"Here. Take these."
I stared at her, completely lost.
Blair leaned in close, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "What you're holding right now? Top-grade wild ginseng—ten thousand dollars a pound! These two roots are about half a pound each. Together, that's a full pound. Take them to the Herbal Market and sell them. If the market's good, you might even get more than a hundred grand!"
She wore the expression of someone bestowing an incredible gift.
When I just stood there frozen, she added, "I don't give treasures like this to just anyone. Only my best friend—Bella. Let's leave the past in the past, okay? Consider these my way of making things up to you!"
I laughed.
Leave the past in the past?
No. I was going to drag every last bit of it into the light.
I swallowed everything churning inside me and forced my lips into a smile.
"Thank you, boss."
"Boss? Don't be silly! We're like sisters."
Sisters. We were employer and employee. Nothing more.
But starting next month, those roles would be reversed.
I carried the two ginseng roots back to my desk.
Lorna Lawrence, one of my team members, spotted them immediately and hurried over. "Wait—aren't these the same ones you gave away last month?"
Exactly.
Last month, Blair's mother had been hospitalized for fatigue. I'd driven out to the mountains myself, tracked down a supplier, and after hours of haggling, bought two roots at five hundred dollars each.
And now Blair had handed them back to me as a "year-end bonus," claiming each one was worth fifty thousand.
I wanted to laugh. But somehow, I couldn't.
All these years, I'd poured everything into this company. I'd worked overtime without complaint, picked up slack without being asked—partly because I needed the money, but partly because I genuinely believed Blair and I were like family.
These two ginseng roots had just slapped that delusion right off my face.
It was a workday morning, but I packed up my things and left.
Morgan Price from HR spotted me on my way out. He didn't try to stop me—just said he'd have to report it to the boss.
Minutes later, Blair's announcement appeared in the company group chat: not only would my pay be docked for leaving early, but my performance bonus would be cut too. Reason: poor work attitude.
My team wasn't having it. Messages started flooding in.
"First she gives Director Lambert a 'bonus' that's actually her own gift returned, and now she's docking her pay? Does she even see our director as human?"
"Seriously! Director Lambert is always first in, last out. Even when her family was sick, she didn't take time off—she'd go to the hospital after work."
"Ms. White, aren't you worried about how this looks to your long-term employees?"
I was about to tell them to delete their messages when Blair activated the group voice call.
Her voice came through sharp with fury. "Director? Seems like you people have forgotten who's actually in charge here!"
"Bella Lambert—you're a department head. Just a department head. Is this how you teach your subordinates to behave? Do you have any respect for me as your employer?"
"This company is mine. I built it with my own money. Clearly, none of you understand the pecking order. Effective immediately, the tech department is dissolved. Bella, you wanted to skip work? Fine. Don't bother coming back. Ever."
I didn't even get a chance to respond.
Blair kicked me and my entire team out of the chat.
Morgan's message arrived seconds later.
"Bella, even though you worked twenty days this month, your unauthorized absence today means your entire monthly salary is forfeited. Don't bother coming in to process paperwork. You're terminated."
I read the message and smiled.
They say HR is just the boss's lapdog.
Well. Next month, I'd be the boss.
I couldn't wait to see who that dog barked for then.
After dissolving the tech department, Blair didn't offer severance. She docked everyone's pay instead.
