Chapter 3

The three of us looked at our phones, typed something quickly, and locked our screens at the same time.

Mike spoke first, "If she wants to play dirty, I'll play dirty too!"

"That $3 million outstanding payment from my client? I'm telling them they can delay it for another six months!"

Lisa shrugged right after him.

"Don't worry. My biggest client, who has been with me for three years, won't be renewing their contract next year."

I put my phone away and lowered my voice. "Mike, Lisa, don't rush. Listen to me, I have a plan."

They both looked at me, confused.

"I know you're furious," I continued. "But I have a better way. Give me three days, and I'll make Vivian ruin herself. But for now, we need to play cool. Don't confront her. Tell your clients to hold off, but don't actually break the contracts yet."

Mike frowned. "What plan? You can't even get your expenses approved."

I smiled. "It's not the reimbursement I can't handle. It's the web of corruption Vivian built. Trust me. In less than a week, both Vivian and Kevin will be fired. But I need you to play along. Ask your clients to drop hints that they're 'unsatisfied' and 'reconsider our partnership.' Once this is over, I promise you won't lose a single client."

Lisa stared at me for a few seconds. "Sarah, are you hiding something from us?"

I nodded. "Yes. But I can't tell you yet. You'll find out when the time is right."

Mike and Lisa exchanged a glance and finally agreed.

Honestly, out of the three sales reps, I was the youngest and had the least seniority. But I had a secret they didn't know.

My family owned this company.

I wasn't here just to pass the time. My dad wanted me to start from the bottom to understand the real issues in the company.

Over the past few months, I had discovered problems that went far beyond Vivian.

Now that Vivian had decided to cross all three of us, it was the perfect opportunity. The evidence I had gathered in secret over the last few months went way beyond simple travel expenses.

I had amassed plenty of evidence of Vivian and Kevin taking kickbacks and falsifying accounts. It was time to clean house.

We went back to our desks and kept working. A little later, I went to the breakroom to get some water. As I passed the stairwell, I heard Kevin's voice from inside. "Vivian, do you think they'll actually complain to HQ?"

I froze and leaned against the wall.

"Complain? Let them try," Vivian scoffed. "I'd love to see if the Chairman believes three lowly sales reps or his CFO."

"True," Kevin chuckled. "But sucks to be them. Working so hard just to have their paychecks held hostage by you."

"They brought it on themselves. If they had just kept their heads down, this wouldn't have happened. But they had to challenge me."

I went back to my desk and told Mike and Lisa what I had heard.

Lisa clenched her fists. "I swear, I want to quit right now."

"Don't," I said, putting a hand on hers. "Quitting now is exactly what they want."

Mike gritted his teeth. "Fine. Let them enjoy their little power trip for a few more days."

The next morning, as soon as we got to the office, a company-wide email was waiting in our inboxes.

From: Finance Department.

Subject: Policy Update: Optimization of Sales Expense Management.

I clicked on it. It was a new expense policy.

"1. Travel allowance for sales personnel is reduced by 30%. Any excess must be paid out of pocket!"

"2. All expense reports must be submitted three days prior to travel, or they will not be approved!"

"3. The reimbursement cycle is extended from 15 business days to 60 business days!"

...

The three of us literally laughed out loud.

As sales reps, last-minute trips to meet clients were completely normal.

If we had to pre-approve everything three days in advance, we'd lose half our deals before we even got on the plane.

And Vivian was obviously doing this just to choke our sales team because she thought we spent too much.

But these were actual business expenses we paid to bring in revenue. Why should we pay for them?

Mike was the first to speak up.

But Vivian appeared out of nowhere, offering a smug reply. "Mike, rules are rules."

"We might not be a massive conglomerate, but we still have to manage our budget."

"Besides, if the company didn't give you this platform, you wouldn't even have these clients. You wouldn't close any deals. Instead of being grateful, you complain about company policies. What a bunch of ungrateful freeloaders!"

"What did you just say?" I stepped forward to confront Vivian, but Lisa grabbed my arm tightly.

"Sarah, don't. If this gets out of hand, we're the ones who will suffer!"

I took a deep breath. Lisa was right.

We were outnumbered, and on paper, she held all the cards.

But Vivian was thoroughly annoyed by us now.

She didn't expect us to stand our ground instead of falling in line like everyone else.

She hated that we challenged her immediately.

To show her petty power, Vivian decided to take the rest of the office out for lunch, leaving only the three of us behind.

"Once you three learn how to be obedient employees, you can come talk to me!"

With that, she strutted off with Kevin.

Mike stared at their backs for a long time. "I can't do this anymore. I'm resigning."

Lisa sighed. "Another company has been trying to headhunt me for months. Maybe I'll just take their offer."

Seeing my two top-performing coworkers on the verge of quitting, I lowered my voice.

"Mike, Lisa, don't leave just yet. I have connections at the top. This isn't over. Trust me, just hang in there for a few more days."