Chapter 4

In reality, our group was much larger than it seemed. The parent company had been publicly traded for years.

I had only come to this subsidiary because my dad wanted me to gain experience from the ground up.

After I graduated, my dad wanted to put me straight into management.

But I wanted to prove myself and avoid being micromanaged by my family, so I insisted on starting as a regular sales rep.

Now, though, I realized that since I was going to inherit the empire anyway, knowing the business inside out was actually a huge advantage.

During lunch break, I hid in the restroom and called my dad.

"Dad, Vivian is making her move. She just rolled out a new policy targeting the sales team."

The line went quiet for a moment. "Are you sure you want to shut her down now?"

"Yes," I said. "She's crossed the line too many times. It's time."

My dad hummed in agreement. "Alright. Keep playing cool on your end, and I'll handle things here. By the way, about Thomas in procurement—the guy you mentioned last time. I had someone look into his books for the past three years. There's definitely fraud there. We'll clean them all out together."

Going through this together brought the three of us closer.

Even though the expense issue wasn't solved, we were in much better spirits.

But because we didn't go crawling back to her, rumors started spreading over the next two days.

Gossip began circulating around the office.

Someone mentioned that Vivian had been complaining behind our backs: "Some people think they're royalty just because they closed a few deals."

Others whispered that Vivian had said, "An obedient employee is a good employee. If you don't play ball, talent means nothing."

Hearing this only made me want to laugh.

Without the three of us, where would the company get its revenue? How would they even get their bonuses?

But their petty remarks couldn't touch us.

That night, I opened my laptop and went over the files I had compiled: records of Vivian and Kevin's kickbacks, fake receipts, and evidence of Thomas in procurement colluding with them.

It was all there.

My dad was right. A company's biggest threat isn't the competition. It's the parasites on the inside.

Since Vivian was acting up, it was the perfect time to flush them all out.

On Friday afternoon, while I was preparing my itinerary for next week's business trip, a notification popped up on my screen.

My travel advance request was rejected.

The reason: Insufficient budget.

I froze and looked over at Lisa in the opposite cubicle.

She was staring at her screen with a dark expression. "Yours got rejected too?"

I nodded.

Mike poked his head over the partition. "Mine too."

Just then, Vivian walked out of the conference room with a group of colleagues.

Lisa immediately called out, "Vivian, did you reject our travel advances for next week?"

Vivian offered a sweet, fake smile. "What if I did? Since you three are so resourceful, why don't you just cover the costs yourselves? The company is facing budget constraints. Every penny counts."

I raised my voice. "Vivian, this is incredibly unprofessional!"

"Even if you had to reject it, you should have warned us!"

"Our flight is tomorrow. What are we supposed to do?"

"What you do is none of my business," Vivian sneered.

"If you miss your client meetings next week, it'll count as unexcused absences!"

"Then again, I'm reasonable. If you sign the new expense policy, I might make an exception and approve your advance."

"That new policy is a joke!" Lisa gritted her teeth.

"No company in New York would ever treat their sales team like this!"

"Vivian, I've been with this company for years. Is this how you treat your veterans?"

"Stop playing the veteran card!" Kevin snapped, stepping forward.

"Who cares how long you've been here? You think you're more important than Vivian and me?"

"We run the finances here. What we say goes!"

"You're just sales reps. There are thousands of people like you on the street. Don't act like you're irreplaceable!"

Kevin's words were incredibly nasty. Lisa's face turned white with rage.

Mike looked ready to punch him.

I held them both back and took a deep breath. "Vivian, do you really want to take it this far?"

Vivian glared at us.

"What? You're just nine-to-five wage slaves. You honestly think you're in a position to challenge me?"

"Let me tell you something: the company gave you your jobs!"

"Cross me, and I'll make sure you never see a single dime of reimbursement again!"

I didn't say a word. I just slipped my hand into my pocket and texted my dad: "Dad, it's time for your entrance."

I put my phone back and waited.

Less than ten minutes later, the office doors swung open.

A middle-aged man stepped inside.

The Chairman of the company, Mr. Harrison.