The Payback

At the end of the year, while closing the books, I noticed something was wrong.
After pulling several all-nighters to fix it, I found the company account was off by a single cent.
I spent another three sleepless nights re-doing the books from scratch, only to discover that the new secretary had been depositing one cent into the company account every single day.
When I confronted her, she tearfully explained, "I just saw you staying late every night, struggling with the numbers, and I wanted to help."
My boss chimed in, "Vivian was just trying to be nice, Chloe. You don't have to be so aggressive."
Under a chorus of accusations, I was branded a workplace bully.
I was fired. Then Vivian started a livestream to smear my name online.
I was tormented until I fell into a deep depression and took my own life.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at my desk, staring at the accounting error.

1
Seeing that single, extra cent on the balance sheet again, my mouse met the desk with a sharp crack. I spun around in my chair, my voice echoing across the open-plan office.
"Who the hell is depositing one cent into the company account every day?" I yelled. "Do you have any idea how expensive things are? Save that penny! Put it towards your own damn coffin!"
Jaws dropped. My colleagues stared at me, frozen. It was the kind of collective shock that only happens when the quietest person in the room finally explodes.
After a moment of stunned silence, Leo, a colleague, burst out laughing. "Chloe, who lit a fire under you? Struck out on another date? Don't take it out on us!"
Leo, with his three years at the company, fancied himself the office comedian. My failed attempts at dating were his favorite punchline.
My face was a stone mask. "Was it you, Leo?" I asked, my voice dangerously low. "It might only be a cent, but it throws off the entire financial statement. If the audit comes back messy because of this, none of us are getting a quiet holiday season. Do you understand?"
I was exaggerating, I'll admit. But the mere mention of accountability wiped the smirk right off his face.
"Hey, not me, Chloe. Nothing to do with me."
I ignored him, my gaze sweeping across the room, meeting each person's eyes.
"Whoever did this knows exactly who they are. Don't make me go through the transaction logs. I'll give you three seconds to come forward and admit it. Otherwise, when this blows up, you'll be the one who screwed over the entire company."
I had barely started my countdown when Vivian, the new secretary, burst through the door, flustered.
"Chloe, I-I'm so sorry! It was me. I deposited the money."
As she apologized, she was already handing out coffees she’d brought with her. "I figured everyone was sick of the free stuff in the breakroom. My treat, don't be shy!"
It’s hard to stay mad at someone offering you a latte. As my colleagues took the cups, their expressions softened into smiles.
"How much was it? I'll Venmo you."
"You're too much, Viv! You're always bringing us coffee, I almost feel bad taking it."
"Vivian, you must be loaded. There's no way your intern salary covers all this!"
Vivian just waved her hand with a sweet smile. "It's no fun drinking alone! It's better when we all enjoy it together. And don't worry about my wallet, it can handle it."
In less than a month, Vivian had won over the entire office with these small acts of generosity. She navigated the social currents like a fish in water.
Leo took a sip of his coffee and shot a look in my direction. "You know, Vivian, if only everyone was as easygoing as you. Some people have been here five years and still haven't managed to fit in."
Vivian blinked her wide, innocent eyes. "Who? Is it someone I know?" she asked, a masterclass in feigned ignorance.
A few people nearby stifled their laughter.
It was a scene that had played out a thousand times in my previous life.

2
On Vivian's first day, Leo was assigned to show her the ropes. The two of them hit it off immediately, bonding over their shared hobby: making my life difficult.
In my past life, when I discovered the accounting error, I worked myself into the ground for three days straight, nearly tearing my hair out trying to find the source. It was only then that I found Vivian’s daily one-cent deposits.
When I confronted her, she broke down. "I just saw you staying up all night, struggling with the numbers," she sobbed. "I wanted to help."
My colleagues all rushed to her defense. "She's new, she's still learning. Vivian is trying her best."
Even my boss, Mr. Harrison, stepped in. "Vivian was just trying to be nice, Chloe. You don't have to be so aggressive."
And just like that, I became the villain, the office bully. The company used it as the perfect excuse to kick me to the curb. No severance package, and they even withheld my last month's salary.
Then came the online smear campaign. Vivian started a livestream, and my boss and former colleagues appeared as "witnesses," confirming her stories. The "workplace bully" label stuck.
At that exact moment, my mother, back in my hometown, fell gravely ill. She needed a huge sum of money for treatment, fast.
But I had been doxxed. I sent out hundreds of resumes, and every single one vanished into a black hole.
Without enough money, my mom missed the best window for treatment. She passed away. My father, lost without her, followed not long after.
I was tormented into a deep depression, and I took my own life.
When I opened my eyes again, I was staring at that long string of numbers on the screen, with that one extra cent at the end. And this time, I snapped.
You either explode, or you die in silence.
This life, I was choosing to explode. And I was taking Vivian, Leo, and the rest of those venomous people down with me.

3
After handing out the coffees, Vivian realized she was one short. She clasped her hands together and came over to my desk.
"I'm so sorry, Chloe. Here, you can have mine."
I took her by the arm and gently pushed her down into my chair.
"Here you go," I said with a thin smile. "Whoever made the mess can clean it up. It's time for you to learn about accountability."
Vivian stared blankly at the complex accounting software on my screen, her eyes welling up with tears. "Chloe, I'm an admin major... I don't know how to do any of this..."
"That's okay," I interrupted smoothly. "You can learn. Since you were so interested in our finances that you made daily deposits, I'm sure you'll pick it up in no time."
I stretched, cracking my back, and began clearing my personal items off the desk.
Leo frowned. "Chloe, this is just bullying a new employee. You can't just hand off important work like this. What if she messes something up?"
He sounded so righteous. But I knew him for what he was: a professional pot-stirrer. And the best way to deal with someone like him is to drag them into the mud with you.
I slid his chair over next to Vivian's. "Leo, aren't you Vivian's mentor? This is a perfect opportunity for you to teach her. You two can figure out the problem together."
Vivian's eyes reddened.
"Chloe, I know you don't like me," she said, her voice trembling with manufactured strength. "I'm new, I haven't even finished my probation, so I know I can't fight back when you bully me. But Leo is a senior employee! He has his own work to do! How can you just dump your responsibilities on him? I can work overtime every day, but Leo has a child at home! He needs to be with his wife and kid. Can't you just leave the people around me out of this? If you have a problem, take it out on me!"
Her brave facade immediately earned her the sympathy of the room—and drew their ire towards me.
"Chloe, you can't just throw your weight around because you've been here longer. This is unfair to Leo and Vivian!"
"Yeah, I can't stand it! She just sits in the corner with that sour look on her face all day. You'd think the company owes her a million bucks. Such a killjoy."
"Everyone's busy. Even the new girl has a ton on her plate. Now someone's using that as an excuse to palm off her own work. What a slick move."
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a faint smirk touch Vivian's lips.
In my previous life, I never would have irresponsibly handed my work to someone else. But I would never forget the ugly look on my boss's face when he fired me for "bullying," all to avoid paying me a proper severance.
A company like that didn't deserve another ounce of my energy.
"Fine," I said, my voice ringing with challenge. "Since you're all so eager to defend them, you can do the work. I've worked nineteen straight days of overtime on these books. I nearly died from exhaustion. And it was all because she thought it would be 'helpful' to deposit a single cent every day, throwing everything off. I'm not a saint. I can't just forgive someone for a stupid act that almost put me in an early grave. Don't stand there talking. If you support them so much, come on over and help re-check the accounts!"
I rolled up my sleeves, ready for a fight.
"What is all this noise? Don't you people have work to do?"
Mr. Harrison, the boss, appeared, his face a thundercloud.
Vivian's eyes filled with tears. "Mr. Harrison, it's all my fault. Chloe assigned her work to me as a sign of her trust in my abilities. I shouldn't have refused."
The others immediately chimed in, painting a perfect picture of me as the villain who bullied the new girl.
I waited patiently for them to finish. "You all mention me giving her my work, but why does no one mention the fact that she deliberately sabotaged my work by making daily deposits? This is a workplace, not her mommy's house. When you make a mistake, you take responsibility and you fix it. Isn't that how it's supposed to work?"
After getting the gist of the situation, Mr. Harrison reverted to his usual role of conflict-smoother.
"Alright, alright, that's enough. Chloe, I know you've been working hard. I'll give you a half-day off sometime."
Three consecutive weekends of unpaid overtime, and this cheapskate offers me half a day.
Before I could even react, Vivian jumped in. "Mr. Harrison, Chloe has worked so hard. Please give her more time off! I'll cover her work while she's gone!"
The boss beamed, praising her as the most dedicated employee he'd ever seen. He didn't miss the chance to throw some shade at certain "senior employees" with poor work ethics.
Vivian smiled and turned to the others. "None of you need to come in this Saturday. It's just sending out some materials to clients. I can handle it all."
The others made a show of refusing, but she persisted.
"I've been interning for a month now! Think of it as a test. I want to prove myself. Please, just give me this chance!"
Mr. Harrison waved his hand magnanimously. "Approved."
After he left, my colleagues swarmed Vivian, showering her with praise. Leo declared she was a literal angel.
Vivian took out a small notebook and dutifully jotted down everything they needed her to do. She then circled back to my desk.
"Chloe, do you still need my help checking the accounts?" she asked.
Leo scoffed. "Help her? Be careful. If anything goes wrong, she'll pin it all on you."
I looked at him calmly. "So, you won't blame her?"
Leo looked at me as if I were an idiot. "Of course not. She's offering to help out of the goodness of her heart. Regardless of the outcome, you have to appreciate the gesture."
Mark, one of Leo's buddies, chimed in. "Exactly. Not like some people who won't even grab a package for you when they're heading out."
Vivian looked so moved she could have cried. She swore to them all that she would do her absolute best.
I had to suppress a laugh. A weirdo who had enough free time to deposit a cent into the company account every single day? I wasn't holding my breath.
Now, it was time for them to experience the full extent of Vivian's "kindness."

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