Chapter 4

He froze for a second, then chuckled. "Read what? As if Tiffany would ever screw me over."

Sabrina chimed in, "Exactly, Chloe. Don't you trust Tiffany's character?"

I stayed silent, my head down, slowly turning the pages back and forth.

The smile on Tiffany's face began to freeze.

"Chloe, is there an issue?"

I looked up and met her cold stare.

"Tiffany, this clause waiving all rights to severance... it’s legally unenforceable."

The air in the office instantly dropped below freezing.

The grin on Jason's face evaporated. Sabrina's pen hung motionless in the air.

Tiffany slowly set down her coffee mug, leaned back into her leather chair, and her eyes turned razor-sharp.

"Chloe, this document was drafted by our corporate legal team. Are you suggesting you know employment law better than our corporate attorneys?"

"I'm not questioning them," I replied calmly. "I'm just clarifying."

Tiffany stared at me for several tense seconds before letting out a soft, mocking laugh.

"Look at you, always so cautious. That's a good trait, usually."

She reached into her drawer and pulled out another document.

"Tell you what, I have a reassignment memo here that should put your worries to rest."

She pushed it across the desk. I looked down at the heading: "Internal Transfer Notice".

"Following management review, Chloe is hereby reassigned from the R&D Engineering Department to Facilities and Operations. Role: Warehouse Inventory Clerk."

"Compensation remains unchanged."

Jason leaned over to look, letting out a sharp gasp.

"Chloe... warehouse clerk? Isn't that... isn't that a massive demotion?"

Sabrina looked stunned as well. She glanced between me and Tiffany, biting her lip.

Tiffany maintained an unbothered posture. "It's only temporary. Once the talent pool promotions roll out, you'll be brought right back up. This move is simply to shield you from the upcoming restructuring risks in your department."

She glared at me, her eyes loaded with an undisguised threat.

"Of course, if you don't want to accept this arrangement, that's fine too. That just means you voluntarily forfeit your spot in the talent pool and stay in your current department."

"Though I should warn you: Engineering has a fifteen percent layoff quota next month. If you stay, I can't guarantee you won't be on the chopping block."

I understood completely.

This wasn't a choice.

It was an ambush.

If I signed the waiver, I gave up all severance rights, got shoved down into a basement warehouse, and became completely sidelined.

If I couldn't take the humiliation and quit, the company would save on severance.

If I refused to quit, they'd use targeted harassment to push me out anyway.

And if I refused to sign the waiver, I'd stay put, only to be named first on the layoff list.

Every option was a dead end.

In my past life, I tried to fight back directly. I refused to sign, threw a fit, and everything went up in flames.

This time, I had planned my moves long before stepping through this door.

I picked up the pen.

"Whatever you think is best, Tiffany."

I signed my name with bold, sweeping strokes.

Seeing me sign, Jason and Sabrina scrambled to scribble their signatures too, terrified of being left behind on the layoff list.

Tiffany gathered the three signed contracts with immense satisfaction and filed them away.

"Wonderful. Chloe, your transfer takes effect immediately. Report to Carl down in Facilities this afternoon."

She smiled at me like a proud mother.

"The company never turns its back on people who see the big picture."

I stood up and offered a polite nod.

"Thank you, Tiffany. I'll make sure to work hard."

As I stepped out of her office, I caught Sabrina whispering behind me: "Oh my god... a warehouse clerk? That's so pathetic..."

Jason scoffed quietly, "What's pathetic about it? Tiffany said it's temporary. Chloe just bought herself a VIP ticket with the boss. Who knows how high she'll climb later?"

The corners of my mouth curled into a cold smile.

A VIP ticket?

Oh, I was hitching a ride, alright.

Right until I dragged every single one of you down with me.