Chapter 1

During our mandatory weekend corporate retreat, I took leave to be by my wife's side for her emergency surgery.

When I got back, Marcus fined me seven thousand dollars in front of the entire office.

"Company policy states that team synergy comes before everything else!" Marcus barked. "Ethan, as a senior designer, you set a terrible example by skipping a company event. Your penalty is doubled!"

The very next day, I saw his young secretary, Tiffany, carrying a brand-new Chanel bag worth exactly seven thousand dollars.

So that's how he wanted to play? Fine. I'm done being his doormat!

The news of me getting fined seven thousand dollars for skipping the retreat spread through the office like wildfire.

In the breakroom, my long-time rival, Carter, looked at me and shook his head. "Man, you should have just sucked it up and apologized. You've got to request time off way in advance."

"I submitted the paperwork a week ago. He sat on it and refused to approve it on purpose," I said, pouring myself a cup of coffee.

Carter leaned in, his eyes widening. "Don't say I didn't warn you, but Marcus's connection just got back from overseas. Supposedly some hotshot Ivy League grad. He wants to bring him in to burnish his own resume."

The puzzle pieces instantly clicked. The whole "making an example out of me" speech was pure garbage. Marcus just wanted an excuse to kick me down so he could promote his own guy.

Fine. I'd gladly clear the path for them.

The moment I got back to my desk, Tiffany tapped on my computer monitor. "Ethan, pack up your office. You're moving out to the common area."

I glanced at the open cubicles outside. Our design department was structured with open cubicles, but as the lead designer, I had a private office to meet with clients. Moving me out was a blatant demotion.

"Tiffany, you can't just tell me to pack up. I need an official notice."

"An official notice? Sure, let me spell it out for you. You've been stripped of your lead title. You're just a regular designer now. Got it?"

Just then, Marcus walked out of his office. Seeing me still sitting there, he frowned. "What's taking so long, Ethan? Why aren't you moving?"

"Tiffany says I've been demoted. Just because I missed a retreat?"

"Exactly. I've already reported this to the Chairman. You refused to participate in team building and openly defied company policy. You're lucky you aren't fired. You're on probation now. If you don't like it, feel free to file a complaint with HR!"

I chuckled. "Alright. But I want the company to issue an official written notice. Otherwise, I'm not moving a single box."

Marcus pointed a finger at me. "You asked for it! Tiffany, draft the notice right now! Some people just don't know when to be grateful. Let's show him how things work around here!"

Within two minutes, Tiffany pinged the entire company WhatsApp group with the official PDF of my demotion. I saved the document to my personal drive, packed my things, and walked out to the cubicles.

Right after that, Tiffany added a new user to our group chat.

"Everyone, please welcome Tristan, our new Design Lead! He's a prestigious Ivy League grad and will be leading the design department starting today!"

Everyone in the office stared at me in shock. I didn't say a word. I just sat at my new cubicle, pulled out my phone, and started playing games.

A few suck-ups in the chat sent welcoming emojis, but the atmosphere in the office was dead silent. Everyone knew what was really happening—I had been robbed.

My former team members came over to vent for me.

"Ethan, this is messed up. They can't just throw you out like this. It's dirty."

"Yeah, we just submitted the new blueprints yesterday. If the client asks about the changes, what are we supposed to say?"

I shrugged. "Management made the call. We just do what we're told."

My calm reaction left them utterly confused.

But I wasn't about to waste my breath. It was obvious they wanted to use my hard work to feed this new guy's ego. Too bad they were in such a rush.

Half an hour later, Tristan walked out of his office, clearly looking to establish dominance over me.

"We have thirty designers in this department. Some people have been slacking off and collecting free paychecks. That ends today," he announced loudly. "Starting now, everyone must submit one complete design concept per day. If you can't finish, you stay late. If you can't handle the pressure, the door is right there."

He then pointed a finger directly at me. "You. Ethan, right? I heard about you before I got here. I don't care how many successful projects you had in the past. Under my watch, you follow the rules. Understood?"

He looked down at me, his face dripping with arrogance.

I nodded and gave him a dry smile. "Understood."