Chapter 2

My anger boiled over. "I only use it for some personal emails. The sensitive project files are encrypted. What business do you have to snoop through my laptop?" But Ashley acted as if she hadn't heard a word. She gestured for the security guards to forcibly confiscate my laptop. I clutched it with all my strength, shouting, "These are my personal belongings! You have no right to touch them!" But the guards were too strong, and I was tightly pinned in place. In the end, the laptop ended up in Ashley's hands. She shot me a mocking smile. "If we don't do a full wipe and have it checked, how would we know you didn't secretly back up the company's confidential information?" I turned to look at Chase. "What she's doing right now is breaking the law. Do you condone this?" He wore an indifferent expression. "Ashley is just following the rules. If you've done nothing wrong, there's no reason to fear an inspection." I forced myself to calm down and stop struggling in vain. "Willow, if you don't want to make this a big deal, transfer that new energy project to the company tomorrow. I can pretend none of this ever happened, and your laptop will be returned immediately," Chase continued. A cold laugh escaped me. He could dream on if he wanted me to give him the project. It didn't matter even if the project was already underway. I would never hand it over to them and let them steal the fruits of my labor. Besides, the situation at the company had been growing increasingly unusual. Chase had gone as far as to take a client to dinner for a deal worth only a few hundred thousand dollars. However, Ashley, in a bid to save costs, ordered the cheapest meal set for the client. She hadn't even spared him a bottle of water. Yet, Chase found her frugal and resourceful. Naturally, the deal fell through. Chase, in turn, blamed me for not making my project evaluation report compelling enough. He claimed that was what caused the client to lose interest. I privately reached out to the client, pouring out countless apologies before he agreed to reconsider. Once the contract had been signed, Chase gave all the credit to Ashley. He hailed her as the company's brilliant cost strategist. Ashley had Chase firmly under her thumb. That was when it hit me. The signs had been there all along. She pushed my laptop and box of documents aside. "These are the tablets, voice recorders, and portable hard drives you checked out from the company, along with backups of every project you've worked on using company equipment." She pulled the items out one by one for everyone to see. I couldn't care less about everything else. But when she picked up the portable hard drive, my emotions spiked. I glared at her as I tried to lunge forward. "That contains all my personal portfolio and design drafts! Give it back to me!" Ashley raised an eyebrow and casually formatted the drive. Then, derisively, she declared, "Yours? Anything produced during your employment counts as the company's intellectual property!" Her brazen words infuriated me to the point of laughter. That hard drive contained all the work I poured my heart into since university. There were also several personal projects unrelated to Chase's company that were done during my spare time. I had originally planned for a peaceful handover today, after which we would go our separate ways. But since Chase was tacitly allowing Ashley to do this, it solidified my resolve to sever ties completely. I gathered up the few personal items left untouched and prepared to leave. "These should be mine, right?" I'd barely taken two steps when Ashley once again stopped me with stern words. "You're free to take what's yours, but you haven't covered the cost of violating company policy yet. Since you're no longer one of the company's employees, that penalty has to be paid." I no longer wanted to argue with her. So, I pulled out my phone. "How much do I need to pay?" She punched a few numbers into the calculator while I clutched my things. Then, my phone buzzed with a payment notification for 30 thousand dollars. I was taken aback. Even if I wasn't strapped for cash, this was pure injustice. "You want me to pay 30 thousand dollars for all this?" I asked Ashley in disbelief. "Of course. Five thousand dollars for violating travel regulations, 20 thousand dollars for the emergency information security audit service fee, and five thousand dollars in overtime pay for delaying me and Mr. Gibson from getting off work. "That brings the grand total up to 30 thousand dollars," she answered righteously as she listed out what was owed one by one. Unable to contain my anger any longer, I countered with a blunt question. "Overtime pay is 2500 dollars for each of you? Why don't you go rob a bank instead? "My laptop was taken from me by force. I wouldn't have wasted a minute of your time if security hadn't held me back. What right do you have to charge me 30 thousand dollars?" Chase furrowed his brow and cut me off, annoyed. "Enough! Why are you being so petty, Willow? I pay you a million dollars a year. Are you telling me you can't scrape 30 grand together?" He pulled out his phone, his expression icy as he looked at me condescendingly. I was clearly the company's top performer and the one who brought Chase the most profit. Yet, my income was far below market value. He scornfully processed the transfer. "I'll give you the money. Once you take it, our engagement is off!" So, he wanted to call off the engagement. Fortunately, that was exactly what I wanted.