leaving the hotel, I immediately contacted clients whose contracts were about to be renewed, as well as those whose contracts were about to expire. Upon hearing that I was starting my own company, they all expressed their support. “Alex, you finally came to your senses! Before, if it weren’t for you, we would have stopped collaborating long ago.” “Exactly! The products always had issues; we suspected they were cutting corners. Years ago, you helped me solve a huge problem, and I didn’t even plan to mention it to you. Now it’s great, with you as the CEO, I can finally relax.”
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