A female coworker who’d only been at the company for a month asked to borrow $400,000 from me. I said no. She called me a loser to my face. “A guy in his thirties who doesn’t even have $400k? That’s pathetic if I’ve ever heard it. If I were you, I wouldn’t even want to show my face in public!” She started spreading rumors around the office that I must be a gambling addict. Otherwise, why else would I be broke? What she didn’t realize was my family owns eight rental properties—including the very office building where she works. The second I walked into the office, I could feel everyone staring. Their looks were weird and uncomfortable—people were whispering and pointing. I’d barely sat down when Madison, the new office clerk, let out a bitter laugh. “No wonder you’re flat broke. You can’t even get to work on time. What were you up to last night?” “Probably blew all his cash gambling again. Total degenerate.” I froze and turned to Madison. “Who are you talking about?” Madison rolled her eyes. “Take a guess.” She settled into her desk chair. “Some loser who can’t even scrape together $400k. Just looking at you gives me secondhand embarrassment.” That’s when it clicked. A few days back, Madison had come up to me awkwardly, saying she needed to borrow money to “get by.” I was willing to help with a small amount, but then she hit me with the $400,000 request. And we’d only known each other less than a month. I asked her what the money was for. Madison acted like it was the most normal thing in the world. “Don’t worry about what I need it for. You’re in your thirties—you must have at least $400k saved, right?” “If you lend it to me, I’ll make sure you’re rewarded.” Her finger traced suggestively along my shoulder. I felt a wave of disgust. “I don’t have that kind of money. Ask someone else.” I brushed her hand off and walked away. Madison looked shocked by my refusal. Her expression instantly turned ugly. “You’re pathetic! You don’t even have $400k?” “The boss pays you good money every month, and you haven’t saved a cent? I bet you gambled it all away.” “I’ve seen plenty of addicts like you. You’ll get what’s coming to you.” Before I could respond, Madison stormed off in her tight skirt. Days later, Madison was still bitter about me refusing to lend her money. I frowned, about to say something, when the boss called me into his office. Within two minutes, Madison walked in too. She shot me a dirty look, then deliberately stomped on my foot with her high heel. I winced in pain and instinctively lifted my foot. Madison immediately wobbled and fell to the floor, hitting her forehead on the corner of the desk. The boss jumped up, quickly calling for someone to bandage her up. That’s when Madison pointed at me in front of everyone in the office, sobbing loudly. “Ryan! Why did you trip me? Just because I told everyone the truth, you’re getting back at me?” I was stunned, still trying to process what had just happened. Derek, Madison’s loyal little follower, immediately stepped forward and pointed at me. “Ryan, what’s your problem? Are you even a man? Picking on a woman like that!” I frowned. “I didn’t trip her. Believe what you want.” Derek scoffed, glaring at me. “Bullshit! You expect us to believe Madison tripped and hit her head all by herself?” “You’re just a petty little man who did this on purpose.” That’s when Madison suddenly burst into dramatic tears. “I might as well tell everyone. A few days ago, Ryan came on to me, but I rejected him. I guess he’s been holding a grudge ever since.”
Derek went ballistic, practically jumping out of his skin. His chubby finger nearly poked my nose. “Ryan, you’re delusional! Who do you think you are, hitting on her? Take a good look in the mirror, loser!” Everyone in the office knew Derek had a thing for Madison—he’d been chasing her nonstop. Hearing I’d supposedly hit on her pushed him over the edge. “I like her? Are you kidding me?” I frowned and shot back. Madison looked shocked, then her eyes welled up with tears. She gave the boss a pitiful look. The boss’s face turned stormy. He slammed his hand on the desk, cutting me off. “Enough! Everyone be quiet! Ryan, seriously? Arguing with a woman?” His voice dripped with impatience, like I was the one being unreasonable. Madison shot me a smug grin, her eyes full of contempt and mockery. She and Derek left the office one after the other, trailing a sickly sweet perfume that made my stomach turn. The boss walked over to me. “Ryan, the company’s already struggling. We don’t need this drama. Just let it drop.” He patted my shoulder lightly, but it felt more like an insult than reassurance. His words made me feel suffocated. Just because I’m a guy, I deserve to be bullied, falsely accused, and humiliated? I clenched my jaw, swallowed my anger, and nodded. “Fine.” I turned and headed back to my desk. When I got there, what I saw made my blood boil. My workspace was a disaster—coffee stains and water everywhere. Disgusting. The keyboard was sticky and smelled revolting. Worst of all, the project materials I’d spent a month collecting were soaked in coffee. The papers were wrinkled and stuck together—completely ruined! That was a month of my hard work! “Who did this?” I couldn’t hold back my anger anymore. Several female coworkers who always hung around Madison started snickering. “Oh no, who made Ryan all upset?” “Who else? He got rejected and now he’s embarrassed!” “Tsk tsk, hitting on her and then framing her when she said no. Serves him right!” I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. I knew getting angry would only make things worse. My eyes landed on the security office in the corner. I walked over and knocked. “Come in.” The boss’s voice came from inside, still irritated. I pushed the door open and got straight to the point. “Boss, I need to see the security footage.” “Someone destroyed a month’s worth of my work. They need to be held accountable.” But the boss just frowned and gave me a dirty look. “Ryan, are you ever going to drop this? It’s such a small thing. Is this really necessary?” “It’s just some documents. You can collect them again.” “You’re a grown man. Why are you being so petty? Get out. I’m busy.” When I left the office, Madison gave me a smug look, her eyes full of obvious mockery. She looked at me and spat out one word: “Loser.”
As I packed my things, the gossipy coworkers nearby started whispering again. “Tsk, he really thinks he’s something special. Just a pathetic guy who got rejected.” “Exactly. Look at him, thinking he has a shot with Madison? Total delusion.” Every word reached my ears. I didn’t bother responding. I just packed my stuff and left. Actually, the boss and I went to the same college. He was a few years ahead of me, technically my senior. Back in school, he’d started an internet project and was looking for investors. My dad happened to be expanding his investment portfolio at the time, so I helped connect them. Later, when the boss started his company, I wanted to experience normal work life, so I took a random position here. Over the years, the boss never knew my background, but he’d always treated me decently. But this time, even though he knew I’d been wronged, he chose to side with Madison just to keep the peace. Just because I’m a guy, I deserve to be bullied? The next day, I’d barely arrived at the company when the boss called me into his office. Madison stood next to him, looking at me smugly. The boss’s face was grim. “Ryan, I’ve looked into what happened yesterday.” “Apologize to Madison publicly and cover her medical bills. Then we can put this behind us.” I almost laughed out loud at the absurdity. Madison spread lies about me, and now I have to apologize to her? “Why should I?” The boss’s expression turned even darker. “Ryan! Can’t you be reasonable? The company is in a critical phase right now. Do you have to stir up trouble?” “I’m trying to save you from embarrassment. Otherwise, word gets out that you hit on her, got rejected, and pushed her down? How would that look?” “Besides, Madison’s being generous by not making a bigger deal out of this. Otherwise, you’d be the laughingstock around here.” I laughed bitterly. If I apologized, I’d be confessing to something I didn’t do. “Fine. If that’s how you see it, I won’t apologize, and I won’t pay a cent.” When the boss realized I was serious about quitting, he panicked. “Ryan! Don’t get cocky just because you closed a few deals!” “You think that’s because of your skills? It’s because of our company’s reputation!” “Go ahead and quit! Let’s see if you can land any projects without us!” He pointed at my face, practically yelling. Madison tugged at the boss’s sleeve innocently. “Boss, don’t be angry.” “If Ryan doesn’t want to apologize, it’s okay. I can handle a little injustice.” “Please don’t fire him in anger. That wouldn’t be good for the company.” Her fake concern only made the boss angrier. His face turned red as he shouted, “You think I’m scared of you, Ryan? You think this company can’t survive without you?” “Who do you think you are? Get out of my office!” I frowned, looking at this unrecognizable version of my boss. I was completely disappointed. All these years, I’d considered him a friend. That’s the only reason I’d stayed in such a low-level position for so long. And this is how he repay me. He probably forgot that more than half the company’s projects came through me. They were doing business because of my dad’s connections, not his. Without me, I’d like to see where he’d find new business. “Fine. I quit!” It wouldn’t be long before he came crawling back.
I went back to my desk and started packing. The male coworkers who usually orbited around Madison were like rabid dogs, pointing at me and mocking me. “Ryan, karma’s finally caught up with you! Thinking you had a shot with Madison? Look in the mirror!” “Exactly! Did you really think you were somebody? Without this company, you’re nothing!” “Ryan, let me tell you, open your eyes from now on. Not everyone is in your league to chase!” Derek looked smug, acting like he’d already won Madison over. I glanced at him and smirked internally. This guy would wag his tail for days if Madison so much as looked at him. “What, you got a problem?” Derek saw I wasn’t responding and got bolder. “Want me to teach you what self-awareness means?” He walked toward me, looking like he wanted to pick a fight. I’d been training in Muay Thai since I was a kid. Dealing with jerks like him was easy. Before he got close, I kicked him. “Ahhh!” Derek screamed and collapsed, curling up like a shrimp on the ground. “You… you hit me? You’re dead! I won’t let you get away with this!” He was still talking tough from the floor. I looked down at him with contempt. “You? You think you’re worth my time?” I finished packing and left without looking back. As I reached the door, Madison actually chased after me. “Ryan, stop right there!” She blocked my path. “It’s not too late to regret this. If you get on your knees and apologize, I’ll forgive you!” She smiled smugly, acting like she had me cornered. I found her laughable. This woman really thought she was something special. I rolled my eyes. “I don’t hit women, but you better get out of my way.” “You…” Madison glared at me furiously. “We’ll see how you survive without a job. I’ll make sure Blake blacklists you across the entire industry.” I turned and walked away, ignoring that lunatic. When I got home, I called our business partners to pay them a visit and inform them of my resignation. Sure enough, they all expressed interest in terminating their contracts. A few days later, Blake called me, absolutely furious. “Ryan! Did you do this on purpose?!” His roar nearly burst my eardrum the moment I answered. “Do what on purpose?” I asked coldly. “Don’t play dumb with me! Did you say something to those partners? Why are they all terminating their contracts?!” He was practically yelling. “Heh.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Weren’t you the one who said I was useless and would be nothing without the company? What’s wrong? Now that they’re pulling out, you’re panicking?” “You!” He was speechless. “Who was it that said I was useless? Now you want to beg me? Too late!” I let out all the frustration I’d been holding in. “Ryan, don’t push it! I’m telling you, if you come back now, I’ll pretend nothing happened!” He was still being stubborn. “Dream on!” I hung up. Come back? In his dreams. After this whole mess, I finally saw things clearly. He never cared about me as a friend. If that’s the case, I didn’t need to coddle him anymore.
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