Even though it's the New Year holidays, I'm still cooped up in the company while churning out the paperwork needed for the company's listing process.

That's when my keyboard suddenly types a paragraph on its own.

"Stop working already! Your boss is about to fire you, and yet you're still slaving away for his sake!"

I'm stunned by the information I see. The keyboard goes on typing, "He said you only have a bachelor's degree. If not for the fact that you're a walking lucky charm, you wouldn't have gotten into this company in the first place!

"Now that the company is in the process of getting listed, it's costing far too much just to keep you around! Even though you're being paid a high salary every month, you can't even provide the company with any value!

"He intends to dismiss you the moment the company gets listed! Since it's the new year, new blood should be joining the company!"

I've been holding my coffee mug the whole time. At that moment, I can feel my hands starting to tremble.

For five years, the projects that I've manned never got into any problems. The final round of funding always came through. Even when we were choosing a new office, we came across the situation of an owner who was all-too happy to get rid of the building.

I can say with great confidence that I'm 90% of the main reason how this company expanded from a tiny office to the entire building. To think that I'm the first person to be discarded right after my boss reaches his goal…

I can feel my stomach twisting uneasily. Even my throat goes tight from the anxiety.

Just as I'm about to leave, a few angry voices ring out in the office.

"I'm an office chair! I'll break during the board meeting tomorrow and make sure that your boss falls right on his ass!"

"I'm a printer! I'll make sure to print all the documents he wants with nothing but gibberish on them!"

"I'm a coffee machine! Tomorrow, I'll whip him a special brew that ensures he will never get to leave the toilet bowl for the rest of the day!"

"And me!" exclaimed the mug on the table. "Tomorrow, I'll tip myself over and give the back of his hand a nice blister."

The ceiling light let out a cold snort. "I'll fall down on his shiny bald head and smash him good."

Upon hearing these words, I was stunned and began to wonder if working overtime had caused me to hallucinate.

The keyboard kept clattering away, and another line appeared on the screen.

"What are you still standing there for? Pack up and go home to sleep. Why are you still killing yourself here?"

I instinctively lowered my voice. "Wait… Everyone, calm down. Where did you hear this? How come I haven't heard a peep? Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

"Mistaken? No way!" said the mug, shaking with rage. "How much more naive can you get? Not only is Daniel Cook going to fire you, but he's also going to make you cough up every penny you've earned over the years!

"The company is about to go public, and he's planted a time bomb right in the prospectus you're holding. Once you sign it, you'll take the fall. By then, you'll be looking at massive compensation and jail time—the whole nine yards."

The office chair creaked in agreement. "He said since you have a lucky streak, you can't just leave and let some other company get the better of it. He's hired a professional team to take you down. He doesn't think your luck will hold up to the point of keeping you out of jail."

My hands started to go cold, as if I could already feel the icy bars of a cell.

"But Daniel has always been good to me." I was still grasping at straws, even though my throat had gone dry.

"Like hell he was!" the keyboard clattered dismissively. "The keyboard in Daniel's office is a good buddy of mine. It said he just finished drafting the lawsuit against you yesterday. Go see for yourself! The password for the computer is 015374."

Seeing how certain they all sounded, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt.

I took a deep breath before creeping stealthily into Daniel's office.

Sure enough, the password worked.

On the desktop, a file named "Lawsuit Regarding Eloise Holt's Job Misappropriation and Commercial Disclosure" stood out glaringly.

I suddenly felt a chill in my chest, overwhelmed by the sense that I'd been backstabbed. Then, my heart began to race.

I pulled out my phone and quickly took photos.

"Eloise, look at me!" The safe in the corner suddenly spoke, startling me. "The password is the same. I've got something even juicier."

I pressed the numbers with trembling fingers.

The safe door sprang open, and what was inside stunned me.

My whole body went cold, yet my limbs moved nimbly as I whipped out my phone and started snapping photos like crazy.

Then, I packed all the files and immediately sent them to Dominic Freedman, a top-tier lawyer in the industry.

Back when he was still unknown, I'd helped him out thanks to my lucky streak. Thus, he still owed me a favor.

"Dominic, my boss is setting me up to send me to prison. I want to sue him before he makes his move. I've sent you the evidence. Please hurry—it has to be done before the company goes public."

After sending the message, I clenched my teeth, unable to suppress the rage building inside me.

I'd given five years to this company, and I finally waited long enough to see it go public. Yet, the moment Daniel didn't need me anymore, he was going to fire me?

Did he really think I'd just take it lying down?

Composing myself, I returned to my desk to grab my bag and leave.

Suddenly, Daniel's familiar voice came from the doorway. "Eloise? Are you still working? I really appreciate it. Don't you worry—once the company goes public, I'll make you a COO."

Hah, more like he'd make me a convict!

Daniel walked into his office with a smile. However, a few seconds later, he stormed back out with a darkened expression.

"Eloise, did you go into my office and touch my things?"

My heart skipped a beat, but I forced myself to stay calm. "No. I've been right here, working on the prospectus."

"Impossible! My mug has been moved, and you're the only one in the office right now. Company policy states that entering my office without permission and touching anything constitutes forfeiture of your annual bonus and immediate termination. I'm pulling up the security footage right now!"

A vicious look came into his eyes as he marched toward the computer with the surveillance feeds.

My chest suddenly tightened.

As Daniel stared at the surveillance video, scrubbing the timeline back and forth, his brows knitted into a knot.

"How strange. There's nobody."

My heart, which had been in my throat, eased up a little.

"Eloise." A voice crackling with static reached my ear. "It's me, the security camera! I'm the sharpest eye in the whole company. The moment you snuck in, I turned myself off. I didn't open my eyes again until you came out, so don't worry."

My nose stung with emotion.

While Daniel was still muttering to himself, I asked quietly in my mind, "Why are you all helping me? Daniel was the one who bought you, after all."

A chorus of complaints erupted all at once.

The security camera spoke first. "If I'd relied on him, I would've rotted in a warehouse ages ago! The company only started getting better because of you. And he still expects me, a single camera, to have a 360-degree view with no blind spots. He works me to death every day. What a stingy pervert!"

"I'm the real victim here!" the mouse whined sharply. "He molests me all day long and makes me look at gross stuff. I'm just a baby—my eyes are melting."

The office chair creaked, practically sobbing. "I've got it even worse—200 pounds of him squashing me every day. And sometimes he brings some woman over and they both… Ugh, it's so gross I can't even finish my sentence. Eloise, can you please wipe me off after work?"

I almost laughed out loud, but quickly held it in and hurriedly agreed, "No problem."

Talking to office items for the first time actually felt pretty nice.

"Eloise." Daniel's voice pulled me back to reality. He walked over, rubbing his hands together.

"How is the prospectus coming along? Let me take a look."

I felt a pang in my chest. The documents were all ready. But handing them over would have been like giving away everything I'd poured my heart into. Wouldn't that just let him ride my work to an IPO, then turn around and throw me in prison?

When he saw me hesitating, his expression darkened a little.

"It's been three days, and you're still not finished? The company may not have high expectations for you, but since you're drawing a high salary, you ought to actually get some real work done."

At this, I felt like I was about to blow my top.

I could've been relaxing at home over New Year's. Why the heck would I be stuck working overtime here if not to help him go public?

But instead of gratitude, he was reprimanding me.

In the past, I might have felt guilty. Now, all I felt was revulsion.

Upon noticing my face had fallen, Daniel flashed a phony smile and tried to smooth things over.

"Oh, come on, I know you have a lucky streak. Even though you always find a way out of trouble, we still need a solid plan. Double the safety net, double the peace of mind, right?"

I swallowed my anger and said, "It's done. I've already emailed you the prospectus."

He immediately turned and went to his computer, clicking print without even glancing at them.

The printer made a strange noise, and the paper that came out was covered in gibberish.

"It's my turn!" the printer crowed in my mind. "No way I'm letting him steal your hard work, Eloise!"

I pretended to frown in confusion. "Daniel, it looks like the printer's broken, and it's too late to get anyone in to fix it. How about we print the documents live at the board meeting tomorrow?"

He eyed me suspiciously but ultimately nodded. "That works too. You should head home early then. Don't let me down tomorrow."

Once he left, I immediately pulled out my phone and created a group chat.

The names on there were the very first ones marked for "streamlining" that I saw on Daniel's computer. They were all veteran employees who'd worked tirelessly alongside him since the company's founding.

I warned them that Daniel was planning to fire them once they were no longer useful.

The group chat instantly exploded.

"Eloise, all this overtime is messing with your brain. Go home and get some sleep."

"I've been working for Daniel for years—he said I'm like a brother to him. There's no way he'd stab me in the back."

"That's impossible! He promised me just the other day that he'd give me shares after the company went public."

Clearly, Daniel had been putting on an act far too well.

I didn't argue further.

But the next day, the second they entered the conference room, they all stopped dead in their tracks.

Every seat around the round table was filled with unfamiliar faces. Those of us who'd been with the company for years were seated in chairs lined up outside the main conference table.

Neal Chapman, the CFO, was the first to crack. He stood up and said, "Daniel, as the CFO, don't I even get a seat at the main table? Since when do I not get a say at board meetings?"

Daniel waved him off, signaling him to be patient. Then, he walked over and sat down in the head chair.

The moment his backside touched the seat, the chair collapsed with a crack, and he fell flat on his face.

The other colleagues quickly helped him up and swapped in a sturdier chair.

"Alright, stop your fussing. It's just a little hiccup, nothing to worry about! Eloise, pull out the prospectus and print ten copies for the new board members."

I pressed my lips together and connected my computer to the printer.

Ten copies came out, but they were all gibberish.

The expressions on the new board members' faces were a sight to behold.

"Eloise, are you doing this on purpose? Where are the documents?" Daniel demanded.

"Daniel, the files look fine on my computer. I don't know why they come out garbled."

"Print it from my computer instead!" he said through gritted teeth.

Then, he stood up and accidentally knocked over the mug beside him, spilling coffee all over the computer.

The screen went black. It was completely dead.

"Use the projector!" he roared.

But the moment the projector turned on, his expression changed dramatically. He clutched his stomach and let out a few awkward, muffled groans.

"S-Sorry! I'm going to have to pause the meeting for a moment. I'll be right back."

He was gone for three hours.

When he returned, his face was ashen. He was in so much pain that he lay slumped over the table and didn't pay attention to the meeting at all.

The new board members, on the other hand, nodded frequently with all the seriousness in the world.

Only I could hear the ceiling light whisper to me, "They could nod all they want. But three of them are playing games, two are listening to music with headphones, and one is secretly checking stocks!"

I rambled through my presentations.

Daniel barely managed to prop himself up and said weakly, "Now then, I'd like to announce the personnel changes following the company's public listing. For the company's better development, certain long-time employees will need to have their positions optimized.

"Neal, you're being transferred to logistics. Joseph Hooper, you're being reassigned to the janitorial team. Our newly recruited top talent will be stepping into your old management roles."

All hell broke loose in the conference room.

"Daniel, I've been working for you for over a decade, and you're putting me in charge of cleaning toilets?"

"Even if you're going to burn the bridge, you don't do it like this!"

"Security? I'm going from technical supervisor to running the security team?"

Clutching his stomach, Daniel said in a weak but ruthless voice, "You're not seeing the big picture. The company's facing bigger challenges now that we're going public, and your skills and credentials just aren't cutting it anymore.

"I hired this new team at a premium for the company's own good. You're not being fired, but reassigned. So, you're still getting paid. What, you think cleaning the toilets is beneath you? You think security isn't important? You're all still contributing to the company!"

I chuckled and said mockingly, "I'm afraid that once the new team gets us through the transition, we'll be completely pushed out."

"Eloise! Quit trying to pit us against each other! I've been meaning to call you out for ages! You show up late every day, do nothing useful, and just coast on a fat paycheck.

"For old times' sake, I found spots for everyone else. But you? You're fired the moment we go public. The company appreciates everything you've done, but we've got no use for you going forward," Daniel barked.

Even though I'd mentally prepared for this, watching him discard me like trash still stung.

However, the other veteran employees couldn't take it. Their outcries nearly lifted the roof off the room.

Daniel shouted toward the doorway, "Anyone else who speaks up can get the hell out with Eloise!"

At this, any last bit of sympathy I had left vanished entirely.