Malia Martin had just returned from her annual leave when she found a dismissal email from the HR Director waiting for her at the office. She approached Kellen Rodriguez, the HR Director, for confirmation. “My employee ID is 003. Are you sure I'm being let go?” she asked.

Kellen wore a forced smile. “The company’s performance this year hasn't met expectations. You, as the project lead, took a week off to holiday in Greece. How's that fair to all the staff working overtime? How does that justify the company’s investment in you?”

Malia replied with a dry laugh, “Seventy percent of the company’s success is due to my efforts. You're trying to cut off the main artery here!”

Kellen smirked. “Malia, the company can run without anyone. You're overestimating your importance!”

With a casual wave, Malia walked away. He didn't understand that without her leveraging her family resources to fill in the gaps, this shaky start-up wouldn’t have survived long.

Malia's trip to Greece was personally approved by Yahya Watson. Yahya recognized the tough three years she'd put in and had given her a week off to unwind. "I'll cover your travel costs and accommodation. Plus, here’s $2,500 for shopping—buy whatever you like!" At the time, Malia felt appreciated, believing she had judged his character correctly.

Returning from vacation, she was blindsided—the employee with ID 003 was laid off. Kellen's tone softened slightly. “Malia, we're all professionals here. You understand what's happening.”

Malia grasped the underlying message. Yahya must have agreed to this, or Kellen wouldn't dare proceed. Swallowing her dissatisfaction, she inquired, “What about my year-end performance bonus?”

Kellen glanced down slightly and said, “Malia, you’re putting me in a tough spot. The company’s achievements are a team effort. You were just the face of the project. You’ve been earning the highest salary, with most bonuses, driving an SUV, and wearing designer clothes. Your colleagues have long had grievances. If we hadn’t been managing their discontent, you’d have been sidelined a long time ago. It’s unreasonable for you to take all the major benefits while others barely make ends meet.”

Listening to Kellen, Malia felt a mix of amusement and anger. The company had grown from a small operation with just a few people to over two hundred employees. At least 60-70% of the projects over the past three years were initiated and completed by her independently. Now that the business was stable, were Yahya and his team looking to cast her aside now that they had reaped the benefits?

“If I leave, who’s going to handle the SONDER project for Blue Mar?” she asked.

Kellen chuckled. “You don’t have to worry about that.”

“As for the severance package,” he added, “the company will ensure you receive everything you’re owed.”

Malia smiled, “Oh, should I be thanking the company for its great generosity?”

“I’m not accepting this dismissal,” she gestured toward Kellen, “but you’re out!”

Malia Martin returned to her office with cool composure, ready to pack up her personal belongings. Harper Campbell barged in, radiating self-importance.

"Malia, you can’t touch anything in this office!" Harper demanded.

Malia’s expression soured. "This is my office. Why should I—"

Harper cut her off. "This is the company’s space! If you want to pack your personal items, it has to be supervised and approved by the company. Who knows if you might run off with company secrets or data!"

Anger surged through Malia as she glared at Harper. Harper smirked, feeling victorious. "Malia, it’s the last laugh that matters, and you’ve lost."

With a steady breath, Malia lit a slim cigarette, approached Harper, and exhaled a smoke ring in her direction. "Harper, stop sticking your nose into projects that aren’t your business, or I’ll clip your wings."

Harper paled, snapping back, "You—"

"Oh, really? You think you're some sort of femme fatale? Get a grip!" Malia snorted with contempt and walked out of the office.

Earlier in the year, Yahya Watson hired several executives with impressive global credentials. They ended up being all talk and no action, fumbling every execution. At the Thanksgiving meeting, they even had the cheek to blame Malia. Enraged, she confronted Yahya, leaving him no choice but to fire all the foreign-educated executives. Harper avoided being sacked only due to Yahya’s private intervention, despite her lackluster qualifications. Barely passing basic English exams, her best bet would have been modeling at some club.

If she wanted to appear harmless, fine. But now that she’d shown her true colors, did she really think she was lethal?

Kellen Rodriguez clapped his hands, drawing everyone’s attention. "Attention, everyone! With the year wrapping up, we have a major personnel change. After careful consideration, the company has decided that Harper Campbell from the executive office will take on the role of Business Director and manage the SONDER project. The former Business Director, Malia Martin, has resigned for personal reasons. I trust everyone will support Harper and continue to strive for excellence!"

The office went silent as all eyes turned to Malia, fraught with curiosity, sympathy, and underlying tension. Kellen watched Malia with a beaming smile.

Malia looked up with a slight smile. "The game’s not over yet." Ignoring their startled faces, she exited the company.

Once in her car, Malia picked up her phone and dialed home. "Uncle Marlon, I’m done with this. I want to come back."

Marlon chuckled softly on the other end of the line, "What's wrong? Did you get pushed around and now you're calling to vent to your uncle?"

Malia's expression instantly turned icy as she huffed. Marlon had hit the nail on the head, but it stung more than she'd like to admit.

"Alright, alright, I was just messing with you," Marlon reassured warmly. "Tell me what's going on so I can help you straighten things out."

Marlon, only ten years her senior, shared an especially close bond with Malia. She quickly recounted how Yahya had betrayed her after she had been pivotal to their startup's success.

"You know," Marlon said with a hint of sarcasm, "you could have stayed the prized client, but instead, you decided to chase after Yahya, that charmer, and launch a venture. Now, after three tough years, he’s shown you the door. Quite the reality check, huh?"

Malia pursed her lips, blaming herself for being naive and eager to prove her worth. She muttered, "You better not tell my dad! I don't want him ridiculing me."

"Alright, alright," Marlon agreed promptly. "Should we pull the plug on the SONDER project with Blue Horizon?"

Malia rolled her eyes. "Of course, it needs to stop. That's my project!"

At the mid-year meeting, Malia had managed to pressure Yahya into dismissing some highly credentialed executives by promising that she would make up for lost progress in the latter part of the year, hitting at least 80-90% of their annual targets.

She had secured the $30 million SONDER project from Blue Horizon thanks to Marlon's network. Without her influence, Yahya's fledgling company wouldn't have had the credentials to bid on such projects.

To support her, Marlon had even arranged for the finance team to release an advance payment. Malia preferred to keep her family's involvement under wraps and was used to flying under the radar.

This discretion, however, led Yahya to believe his company had secured the SONDER project solely because of its own capabilities. They had no idea that by dismissing her, they'd be cutting off a crucial support.

Without Malia, she was curious to see just how Yahya and Harper would manage to push the project forward.