Part 3The Hidden Boss

After Scott and his daughter left, I took a walk around the building. I wanted to check in on a few promising young employees I had personally mentored. But after searching for a while, I didn't see a single familiar face.

I asked around and learned they had all been laid off.

I was stunned. I knew the company's growth had slowed since I handed the reins to my son, but these were talented individuals I had handpicked for development. There was no way they should have been on any layoff list.

An engineer I spoke to sighed. "After they were let go, our manager hired a whole new batch of people out of nowhere."

"This new group doesn't know the first thing about the work," he continued, his voice heavy with frustration. "All the pressure has fallen on us senior employees. If this keeps up, I'm afraid I'll have to quit too."

The picture became crystal clear. Someone was using their authority to push out competent staff and fill the vacancies with their own friends and family, who were collecting paychecks for doing nothing.

They were parasites, bleeding the company dry.

What in God's name had my good-for-nothing son been doing this past year? How could he let his people treat loyal, hardworking employees this way? Didn't he care about morale at all?

I pulled out my phone, my face grim, and dialed my son's number. I was going to find out just what the hell he thought he was doing.

The phone had barely started ringing when a hand snatched it away from me.

I looked up. It was Jessica again.

She threw my phone to the ground, stomped on it a few times for good measure, and glared at me. "Are you trying to cause trouble? You know the Chairman is here for an inspection, and you're making personal calls on company time?"

Swallowing my rage, I picked up my shattered phone. "What company rule says you can't make a phone call during work hours?"

Jessica crossed her arms and sneered. "Our Chairman said so! Anyone caught using their phone during work gets docked a day's pay!"

I saw red. When had I ever made such a ridiculous rule?

Seeing my fury, Jessica's smugness grew. "Oh? You have a problem with that? Take it up with the Chairman!"

"And by the way," she added, "you've already lost this month's salary, so you'll have to pay that fine out of your own pocket. Give me the cash now, and I'll take it to finance for you."

Take it to finance? More like take it to her own wallet.

I let out a cold laugh. "There's also a rule against drinking coffee on the job. You were just doing that, weren't you? You should be docked a day's pay too!"

She was still just a kid, and my taunt hit its mark. She exploded.

"You old liar! Who said you can't drink coffee at work?!"

Mimicking her earlier tone, I replied, "Our Chairman said so. If you don't like it, take it up with him."

"You—!"

Before I could enjoy my small victory, Jessica lunged at me. "Don't you mock me, you disgusting old man!"

She shoved me hard. At my age, a fall is no small thing. A sharp pain shot through my back, and I couldn't get up.

Jessica stood over me, snarling. "Just die, old man!"

"Just wait until the Chairman leaves. I don't care who you are! You're finished!"

I gritted my teeth as I looked up at her.

Finished? We'll see about that.