"What heroes you all are! Such generous contributors!"
"If this company won't give us the bonuses we earned, then don't expect us to put in unpaid overtime ever again!"
"We may be the nice guys, but we're not stupid! Feed us enough empty promises and even an idiot figures out they're fake!"
I turned and walked out, ignoring the VP's darkening expression.
Behind me came the crash of chairs hitting the floor.
So much for his mild-mannered act—that only lasted until someone touched his money.
When it came down to it, there was no way this bonus fiasco happened without VP Sawyer's fingerprints all over it. I'd stake my life on it.
Back at the department, fourteen pairs of hopeful eyes turned toward me.
My nose stung. I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn't come.
Milton managed a smile, though it couldn't hide the bitterness underneath.
"My mom's legs aren't doing so well. We'll skip Capital City this year. The bonus... forget it."
One of the younger women wiped her tears.
"Everyone just pooled some money for me. It's enough for my mom's first surgery."
They swallowed their grievances whole, washing them down with tears.
My fists clenched tighter and tighter as the conversation between the boss and VP Sawyer replayed in my head.
"My wife's cousin's kid just got back from overseas with his master's degree—and he brought a whole team with him. Get rid of Tech and make room for them!"
"Soon enough. Push them hard enough and they'll quit on their own. Saves us the severance pay."
"Besides, I've got one more trick up my sleeve. They won't last long after that..."
They'd assumed I was long gone. But I'd left my glasses behind and doubled back.
I heard every word of their scheme.
"This time, we're not letting it slide!"
My voice came out rough. In my eyes burned the determination of a pushover backed into a corner.
Why should the nice guys always get trampled?
Why should we pour everything we have into this job, only for greedy executives to invent excuses to bleed us dry?
Caspar's eyes lit up. "Boss, the competitor next door is offering five times our salary to poach our entire team."
In the AI industry, technical talent is the ultimate competitive edge.
A team that works together seamlessly? Even more valuable.
Starting six months ago, the rival company's HR director and CEO had been approaching me privately.
Their offer climbed from double to the current five times my salary.
Out of loyalty to the company, I'd kept turning them down.
But now...
I was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "Reach out to them. But keep this under wraps."
The job switch proceeded smoothly and quietly. To make sure nothing leaked, I personally gave the other company's CEO a heads-up.
He swore up and down that not a word would get out. As for start dates, they'd work around our resignation timeline.
A week later, the company welcomed a new face.
Some distant relative of the boss.
The boss personally escorted him to the Tech department.
"Hello, everyone. I just got back from abroad. I have experience at three major international firms. You can call me Henry Caldwell."
The young hotshot looked around with obvious disdain.
"Fifteen people, and you only developed twenty systems in a whole year? At my old company, you'd have been fired a hundred times over!"
"But don't worry. Now that I'm here, as long as you're not completely useless, this company will be Fortune 500 in no time!"
Dead silence. Henry's expression turned awkward.
The boss started clapping. "Let's welcome our brilliant returnee!"
"From now on, he's your new Tech Director. Claude, you're demoted to Technical Lead with a pay cut to match. Everyone else—fifty percent salary reduction across the board!"
Caspar slammed his palm on the desk. "On what grounds?! This guy's a third-rate overseas graduate who couldn't even land an internship through normal channels. How does he waltz in and become Technical Director?"
The rest of the team looked equally outraged.
Henry's face darkened, but the boss remained perfectly calm.
"On what grounds? You all tried to jump ship to a competitor, violating your non-compete agreements. I could've had you thrown in jail, but I showed mercy. And you're standing here asking me 'on what grounds'?"
He produced his evidence—chat logs showing the competitor offering us five times our salary to defect, plus photos of us meeting with their CEO.
"So here are your options: accept a fifty percent pay cut, or get ready to cough up damages. Or enjoy prison food."
Executive VP Sawyer appeared, holding the non-compete agreements we'd signed when we were hired.
"Breach of non-compete: one million dollars in penalties."
The color drained from my teammates' faces.
"A million dollars! I couldn't save that in ten years even if I didn't eat or drink!"
"What do we do? Is my life just... over?"
The boss raised an eyebrow, smug.
"A bunch of clowns who can't even see what they're worth. You really thought someone would pay five times market rate for you?"
He held up an acquisition agreement.
"That company next door? I bought it a year ago. You think your little schemes were fooling anyone?"
