The $600,000 Cookie

I ate a cookie because I was hungry from working overtime, and my manager fined me six hundred thousand dollars! She jabbed a finger in my face, furious. “Ethan Brooks, landing a contract doesn’t make you special!” “This is a workplace! If you want to eat, go home!” “Company policy clearly states that snacks are prohibited! You knowingly broke the rules, which makes it even worse!” “Your six-hundred-thousand-dollar commission on that contract is canceled!” I looked at her and said flatly, “Whatever.” I decided to stop going the extra mile. That was when she started to panic. Vanessa Hayes was deeply unhappy with my attitude. “Ethan, you’re going to apologize in front of the entire company!” Looking at her face, red with anger, I clenched my fists. Then I said calmly, “Sure.” My coworkers all stared at me in disbelief. Vanessa turned and clicked away in her heels toward the twenty-third floor. I stayed at my desk. A moment later, a notice appeared in the company-wide WhatsApp chat. “Due to repeated violations of company policy, Ethan Brooks of the Sales Department will forfeit this month’s commission, totaling $600,000. He will also deliver a formal apology at today’s company-wide meeting at 2:00 p.m. to serve as a warning to others!” My coworkers looked stunned. Jason Miller, who sat across from me, sent me a private message. “Vanessa must be going through menopause. Don’t take it personally. Just swallow your pride. That’s six hundred grand!” I smiled. Swallowing my pride wouldn’t help. She wanted to get rid of me now that I’d served my purpose. She’d had her eye on my position for a long time. When the chairman first recruited me, we’d agreed that I wouldn’t have to clock in or out. I could come and go as I pleased and eat or drink whatever I wanted. All he cared about was results. I brought in half the Sales Department’s business on my own. This latest contract with M Corporation was worth ten billion dollars. I’d handled the renewal and wrapped it up in just one week. Vanessa probably thought my job looked too easy. She was jealous. I messaged Jason back. “Just wait. This afternoon won’t just be about humiliating me. Someone’s going to take my job, too.” Jason looked shocked. I ignored it and calmly organized all my client files, then printed them out. Next, I wiped all the data from my work phone. Once that was done, I started writing my apology. Vanessa came downstairs once in the middle of it. When she saw me working on my statement, she smiled smugly. At two, she came to round everyone up. More than a hundred employees settled into the large conference room on the twenty-third floor. Vanessa’s voice rang out, crisp and forceful. “Let me make this clear. This is a company, not your home. We’ve repeatedly told you not to turn this place into a garbage dump, but some people refuse to listen!” “Being recruited by the chairman doesn’t make you special. Anyone can make a phone call, have dinner, and sign a contract!” “Ethan, come up here and apologize. Let everyone hear exactly what you did wrong!” I stood and walked to the front under a mix of confused and gloating stares. “Vanessa is right. I shouldn’t have eaten a cookie at work. From now on, I’ll follow company policy to the letter. I won’t step out of line again!” “I’m not much of a speaker, Vanessa. I don’t have anything fancy to say. If you say I can’t eat, I won’t eat. Being in sales doesn’t make me anything special.” “I’m glad you understand! Given your repeated violations, senior management has decided to remove you as sales director. Effective immediately, you’re a regular sales representative.” “This is our new director, Derek Hayes. He earned his master’s degree overseas, and he’ll be taking this department to new heights!” A smattering of applause followed as Vanessa brought forward a man with a greasy-looking face. Jason and I exchanged a glance. He was finally convinced I’d called it. Then Vanessa added, “Ethan, organize all your client files and turn them in. We’ll be redistributing your accounts!” I agreed immediately and handed over the printouts. If you can handle those clients, be my guest. My cooperation made Vanessa suspicious. She checked everything carefully and only let it go once she was satisfied nothing was missing. Derek was even more arrogant. As soon as we came down from the twenty-third floor, he tapped my desk. “Get moving, Ethan. Pack up all your things right now. If anything goes missing later, you won’t be able to handle the consequences.”Now I understood. Even as sales director, I’d sat with everyone else. The difference was that I had an entire row to myself, with an open view of the team across from me. Now he couldn’t wait to push me out. My new desk was opposite his, in the cubicle right beside the window. Even with the air-conditioning running in summer, we weren’t allowed to close the blinds. The sun poured through the glass, glaring off the monitor and baking the desk. Still, that was nothing. I quietly packed my belongings and picked up my computer to move. Derek stopped me. “Not so fast. We need to check what’s on that computer. What if you’re taking client information with you?” “Sure. Take a look.” I turned it on and let him search to his heart’s content. The chairman had personally recruited me. Back then, he’d told me one thing. “Ethan, your word will carry real weight in this company.” His health had declined in recent years, and he’d gone overseas to recuperate. What they were doing now struck me as ridiculous. I knew exactly what Vanessa was thinking. Get rid of me once the hard work was done and cut the company’s costs. Unfortunately for her, cutting costs wasn’t that simple. Derek couldn’t find anything suspicious, so he finally waved me away. Jason sent me a message. “Don’t worry, Ethan. We’re all on your side!” I sent back a smiley face. What difference did their support make? I didn’t believe the executives on the twenty-third floor were unaware of what Vanessa was doing. They’d allowed it. That meant the chairman, on the other side of the ocean, probably knew too. In that case, there was no point arguing with them. I clocked out at the end of the day like everyone else. Whatever I’d done before, from now on I’d follow company procedure exactly. Surely they couldn’t object to that. Normally, I’d meet clients for coffee and a chat after work. Not anymore. I drove straight home and stretched out on my long-neglected bed. Watching the sunset, I felt fantastic. Usually, I’d be taking clients to dinner and making the rounds. Now I finally had time to do things for myself. I pulled out my phone, searched for theater tickets, and booked a seat. My favorite stage actor had performed hundreds of times, and I hadn’t made it to a single show. Now I finally had the chance. Then I was added to a new sales group chat. Derek was the administrator. “@Everyone: Starting today, all sales staff must submit a daily activity report. Who you met, what you discussed, and whether they’re interested—I want to see everything.” “Everyone must identify five qualified prospects a month. Fail to meet the target, and your month-end performance score will be cut by twenty percent.” Jason messaged me privately to complain. “Look at him. Supposedly he studied overseas, but he’s dragging out every outdated management trick in the book!” “Has he ever even worked in sales? Does he think qualified prospects grow on trees? Five a month! The contracts this company closes each month mostly come from existing clients!” “The economy’s terrible. It’s not that easy. Big accounts are beyond most of us, and there are only so many small businesses in this city. He’s not giving us a chance!” Reading his complaints, I only offered a little reassurance. “Take it one step at a time. Just do what management asks.” “You’re really going to let him walk all over you, Ethan? I couldn’t do it. If it were me, I’d have quit already! I can’t stand this crap!” Jason always spoke his mind. I smiled at his messages and didn’t reply. I wasn’t in a hurry. They’d find out soon enough.The next morning, I went to the office and submitted a vacation request. I’d worked there for eight years without taking a single vacation. Derek looked at the form. “What’s this supposed to mean, Ethan? I just took over, and now you want time off? Are you deliberately undermining me?” “You’re reading too much into it. With you leading us, I’m sure the department will turn things around. I haven’t taken a break in years, and I’m worn out. I need some vacation time to recover. My body can’t keep up.” He looked me up and down, contempt in his eyes. “I suppose so. Servicing all those major clients must be exhausting. Once you’re over thirty, it gets harder to keep up.” I knew exactly what he was implying. He thought I’d used something other than professional skill to land my clients. Once people make up their minds about you, it’s hard to change them. I didn’t bother explaining. Derek signed the form. “Don’t forget the month-end review! Miss your target, and we’re docking your base pay!” “Miss it three months in a row, and you can pack your things!” “Understood. Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.” Because they were the ones who would be leaving. Once the paperwork was done, I packed up and started my vacation. First stop: the state capital. The performance I wanted to see was today, and I wasn’t going to miss it. Two hours later, I’d barely stepped off the train when Jason messaged me. “Ethan, the Suncrest Group renewal is signed. Vanessa says Derek gets credit for it.” “She’s also going to recommend him for head of sales at the end of the year. That’ll put her in line for another promotion, too!” “They’re shameless. You’re really going to take this?” “No rush. They can’t handle it. Just wait.” I smiled after sending that message. Renewing Suncrest’s contract took a lot more than a few meals and drinks. I put it out of my mind, silenced my phone, and settled into the theater. The stage was barely three feet away. I was thrilled. The story swept me along. One moment I was laughing, the next I was crying. Two hours later, I walked out and checked my phone. More than a hundred missed calls and countless Snapchat messages. The latest had just arrived. It was from Vanessa. “Ethan, Mr. Carter at Suncrest says there’s a problem with the contract. They’re pulling out! We stand to lose three billion dollars directly. You’re fired!” I snorted and sent one reply. “The account was handed over to Derek. He can’t handle it, so now I’m the scapegoat?” “If you want to fire me, Vanessa, don’t forget my severance.” Then I put my phone back in my pocket. Even Jason couldn’t reach me. I wandered around, enjoying the sights and food. The steady stream of messages gave me a rough idea of what had happened. After I left, Derek decided to build a relationship with our major client. He took gifts to Suncrest Group. He ran into Adrian Carter there. Once Adrian learned he was the new director, he asked a few technical questions. Derek couldn’t answer a single one. Adrian decided the company seemed unprofessional and demanded a site visit. I’d personally walked him through that facility more times than I could count. Derek had never been there once. When they arrived, one of the machines happened to be down. Derek called the engineers over to repair it. But none of them knew how to fix the new equipment. In the past, whenever there was a problem, I’d made a call and brought someone in. Derek used that as an excuse to claim I’d deliberately sabotaged the machine. Adrian immediately declared that our company was a fraud and refused to renew. Not only had Derek blown a three-billion-dollar deal, but Adrian had torn into him so badly that even the chairman heard about it. Just then, Jason called. “Ethan, hurry back! They’re getting ready to call the police. They’re accusing you of deliberate fraud!”