They Gave Me a $50 Voucher. Now I'm Their Boss.

At the celebration dinner, I had just secured an exclusive distribution deal worth fifty million dollars, with my commission alone amounting to three million.

Yet, Mrs. Smith handed a hundred-thousand-dollar cashiers check to the new intern, Brittany, who only knew how to bat her eyelashes and flirt.

For me? A cheap plastic bee trophy and a fifty-dollar supermarket gift card.

She looked down on me, sneering, "Luna Miller, your commission is already substantial. This hundred-thousand-dollar bonus is for the new hire, a little encouragement. Don't be so greedy, Luna."

My colleagues erupted in laughter, enjoying my humiliation.

They had no idea that I was the *sole* designated person responsible for that fifty-million-dollar contract.

I smiled, placing the gift card on the table. "Fine, you can have fun with this distribution deal yourselves."

Three days later, the company's cash flow collapsed. Mrs. Smith knelt outside my villa, banging her head on the ground until it bled.

The company finally secured the fifty-million-dollar exclusive chip distribution contract.

The celebration dinner was held at the city's most expensive five-star hotel.

During the banquet, all eighty-plus employees stared at the mahogany tray on the stage.

Inside the tray was the highlight of the eveningthe special project award.

Brittany, an intern who had only been with us for three months, stood delicately on stage in a pure white designer gown, her every movement exaggerated.

Mrs. Smith, beaming, picked up a hundred-thousand-dollar cashiers check from the tray and tucked it into Brittany's hand.

"Our Brittany might be new, but in this fifty-million-dollar battle, she served coffee, kept spirits high, and truly made an invaluable contribution!"

"This hundred thousand is the company's encouragement for young talent!"

The room burst into applause.

Brittany covered her mouth, her eyes welling up, and bowed repeatedly. "Thank you, Mrs. Smith! I promise to treat this company like my own home from now on!"

After the applause died down, Mrs. Smith's gaze swept through the crowd and landed on me, sitting in a corner.

Her smile instantly faded a bit, replaced by a look of lofty condescension.

"Next, our project's main force, Luna Miller."

From the very bottom of the mahogany tray, she fished out an object.

It was a cheap plastic bee trophy that looked like something you'd get three for ten bucks at a flea market.

A crumpled piece of paper was taped to its base with clear tape"Walmart $50 Gift Card (minimum $500 purchase)".

The entire room fell silent.

Someone couldn't hold it in and snickered.

Mrs. Smith, clacking her ten-centimeter heels, walked over to me and plunked the cheap plastic trophy on my table.

"Luna, you're the company's sales champion. For this fifty-million-dollar deal, your commission alone is three million."

"Don't snatch this small hundred-thousand-dollar bonus from a fresh graduate. A symbolic award is enough for you. You need to have a bigger picture, don't be so greedy."

I looked down at the plastic trophy.

The| (lizh) cheap gold paint was even flaking off.

Brittany, holding the hundred-thousand-dollar check, leaned in and chirped in a voice loud enough for everyone at the table to hear:

"Luna, you're so rich, you surely don't care about a hundred thousand dollars. You're not mad at me, are you?"

Several colleagues, always jealous of my performance, immediately started making sarcastic remarks.

"Exactly, Luna's already feasting; she should at least let us have some of the scraps."

"The richer people get, the tighter they become, even begrudging a new hire's bonus."

"If it weren't for the company providing the platform, could she have landed a fifty-million-dollar deal? People should know how to be grateful!"

In their eyes, since I was earning the highest commission in the company, I should silently accept any insult.

I didn't touch the plastic trophy.

I looked up, meeting Mrs. Smith's face, stiff from too much botox.

"Mrs. Smith, if I'm not mistaken, the only thing Brittany did on this project was accidentally spill coffee on my original draft while I was pulling all-nighters revising the technical proposal twenty-three times."

"And I, to secure that fifty-million-dollar exclusive distribution right, practically lived under the Hayes Group building for half a month, ending up with a bleeding stomach ulcer from all the stress."

My voice wasn't loud, but every word resonated in the quiet banquet hall.

"Now you're telling me she gets a hundred thousand, and I get a fifty-dollar discount voucher? You call that having a 'bigger picture'?"

Mrs. Smith's face instantly changed.

She slammed her hand on the table, making the wine glasses hum.

"Luna Miller! What is your attitude?!"

"The company pays your benefits, gives you a base salary. Clients are company resources. You just ran an errand!"

"Without the company's backing, who do you think you are for Mr. Hayes of the Hayes Group to even know your name?"

She pointed at my nose, her shrill voice piercing everyone's ears.

"Don't think just because you closed one deal, you can get a big head! The company will run perfectly fine without you!"

Mr. Smith, the owner, waddled over with a glass of wine at that moment.

Always one to play the good cop, he patted his beer belly and chuckled awkwardly.

"Oh, Luna, Mrs. Smith speaks her mind, don't take it to heart."

"The company's cash flow is indeed tight lately, as we had to front the security deposit for this project. We're all pulling through tough times together, you know."

"As a veteran employee, you should be considerate of the company's difficulties. You're getting so much commission from this deal, why quibble over such a small amount of money?"

Considerate.

Pulling through tough times together.

Looking at the couple, I felt a surge of nausea.

Last month, when the company was on the brink of bankruptcy, I mortgaged my own property to inject capital and help us survive the crisis.

At that time, they were vacationing in Hawaii.

Now that the fifty-million-dollar deal was secured, they wanted to talk about pulling through tough times together?

I stood up and ripped the fifty-dollar gift card from the plastic trophy.

"Since the company is in such dire straits."

I slapped the gift card onto Mr. Smith's chest.

"Keep this fifty dollars, Mr. Smith. Maybe buy some brain food."

"After all, you'll definitely need it soon."

"Luna Miller! You're outrageous!"

Mrs. Smith trembled with rage, pointing towards the door.

"If you dare to walk out that door today, don't bother coming to work tomorrow!"

"Not only won't you come to work, but you won't get a single cent of your three million commission either!"

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone gasped.

Three million dollars in commission that was an astronomical figure.

Brittany, nearby, fanned the flames. "Luna, quickly apologize to Mrs. Smith. Losing three million just because you're stubborn isn't worth it, is it?"

I gave her a cold glance.

"That three million is written in my employment contract and project commission agreement."

"Mrs. Smith, if you have the guts to withhold it, we'll see each other in court."

I picked up my bag and walked out of the banquet hall without looking back.

As the door closed behind me, I could still hear Mrs. Smith's furious curses:

"See you in court, then! I'd like to see what Luna Miller is without our company's platform!"

"Brittany! Starting tomorrow, you're taking over all Hayes Group deals!"

"I'll make her realize that the world keeps turning without her!"

I stood in the cold wind outside the hotel entrance and lit a cigarette.

I took a deep drag and exhaled a long plume of smoke.

The core of the Hayes Group's fifty-million-dollar exclusive distribution rights wasn't the company's platform at all.

It was that Aiden Hayes, the CEO of Hayes Group, only recognized *me*, Luna Miller.

No one else knew about the additional clauses in that contract.

They wanted it?

Then let them have it.

I just feared that hot potato, however, would burn them to ashes, skin and bone.

The next morning, I punched in for work as usual.

As I walked to my cubicle, I saw my computer had already been removed.

Only a cardboard box remained on my desk, haphazardly stuffed with a few of my mugs and notebooks.

Brittany was sitting in my executive chair, showing off her newly bought designer bag.

Seeing me, she immediately stood up, putting on an innocent, almost saccharine expression.

"Luna, don't blame me. Mrs. Smith said since your attitude was bad, I should take over the Hayes project."

"She told me to take over all your client files today."

I looked at her manipulative smile, lacking even the desire to be angry.

Just then, Ms. Davis from HR sent out a company-wide email.

Subject: Important Notice Regarding Client Resource Ownership and Prohibiting Personal Appropriation of Company Assets.

The email subtly accused me of being arrogant and self-important, threatening immediate termination and forfeiture of all commission if I refused to hand over my responsibilities.

Immediately after, Mr. Smith's secretary walked over and said coldly, "Luna Miller, the boss wants you in the conference room."

I pushed open the conference room door.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith were already sitting inside.

Two documents lay on the table.

One was an "Unconditional Client Resource Transfer Agreement."

The other, a "Voluntary Commission Waiver Agreement."

Mrs. Smith was wearing a striking red business suit today, exuding confidence, as if she had found my Achilles' heel.

"Luna Miller, yesterday I saved you some face outside."

She threw a pen onto the table, making a sharp clattering sound.

"Sign these two documents, hand over all contact information for Hayes Group liaisons, technical drafts, and pricing models."

"Considering your past efforts, I'll let you leave gracefully."

I glanced at the commission waiver agreement and nearly laughed out loud.

"Mrs. Smith, is robbery this blatant these days?"

Mr. Smith cleared his throat, his face stern.

"Luna, don't use such harsh words. Clients belong to the company; you're just an executor. Now the company has decided to change executors, so just cooperate."

"If you don't cooperate, according to company regulations, for causing significant project losses, we will not only fire you but also sue you for damages!"

Threatening me?

I pulled out a chair and calmly sat down.

"Alright, a handover, you say?"

I pulled out a thick stack of documents from my bag and slapped them onto the table.

"These are all the project milestones, contacts, and preferred communication methods for the Hayes Group."

"I've organized everything."

Mrs. Smith's eyes lit up, and she pounced on the documents like a hungry wolf, snatching them into her hands.

She flipped through a couple of pages and laughed triumphantly.

"Smart of you. But you also have to sign this commission waiver agreement."

I leaned back in my chair, crossing my arms.

"I won't give up a single cent of my commission. If you want to withhold it, by all means, try."

"As for the client handover, I've handed it over. Can you even manage it?"

"What a joke!"

Mrs. Smith slammed the documents onto the table.

"It's just the Hayes Group! What's so great about it?!"

"Brittany!"

She called out towards the door.

Brittany scampered in like an obedient puppy.

"Mrs. Smith, you called?"

Mrs. Smith pointed at the phone number of the Hayes Group's Director of Procurement on the document.

"Call it now! Put it on speaker! Let certain conceited people hear that without her, Hayes's money will still hit our company's account!"

Brittany pulled out her latest iPhone and dialed the number.

The conference room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Beepbeep"

The call connected.

"Who is this?" A cold, crisp female voice came through.

Brittany immediately put on a sickly sweet, high-pitched voice.

"Hello, are you Director Wang of the Hayes Group? This is Brittany, the new manager for the fifty-million-dollar distribution project~"

There was three seconds of silence on the other end.

"My name isn't Wang, it's Zhao. You don't even know the name of your point person?"

Brittany's face stiffened, and she looked to Mrs. Smith for help.

Mrs. Smith snatched the phone and shouted into the microphone:

"Director Zhao, is it? I'm Mrs. Smith, the owner of your supplier company! The fifty-million-dollar contract has been signed, and the first payment of twenty million must be transferred today!"

Her tone wasn't like someone chasing a payment; it was more like a gangster collecting protection money in a back alley.

Director Davies on the other end let out a cold laugh.

"Mrs. Smith? I don't care who you are. According to Article Seven of the contract, before payment, you need to submit the underlying architecture authorization for the core A.I. chip, and it must be personally signed and confirmed by Ms. Miller."

"Where is the authorization?"

Mrs. Smith froze, turning to glare at me. "What authorization? Why don't I know about this?"

I shrugged, saying nothing.

Mrs. Smith could only grit her teeth and shout into the phone, "What authorization? The contract is signed, just send the money! Luna Miller has been fired, and Brittany will manage the project from now on!"

As soon as she said that, the air pressure on the other end of the line instantly dropped to freezing.

"Fired?"

Director Davies's voice turned completely cold.

"Your company unilaterally replacing the core technical liaison and failing to provide the authorization constitutes a fundamental breach of contract."

"Payment processing is immediately terminated. Our legal department will send you a termination letter within the hour."

"Beep"

The call was ruthlessly disconnected.

The busy signal echoed in the conference room, like a loud slap across Mrs. Smith's face.