On the other end of the line, all I could hear was the noise of the party.

I could make out the sound of glasses clinking. All that fake joy was built upon an entire year of my hard work. Ryan spoke again.

This time he wasn’t shouting. His tone was almost one of pleading. “Megan, don’t do this to me. I know you’re angry.”

“The thing about your termination was a misunderstanding.” “It was a Human Resources error!” He started making excuses. They were as useless as they were ridiculous. I took another shrimp, dipped it in the sauce, and ate it.

The spice exploded on my tongue. Delicious. “Mr. Ryan,” I said calmly, “it was Patricia from HR who informed me personally.”

“She said it was a company decision.” “She said I had undergone an evaluation.” “And that the result of that evaluation was that I, Megan Salazar, needed to be ‘optimized’.”

05

There was silence on the other end. I heard Ryan’s quickened breathing, like a cornered animal. “Megan, listen to me,” he whispered. He had clearly moved away from the noise of the party. “Today’s presentation… Danielle couldn’t open the main file. And the backup she brought was incomplete. Mr. Henderson was furious. He said he only trusted you for this project. Without you, there is no contract.”

I let out a low laugh. “Mr. Ryan, that file is encrypted. I’m the only one with the password. And the physical documents? They’re already packed in a box, along with the trust I had in this company.”

“Give me the password! Right now!” he ordered, regaining his arrogance.

“Why would I do that? I’m no longer an employee of the company, remember? Though, you could hire me as a consultant. My rate is ten million dollars per character of the password.”

“Are you crazy?! I’ll sue you!” he yelled.

“Try it. But before you do, think about how you’re going to explain to the board of directors that they lost 800 million because of your ego.” I hung up.

06

Not even ten minutes had passed when the group chat turned into a living hell. Danielle, who hours ago was acting like a queen, was now writing desperately. Ryan must have ordered her to.

Danielle: “Megan, please. Answer Mr. Ryan’s calls. Everything is in chaos here at the Marriott. Mr. Henderson wants to cancel all our bookings for next year!”

Danielle: “Megan, I’m so sorry for what I said earlier. It was a joke! You’ve always been my role model!”

I didn’t respond. I just watched as each message appeared. And the brown-nosers from before? They were silent now. Some even left the group, fearing they’d get caught in Ryan’s path of destruction.

Suddenly, my doorbell rang. It was late at night. Who could it be? I checked the camera from my phone. I was surprised to see Ryan, drenched in sweat with a wrinkled suit jacket, accompanied by Patricia from HR.

I activated the intercom. “What are you doing here?”

“Megan! Open the door!” Ryan shouted, almost kneeling in front of the gate. “Have mercy on the company! Have mercy on me! If this 800 million dollar contract doesn’t go through, our stock will plummet. Everyone will lose their jobs!”

Patricia also looked like she was about to cry. “Megan, I’m sorry… Ryan ordered me to call you this morning. He said we had to fire ‘expensive’ employees so his bonus would be bigger.” There it was. The truth.

07

I opened the front door but only walked out as far as the gate. I looked at them both, looking like drowned rats under the streetlight.

“Megan, take this.” Ryan held out a document. “It’s a new contract. I’m tripling your salary. I’m naming you Vice President of Operations. Just sign it and let’s go back to the World Trade Center right now. Mr. Henderson is waiting for us!”

I looked at the paper. Triple salary? Vice President? I ripped the contract up in front of them.

“Too late, Ryan,” I said as I let the pieces of paper fall to the ground. “A little while ago, while I was eating shrimp, your main competitor called me: Global Horizon Group.”

Ryan’s eyes went wide. “What… what did they say?”

“That they’ve wanted to hire me for a long time. And since you fired me, I’m now a free agent. They offered me a 5% stake in the company if I bring my expertise to them.”

“You can’t do that! You have a non-compete clause!” Patricia screamed.

I gave her a sweet smile. “Patricia, did you already forget? You fired me without just cause and without following due process. That contract you keep mentioning was torn to shreds the moment you told me I was fired.”

I took a step back inside. “Megan, no!” Ryan pleaded, trying to grab onto the gate. “Let’s talk!”

“We have nothing left to talk about,” I replied. “You’d better watch the news tomorrow. That’s when you’ll find out how Global Horizon Group won the 800 million dollar project… with me included.”

I shut the door firmly. Inside my house, everything was at peace. The shrimp was gone and the movie had finished. Tomorrow, my new life in Midtown would begin.

Tonight, I would sleep soundly, while my old boss stayed outside, surrounded by mosquitoes, watching his future crumble bit by bit.

Life is like a wheel: sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down. But if you try to remove a wheel while the car is still moving, sooner or later, you’re going to crash.