I replied to Tristan's message. "Noted, no objection."

Tristan was clearly pleased with himself after using me as an example. A few eager sycophants immediately chimed in, praising his decisiveness.

I opened my email and looked at the confirmation notice that my patent application had been approved.

I hoped Tristan would show the same lack of objection when he was asked to answer for the financial damage he had caused the company.

"Ms. Lynn, you absolutely have to come to tomorrow's celebration."

Wesley passed by my desk and made sure to savor the word "celebration", as if repeating his victory aloud made it shine more brightly.

His posturing didn't faze me. There was no point barking back at someone who behaved like a dog. Only after he left did everyone start complaining.

"I'm done with this. They always schedule team events on weekends."

"Who wants to spend their weekends with the same people from work?"

I offered a few absentminded consolations while checking the next day's schedule.

That weekend, I simply switched my phone to Do Not Disturb. I had no interest in watching their little office-politics pageant.

When I walked into the office on Monday, Tristan immediately launched into a passive-aggressive tirade.

"Jenna, who do you think you are? The notice went out before the end of the workday on Friday. Every employee was required to attend the celebration, and you were the only one missing. What is it? Do you have a problem with the company or a problem with me?"

I kept my tone even. "Mr. Hayes, the announcement came at the end of the day on Friday. I had already made plans for the weekend."

"And only you have plans? Everyone has families and lives, yet they all changed their schedules. Are you trying to be special?"

Wesley quickly joined in, clutching Tristan's coattails. I reached into my briefcase and laid a medical appointment slip on the desk.

"This doctor requires booking an appointment six months in advance. Not even money guarantees a slot. If I had skipped my weekend appointment, could you have secured me another for next week? It was a hospital visit. I assume that isn't unreasonable from a humanitarian viewpoint."

Wesley choked, his face flushing and paling in turns before he managed to sputter, "Still, you shouldn't have been absent. It was a night of honor for the whole company. You don't take the company seriously."

"Right, the celebration is a major company event. How could you not have planned ahead? Announcing it only one day in advance shows exactly how little the company matters to you. What kind of work attitude is that?

"And why not schedule it on a weekday? Is it because holding it on a weekend conveniently avoids the need for anyone to request leave?"

I let their accusations hang for a moment, then turned their logic back on them.

My coworkers exchanged glances of silent applause, as if I had voiced the frustration they had been swallowing for months.

Sensing the shift in the room, Tristan moved quickly to regain control.

"Jenna," he said, turning the accusation into a verdict, "your behavior shows a lack of team awareness. You insist on doing things your own way. Effective today, you're reassigned to the sales division so you can learn what teamwork actually looks like. Everett will take over as head of the technical division."

Everyone looked at me. Some were indignant, some shocked, and some suddenly enlightened.

"So that's it. He's been giving Ms. Lynn trouble just to clear the seat."

"No wonder he personally handled the final interview. That candidate really is a relative of his."

"Of course. He controls sales, but Ms. Lynn has never played nice with him. Now that the technical division can generate profits too, he's making sure his own people take it over."

The disappointment settled cold in my chest. I had been with this company since graduation.

The salary and benefits they initially promised evaporated the moment I joined, but at least the promotion path was clear. I worked step by step to become a supervisor, believing that as long as I gave everything to the company, someone would eventually recognize my efforts.

Instead, because I didn't bow to the right person, they had no problem cutting me down.

I returned to my desk and opened the smart system. I was typing lines of code when a notification popped up.

"Pre-Christmas sales will begin early."

The presale was scheduled to launch in three days.

The chairman, Oliver Grant, treated it as a major initiative and held a company-wide meeting to emphasize the need for even greater success.

He publicly commended the sales division for securing the previous orders and promised that if the presale hit 30 million dollars, everyone's year-end bonus would double.

The excitement in the room didn't erase the worry beneath it.

"Our usual monthly sales barely reach five million dollars. If it exceeds 10 million, there will be an extra bonus before."

"What's there to worry about? Ms. Lynn just got transferred to the sales division. She'll have to work twice as hard to prove her loyalty if she wants to return to the technical division."

Tristan had clearly thought the same. As soon as the meeting ended, he came straight to me.

"Jenna, you saw how determined the chairman is. I've been acting for your own good. I want you to get along with your teammates. As long as you show commitment and put the company first, you'll absolutely receive your share of the next reward."

I let out a quiet, cold laugh. "Mr. Hayes, I'm part of the sales division now. Of course, I'll work with my colleagues. As for the system, it's just a tool. I look forward to seeing this round's sales results."

"You ungrateful brat. You think the system can't run without you? Everything belongs to the company. Hand over the permission and get out!" With that, Tristan stormed off to HR. Moments later, I received an official reassignment notice.

"Jenna Lynn has been reassigned to junior sales assistant. Base pay reduced to 1,500 dollars, with commissions paid only when she closes a deal. She's further required to repay the company 100,000 dollars. Until the full amount is recovered, she will receive only 500 dollars a month for basic living expenses."

I took a screenshot in silence. Even the legal minimum wage was higher than what they intended to pay me.

I packed my belongings and prepared to leave when HR stopped me again. "Ms. Lynn, this laptop belongs to the technical division. According to policy, you can't take it with you."

I looked at the young staffer they had sent. They had deliberately chosen her, knowing I wouldn't make trouble for someone who had nothing to do with this.

"Let's go. Take me to the sales division."

…

The moment I arrived, Wesley was already waiting.

"Well, look who's here. Ms. Lynn has graced us with her presence." He raised his voice and continued, "Everyone, stop what you're doing and welcome our new member. Mr. Hayes said we should teach Ms. Lynn what team spirit really means."

"Yes, sir!"

The synchronized shout rattled my ears.

"Ms. Lynn, you can just call me 'Mr. Pierce'. You'll be training here for a while."

Wesley led me to my new desk. Dust coated the surface, and a large trash can sat beside it, giving off an unpleasant smell.

I filled a bucket with water and quietly wiped the desk clean. Wesley, disappointed that I showed no reaction, produced a new demand. "Every morning, you will clean everyone's desks and wash the team's cups. It builds camaraderie."

For the next two days, they used pre-Christmas sale preparations as an excuse to send me on errands, from hauling deliveries downstairs to buying coffee according to their list. They called it maintaining logistics.

While picking up coffee, I ran into Finn Mercer, one of the engineers who used to work under me.

"Finn, what are you doing down here?"

"Jenna, ever since you left and the new supervisor took over, the technical division has become Mr. Hayes' personal echo chamber. Push efficiency is terrible. He holds the system permissions but has no idea what he's doing.

"The system throws errors every day. I suggested integrating an optimization interface, and he claimed I was provoking him. Now, all he gives me is grunt work."

Finn's eyes shone with tears. He had been following me since he graduated and had never dealt with this kind of abuse.

"Jenna, that system was your work. If they keep messing with it, everything will collapse sooner or later."

I patted his shoulder and lifted the bag of coffee in my hand.

"It's fine, Finn. Do whatever he tells you. The less you touch, the safer you'll be. Nothing that happens will be blamed on you. As for me, my job now is buying coffee and waiting to enjoy the show."

…

On the third morning, I had barely sat down when I heard a coworker mutter loud enough for the whole room to hear.

"Some people should stop lazing around and actually run their accounts. If they can't close a single deal, they'll be left to starve."

"Please. They think sales is easy? If we weren't out there every day closing deals, where would the money come from to pay all those people sitting comfortably in their offices?"

The complaints from the sales division had long since lost their sting. Petty exclusion and workplace bullying were hardly enough to shake me anymore.

I walked over to Wesley and submitted a request for a post outstation.

"Mr. Pierce, everyone looks exhausted from handling online sales these past few days. I'd like to contribute as well. We shouldn't neglect offline channels, and this is a good chance for me to train and understand how hard the team works."

My reasoning made sense to him, and he approved the outstation request. The target client was important and notoriously difficult to handle. Since no one had time to maintain relationships with that client right now, sending me was a convenient way to grind down my morale as well.

"Jenna, your enthusiasm is what matters. As for the budget, don't worry. Spend freely."

I didn't take that at face value. It was obvious he was setting a trap. When reimbursement time came, he would find all kinds of faults with the receipts.

The moment my outstation request was approved, I bought a train ticket that departed in the morning and left.

The signal was poor on the train. When I finally stepped off eight hours later, I saw that Tristan had called multiple times. Unable to reach me, he had resorted to voice messages.

"Jenna, where have you gone? You're not answering your phone. Are you skipping work without permission?"

"Your lousy system is freezing nonstop. Tonight is the Christmas presale. If you don't get back immediately, you will take full responsibility for any losses."

I booked a ride to my hotel and ordered food. Only then did I reply.

"Mr. Hayes, my business trip was approved by Mr. Pierce. I'm on official travel. As for system permissions, I assume they were transferred to the new technical supervisor."

The moment I hit send, my phone rang. Tristan was clearly in overtime mode again, just like during Black Friday.

"Jenna, don't be so stubborn. Even the best tool needs the right hero to wield it. I've already hired professionals to optimize the system. It cost us 200,000 dollars this time."

A cold smile rose to my lips. The previous optimization had required only 100,000 dollars because I had been the one working all night for days.

And now, before the presale even began, they had already spent 200,000 dollars. I was curious how many orders they would manage to secure with their improvements.

"Mr. Hayes, in that case, the 200,000 dollars must be covered by your nephew."

As we talked, I filled the tub with hot water and dropped in an essential oil bath bomb.

"You seem to have forgotten that a few days ago, I became a junior sales assistant. System maintenance is no longer part of my job. My only task now is closing tomorrow's order. And all my system data is stored on the technical division's computers. Even if I wanted to help, I have no way to access it."

On my personal laptop, I checked the backend. Tristan had already removed the API rate limit I had set, but no one understood the core algorithms. The entire system was on the brink of collapse.

"Since the system is only a supporting tool, you could always switch to manual pushes."

The boomerang he once threw came back and struck him squarely. He stammered, unable to form a complete sentence.

I hung up and went straight to my bath.

I was genuinely curious. Once the system crashed completely, how many orders could the company's star sales division secure on its own?

After a full day on the train, fatigue washed over me. After my long, hot bath, I dried my hair and fell asleep immediately.