Chapter 3

3

Last month, during the holidays, the marketing team only got four days off.

Barney was pushing people to the breaking point.

In his mind, higher pressure meant better sales.

I started to feel glad that I was sitting at home on suspension.

When the quarterly audit came around, Barney was stunned.

Normally, if you hit seventy percent of the twenty-million-dollar target, you pass.

The bonuses get paid out proportionally.

But without me, the department didn't even hit thirty percent.

The only reason they even got that much was because Barney forced Artie to grind.

Because Artie had stood up for me, Barney gave him hell and forced him to out-drink clients every night.

Now, Artie was lying in a hospital bed with a stomach ulcer.

I brought a bag of fruit to visit him.

It was November and freezing, but he had a fan blowing on high. He had his phone tied to the fan blade so it would swing back and forth.

I was confused. "What are you doing?"

"Getting my 20,000 steps," Artie said with a bitter smile.

He sighed deeply. After making sure no one was around, he looked at me.

"Jade, you're smart. Please, help me find a way out of this."

"I'm buried in paperwork until 11 PM and then I'm forced to drink with clients until I puke."

"I only got four days off last month. This month, I haven't had a single day to myself."

"Half the sales this quarter were mine. And look at me. Not one person from the office has come to see me except you."

Artie wanted to say more, but his dry lips just pressed together.

I knew his situation.

He just bought a house in a good school district for his kid. With the mortgage, he owed nearly half a million dollars.

He used to think that if he worked hard and saved, he could pay it off by retirement.

But the way things were going, Barney was going to kill him long before he could retire.

I asked, "If Barney missed the target by that much, didn't the bosses put pressure on him?"

Artie shook his head.

"His dad is a giant at HQ. He's several ranks above Xavier Stone. Who would dare touch him?"

"He just told them he was new to the role and needed time to adjust. They let him slide."

"But he did sign a performance pledge. He promised to hit the targets next quarter."

I let out a cold laugh.

Perform better next quarter?

Next quarter was full of holidays. The sales quotas would be even higher.

Barney could use the "I'm new" excuse once, but he couldn't do it twice.

Without my clients, he wouldn't even hit ten percent of the target.

Sure enough, Artie told me that client orders were dropping fast.

If this continued, the company would force everyone back to the factory line.

At that point, Barney wouldn't be able to hide his failure anymore.

Suddenly, my phone started ringing. It was Barney, calling me again and again.

"Jade, how does it feel to sit at home doing nothing?"

"I heard the region is doing well. The year-end bonuses are going to be huge."

The bonuses were calculated based on the entire region's performance. They could be worth a lot of money.

Barney thought he could use that to pressure me?

Nice try, buddy. Not a chance.

I replied confidently, "I feel great. While the rest of the region is getting their bonuses, your team is going to be moving boxes in a warehouse."

"That's going to look real good on your resume."

Through the phone, I could hear him grinding his teeth.

I could almost see his face turning purple with rage as he tried to stay calm.

"Jade, don't push it too far. Let's meet in the middle. Give me your client list, and I'll let you come back to the department."

"Mr. Bullock, I think you have the order wrong," I said.

"You let me come back first. Then, I might consider sharing some clients."

"If that's your attitude, we have nothing to talk about!" he yelled.

"Fine by me. To be honest, with my experience, I can get a better job anywhere."

"When I leave, I'll take every single one of my clients with me."

I didn't give him a chance to respond. I just hung up.