Right here waiting
Chapter 1
My fiancée, who’s also the CEO, announced.
that the company was “tight on cash” and
slashed my salary in half.
Then I saw her little lapdog assistant flaunting
on Instagram.
“The boss just gave me a fat raise and bought
me a sweet ride so I wouldn’t be stressed at
work! So thoughtful.”
The picture showed him and my fiancée, all
smiles, posing in front of a brand–new Porschel
– easily worth six figures.
I took a beat, then hit “like.”
That night, she called an “emergency meeting”
to chew me out. Said I was “disrupting the
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company culture” and docked my entire
paycheck for the month, handing it to the
assistant as “emotional distress compensation.”
Everyone looked at me with pity, waiting for me
to blow my top.
But I just calmly packed up my desk, dropped
my resignation letter on her desk, and said,
“Just a slap on the wrist for bullying a
coworker? I’m out of here.”
Her little buddy, Chad, piped up immediately.
“Ethan, how can you just quit over something
like this? You’ve been here forever, and Lisa’s
always been so great to you. You can’t leave
her in the lurch like this!”
“Lisa, you gotta talk some sense into Ethan!”
Lisa probably was going to try to talk me down.
But Chad’s little speech just lit her fuse.
“Talk him down? He wants to leave, he can
leave! I’ve got nothing to hide, I don’t care what
anyone says.”
She snatched up my resignation, scribbled her
signature, and threw it back in my face.
All my colleagues stared at me, waiting for the
fireworks.
But I didn’t argue, didn’t beg. Just picked up the
resignation off the floor.
“I’ll finish my handover.”
“No handover. Just get out. Now.”
Lisa pointed at the door, then, as an
afterthought, added coldly, “You quit, you get
no severance.”
My coworkers, the ones I was close to, tried to
tell me to just apologize, not to be stubborn.
They all knew that I’d basically built the
company with Lisa from the ground up.
Back then, when the company needed money, I
was hitting up venture capitalists, getting
wasted to seal the deal. When we were behind.
schedule, I was leading the team through all-
nighters. I poured my heart and soul into this
place.
Leaving now was like giving up everything.
But my mind was made up. I thanked them,
gathered my things, and walked out.
Before I left, I saw a flicker of something in
Lisa’s eyes confusion, maybe regret.
I knew what she was thinking: I wouldn’t leave.
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We’d had fights about Chad before, even worse than this. The worst was when Lisa gave Chad all my annual bonus after I challenged him on a shady deal. I blew up at her, threatened to quit, but then, when it came down to it, I swallowed my pride, went back, and pretended nothing had happened.
She thought I’d do it again.
But she didn’t know I was done.
As soon as I left the building, I got a text. It was
a wire transfer from my friend, Dave.
That morning, when Lisa had claimed the
company was struggling and wanted to cut my
salary, my first thought was for her stress level.
I’d immediately contacted Dave to borrow fifty
grand.
I’d been planning to give it to her, but then I’d
accidentally seen Chad’s Instagram post.
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And then, I’d known what was really up.
Strangely, I’d felt this odd sense of peace at that moment. No sadness, no jealous rage.
Maybe because it had happened too many times.
Lisa had pulled so much crap for Chad, had done so many ridiculous things, that I couldn’t even tell anymore if I was her boyfriend or if Chad was.
I wired the money back to Dave, thanked him, and headed to the parking garage.
I found my beat–up, ten–year–old Honda, its
paint chipped and faded.
Right next to it was a shiny new Porsche – the
one Lisa had just given Chad.
The garage was practically empty, but he had
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to park there, right next to me.
A taunt.
I’d been with Lisa for ten years, and it still
wasn’t as good as Chad who’d only been there
10 months.
I let out a bitter laugh.
Without hesitating, I backed out and drove away from the company I’d helped build.
I hadn’t even made it out of the parking lot
when someone rear–ended me.
I got out, and who should it be but Lisa and
Chad, stepping out of the other car.
“Ethan, why did you slam on the brakes like
that? I didn’t have time to react!” Chad said,
walking up and patting his dented hood. “Too
bad, Lisa had picked it out.”
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Lisa’s face darkened.
“Ethan, I saw you staring at Chad’s car in the
garage. Be honest, you did this on purpose,
didn’t you? You knew Chad was behind you, so
you brake–checked him as payback?”
I almost started laughing.
Here we go again.
Blaming me before even asking what happened.
Chad sighed dramatically.
“It’s okay, Lisa, don’t blame Ethan. He lost his
job because of me, it’s normal he would be
angry.”
“Honestly, it’s my fault. If I had been paying
attention…”
He made a fist and “lightly” hit his own
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forehead
Lisa didn’t see the act, and grabbed his head,
coddling him, “It’s not your fault, don’t blame yourself. I’ll get it fixed.”
Then, she pointed a finger at my forehead hard.
“Why can’t you learn from Chad, have a little responsibility?”
“He already knows how to be humble, you’ve worked for so many years and still so childish?”
I stumbled, realizing how ridiculous this was.
For the past year, Chad had been stealing my credit, backstabbing me, and now he’s the
responsible one and I’m immature.
Knowing there was no point in arguing, I turned
to leave.
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Lisa stopped me again.
I thought she was going to continue defending
Chad, but instead, she pulled me aside.
“Ethan, I have high expectations for you, that’s
why I’m so strict.”
“Why can’t you understand that?”
Hearing her soft voice, I was confused.
Then, she patted my shoulder.
“I’m going to retract your resignation. Yout
should think about apologizing to Chad.”
“Also, you’re at fault for the accident, you
should wire Chad the amount.”
It clicked.
I looked over at Chad.
L
He clearly knew exactly what Lisa was going to
say, and had an smug look on his face.
I sneered.
“I’m not paying. We can check the dashcam footage or call the cops. And I’ve got things to do, gotta run.”
I turned and left.
Lisa was furious. “I gave you a chance, Ethan.
Don’t regret this!”
Regret?
No way.
I got back in my car and texted Dave:
I
“I quit. I’m free to start at your company
tomorrow.”
