Chapter 2

Sophie walked up to my cubicle and tapped her manicured nails on my desk. "Hey, you can pack up your things now."

She lifted her chin, not bothering to hide her disdain. "Your new seat is over there in the corner. That’s where ordinary sales reps belong. Also, leave your work laptop here. I need to audit it to make sure you aren't stealing department client data."

I looked up at her, said nothing, and began packing my few personal belongings into a cardboard box.

As if that wasn't enough, she added, "By the way, try to act a bit more professional in the department from now on. Don’t make everyone think you only close deals by getting lucky."

I stopped what I was doing and looked at her. "Then let me ask you: what is Nova Enterprises' procurement focus and budget projection for this quarter?"

Sophie’s face visibly stiffened. She stammered, "Well... that obviously needs to be analyzed based on their financial statements and industry trends... It's, you know, that kind of..."

I ignored her and went back to packing. Sensing she was making a fool of herself, she sneered and walked away.

I couldn't help but remember three years ago, when our CEO, Diana, personally headhunted me from our top competitor. She had held my hand and said, "Summer, join us. I will give you full autonomy. Your ability to close major clients will bring this company to new heights."

Looking back now, it was a complete joke.

Since my demotion to a regular sales rep, my workload had decreased significantly. I no longer had to deal with high-maintenance VIP clients. I followed the standard procedures of a low-level employee—clocking in, writing daily logs, maintaining minor accounts, submitting reports on time, and leaving right at 5:00 PM.

Yesterday, a major client had an emergency and needed a quick quote. A colleague habitually ran to me for help. I just took a brief glance at the file and said calmly, "Take it to Manager Sophie. She's the leader now."

The colleague said anxiously, "But Sophie is locked in her office, saying she's preparing an important presentation slide deck!"

I didn't say another word and walked straight out of the conference room.

For the first time, I didn't stay late to write proposals. Instead, I went to a local gym.

I changed into my athletic gear, put on my headphones, and let out all my anger and frustration on the treadmill.

The next morning, Sophie uploaded a document to our team's whatsapp. The title read: *Pilot Proposal for Optimizing Sales Report Metrics and Enhancing Workflow Professionalism*. It was a fifteen-page PDF filled with convoluted charts and academic definitions, introducing a brand-new reporting template. It required everyone to spell out clients' full legal corporate names, banned all common industry abbreviations, and demanded extensive data analysis and theoretical citations.

The group chat instantly went quiet. A few seconds later, my private SnapChat exploded with messages from my colleagues:

"Summer, what is this girl doing? Is she trying to make us write a college thesis?"

"Is she insane? We are in sales! What is the point of these empty formatting rules?"

"I met with a client today, and she insisted I call a 'pricing quote' a 'Product-Service Value Proposition.' The client looked at me like I was speaking alien!"

"This isn't 'professionalism.' This is just wasting time! By the time we finish this paperwork for an urgent client, the competitor will have already stolen the deal!"

"She's just one of those corporate pretenders who can only make pretty slides but has zero real-world capability!"

I stared at Sophie's condescending announcement on my phone and said nothing. A senior colleague privately messaged me, asking how to navigate some of the "standardized workflows" mentioned in the PDF.

I patiently explained it to him in plain English, and then muted my phone.

My complete hands-off approach and Sophie's disastrous management created a stark contrast in the department.

Before, I was the backbone of the team. No matter how difficult a client was, as long as I was there, everyone felt safe.

Now, whenever a major client or an urgent order came in, the entire floor turned into a chaotic circus.

Sophie would just stand by, shouting her useless "standardized script guidelines" to boss people around, but she never dared to pitch or talk to a client herself.

Resentment grew among the staff. People started quietly reminiscing about my efficiency and leadership.

I knew they were waiting—waiting for a real crisis to blow up in her face.