Chapter 1

In the company WhatsApp group, our admin manager, Brenda, publicly tagged me.

[@Chloe, send me the receipt for your $1,200 company phone for the archives.]

The second I sent it over, she walked it back.

[My mistake. Send the receipt for your $600 backup phone instead.]

When I messaged her privately to ask why, she replied instantly:

[You're a month short of the tenure requirement! Either downgrade the phone or pay the $600 difference out of pocket!]

I dropped my employment contract right into the main group chat.

[@Brenda, I've been with the company for three years and two months. Is your system offline, or are your glasses broken?]

Humiliated and furious, she dumped the underfunded annual Vendor Appreciation Gala on my desk right before clocking out.

"Mess this up, and you're fired!"

Watching her smug retreat, I smirked.

Trying to push me out?

I turned around and emailed an ingenious cost-cutting proposal directly to the CEO, pitching my uncle's luxury country ranch as the venue.

The gala was an unprecedented hit, and the CEO personally praised me in front of the entire company.

The next day, HR announced my promotion to Assistant Admin Manager—making me Brenda's direct second-in-command.

Wanted to make a fool out of me? I'll turn you into the whole damn circus.

The company had just issued me a brand-new $1,200 flagship work phone. Before it had even warmed up in my hands, Brenda, our administrative manager, tagged me in the departmental WhatsApp group.

[@Chloe, send over the order confirmation for that new phone. I need to file it.]

I didn't think much of it and dropped the digital invoice right into the chat.

A minute later, Brenda posted another message.

[Wrong order. Delete that invoice and send me the receipt for your $600 backup phone.]

I stared at the screen, stunned.

Company policy was crystal clear: employees with three full years of service were entitled to a premium $1,200 device allowance.

I had hit my three-year anniversary last month. I was fully entitled to this phone.

I shot her a private message: [Brenda, I qualified under the three-year tier. The $1,200 allowance is correct.]

Brenda replied within seconds, her tone dripping with venom:

[Do you know the policy, or do I? The system shows your tenure at two years and eleven months. You don't qualify!]

[If you don't downgrade, you'll have to pay the $600 difference out of your own pocket!]

Staring at my screen, blood rushed to my head.

I started on July 1st. My signed contract was in black and white. Who was she to say I was a month short?

Without hesitation, I snapped a photo of the first page of my employment contract and fired it straight into the main WhatsApp group.

[@Brenda, are your eyes playing tricks on you?]

[My contract clearly states I joined on July 1, 2021.]

[As of today, that's three years and two months. Is the company Wi-Fi down on your end, or is your system just broken?]

The moment my message went through, the group chat fell dead silent.

Five full minutes ticked by before Brenda finally fired back.

[Chloe! What kind of attitude is that?! I oversee purchasing for the entire company—clerical errors happen!]

[Is this how an entry-level worker talks to management?]

[Besides, who gave you permission to post your contract in a public group?]

[That's confidential company documentation! Do you think you're special? Do you think you're above the rules?]

[Obsessing over a $1,200 phone? You're nothing but a greedy opportunist!]

Reading her tirade, I nearly laughed out loud.

I had busted my back here for three years, and suddenly I was an entry-level rookie?

Asking a valid question made me hostile?

My coworker Mia gently tugged my sleeve, whispering, "Chloe, drop it. Brenda isn't someone you want to mess with. Her sister-in-law is married to our CEO."

No wonder she acted like she owned the place.

Too bad for her, intimidation has never worked on me.

Ignoring Mia's warning, I fired right back in the chat:

[Brenda, first off, I've been here over three years. I'm not a rookie.]

[Second, claiming the benefits I rightfully earned isn't greed—it's knowing my rights.]

[Third, if you genuinely believe posting my start date breaches confidentiality, feel free to file an official HR grievance.]

[As for whether I'm special, don't worry your head about it.]

[What people should worry about is why you're willing to ignore company policy and my legal contract just to cheat me out of $600. Don't you think that's a little cheap for a manager?]

When I hit send, my colleagues looked at me with a mix of awe and pure pity. They looked at me like I was a dead woman walking.

Brenda didn't type another word.

I tossed my phone onto the desk, done looking at it.

The war was officially on.