Sadie even added a caption.
[Thanks Dad for taking time out of his busy schedule to see me off for my internship. Promise, I won’t let you down.]
I immediately called my uncle—only to hear the cold, mechanical sound of a disconnected phone.
Seeing me refuse to apologize, Sadie gave me a wicked look.
“Phoebe, don’t regret this. I’ll make sure you pay for it!”
The next day, she made good on her words.
At the awards ceremony, the top sales award and the 70,000-dollar bonus that should’ve been mine… went to her.
The slides still showed my name in the acceptance speech; it hadn’t even been updated.
This was blatant robbery, and my chest burned with rage.
I immediately demanded an explanation.
“What’s the criteria for determining top sales? My projects this month totaled over one hundred million in revenue, generating tens of millions for the company, and I outperformed the second-place by five million in profit. Sadie didn’t even make a single order. So, may I ask all the leaders here… Why is the top sales award going to her?”
The room fell completely silent.
The finance director and sales VP exchanged glances, neither daring to speak.
Sadie looked at me arrogantly.
“Of course, your projects weren’t exactly… clean. The company can’t condone such lowly behavior.
“Right now, we’re just stripping you of the award. But if you keep using shady tactics to ruin the company’s reputation, you’ll be fired next.”
I was shaking with anger, my eyes scanning every leader on the stage. Those who had once praised my skills and potential now avoided my gaze, heads down in submission.
I looked at the top executive, Cody.
“Sir… is this really your decision, too?”
Being called out publicly clearly annoyed him; he frowned impatiently.
“Phoebe, the company has its considerations. Don’t let a small thing ruin the awards ceremony. You need to see the bigger picture.”
“The bigger picture?” My eyes burned red, and my voice shook.
“So the bigger picture means I work non-stop all year, stay until midnight every day, pour myself into projects—and all those achievements go to someone else?
“Because of some baseless rumor from her, all my hard work gets erased, and you all remain indifferent?
“Let me ask you. Where’s the fairness? Where’s justice? Don’t you feel any guilt treating someone who’s made huge contributions to this company like this?”