01 Right after I got to the office, the boss called me into his room. My colleagues winked at me: "Chloe is getting converted to a full-time employee early! You landed that massive contract a couple of days ago; your year-end bonus must be in the six figures, right? I'm so jealous!" I smiled without saying anything, a faint anticipation growing inside me. But I never expected the heavy blow that awaited me. The boss frowned and sighed. "Chloe, you're a female programmer making $5,000 a month, which is even higher than your supervisor's salary. When I hired you, fighting off all the objections, it was with the expectation that you would achieve something great and change everyone's stereotypes about women. It's a pity you didn't live up to those expectations!" "Forget it, I won't hold it against you. You didn't pass your probation period. You can see yourself out." Staring at his moving lips, I only felt disgusted. My probation period was five months. I clocked in on time and had perfect attendance every month. I didn't hide in the bathroom playing games, nor did I have a smoking habit. Our company was a vendor in the gaming industry. We did contract work for game companies, from building the underlying logic to implementing systems and level designs. We worked on many different types of games. The foundational code was like a snowball; as it rolled, it picked up dead grass and rotten leaves, full of redundancies. It looked complex and was difficult to push forward. Every project required a lot of time for patching and fixing. During these five months... I voluntarily worked overtime on weekends, streamlining the mountain of legacy spaghetti code to industry standards. Relying on my accumulated network, I secured three projects with a combined profit of nearly five million dollars. At the beginning of the month, the boss quietly upgraded his car to a Maserati. And he's telling me I didn't pass my probation? Does he think I'm an idiot he can easily screw over? I took a deep breath, leaned in, and looked down at him. "Boss, during the probationary period, an employee cannot be arbitrarily dismissed unless they have committed a major offense that causes huge financial losses to the company. If you insist on firing me, according to regulations, you must compensate me with half a month's salary." "Furthermore, the contract I signed with the company is for two years, making the statutory probation period three months. The company has violated the rules. Not only will you face fines, but you also have to compensate me with one month's salary." "That's not all. Firing a formal employee requires a one-month advance notice. During this month, not only must you continue to pay my insurance and 401k, but every cent of my deserved bonuses must also be paid." "Oh, did you study law? Then tell me, which act and which clause are you citing?" The boss sneered disdainfully. "Young people shouldn't think they can bluff me just because they read some stuff online." "I saw through you a long time ago. You lack capability and love to slack off. You're just coasting by! You come to the office on weekends, but who knows who you're putting on a show for." He sure knows how to twist the truth. I couldn't be bothered to argue with him. I took out my phone and opened the automated data aggregation page I wrote. It contained a systematized timeline of my clock-ins, code commit version records, and project communication logs. "All work leaves a digital footprint. Which part do you want to see?" "I'll repeat: you can fire me, but first, write the notification letter, pay my salary, bonuses, and compensation, and I'll take the money and leave in a month. The evidence is all here. Don't think you can twist the truth with that pig mouth of yours." He still tried to lure me into a trap. "Why are you organizing these things instead of working properly? Have you been plotting against the company and me all along?" "The company might be small, but its prospects are good! I provide you with such a great platform, yet you lack ambition, take your salary for nothing, and now you want to extort money. You ungrateful wretch!" It was a clichéd workplace tactic. Using gaslighting and fact-twisting words to enrage the employee. If I cursed back or argued, it would be framed as a severe conflict with the boss. If I slammed the door and left in anger, it would be recorded as absenteeism. After two consecutive days of no-show, I wouldn't get a single cent of compensation. I didn't speak. I let him vent, just staring at him. After a few minutes of silence... The boss finally lost his cool. "Do you believe I'll deactivate your keycard right now and have security throw you out?" "If you do that, then I'll have to take legal action, and I'll immediately inform Blue General Games." "If my memory serves me right, the contract signed with Blue General explicitly states that if the vendor company incurs any legal disputes during the cooperation period, they must compensate five times the project amount, right?" The boss gritted his teeth: "You get out first! I'll discuss this with HR, and we'll talk about it another day!" I immediately turned around and went back to my desk. Staying a second longer made me feel sick. Seeing me come out... My colleagues exchanged glances and unanimously looked down at their phones. Sensing something was wrong, I also picked up my phone. The company group chats were all quiet. There were no messages in the casual chat group either. Until I switched to my alt account. I found a new group chat. [Chloe didn't pass her probation. If any of you have evidence of her slacking off, goofing around, or failing to fix bugs on time, send it to me privately. Every piece of evidence will be rewarded with a hundred dollars.] [After she leaves, everyone's year-end bonus will be increased by two hundred dollars.] [Don't worry, she's on probation, and you are formal employees. The company won't treat you unfairly.] The avatar of the person sending the messages was a Maserati car key. The nickname I had saved for him was "Son of a Bitch". 02 I almost burst out laughing. I used this account to send materials to friends on forums. After joining the company, I lent it to a colleague for a while. She returned it to me when she resigned. I was too lazy to change the name or delete the friends. I guess the boss thought it was still my former colleague and added the account to the group. I looked up and observed the room. The colleagues who had been added all looked troubled. For one, if they reported me this time, it might be their turn next. For another, my work was indeed flawless. If they wanted to earn this money, they needed presentable evidence. They didn't have any, but I did. I used my alt account to private message "Son of a Bitch". [Boss, do ex-employees like me get paid for reporting Chloe too? Paid immediately? Venmo or Zelle?] The boss replied quickly. [Sarah? I remember you and Chloe were pretty close. You're reporting her?] [Boss, you know someone in my family is hospitalized, and the daily expenses are huge. No matter how close Chloe and I are, it can't compare to life-saving money.] The boss took the bait. [You have evidence? Send it to me. If it's good, I'll transfer the money to you immediately!] Sure enough, in his eyes, everyone should be driven by profit. I found a photo of myself sitting at my desk, the screen showing a forum. [October 11th, makeup workday, Chloe browsing forums at work.] After sending it, the "typing..." indicator stayed on for three seconds, then nothing. I quickly added more fuel to the fire. [I searched this forum. It's full of programmers discussing code. Wasn't Chloe modifying the company's core code during that time? She turned right around and posted on the internet. The title was even something like 'Practical Optimization and Architecture Insights'.] [I'm not trying to stir up trouble, but our company's core competitiveness is this very system. If others take it and use it, wouldn't they be taking a piece of our pie?] This time, the "typing..." indicator lasted for ten seconds. Still no reply. I thought it was a bust. But then I saw the boss come out of his office and head straight for the surveillance monitors. He stayed there for a full half hour. During that half hour, I slowly drank a cup of water and fixed two bugs. Until my pocket vibrated slightly. The boss, as promised, transferred a hundred dollars. I clicked reject. [Boss, you didn't add a note. I don't dare accept it.] The boss floated past me, grinding his teeth. A moment later, the alt account received the transfer again. Note: Company overtime compensation. [Now that you've taken the money, you should know what to say and what not to say!] I grinned, showing all my teeth. [Thank you, boss!] After collecting the money, I opened Amazon and ordered a new pair of headphones. My joy was short-lived. The boss stormed over, spit flying all over my screen. "Chloe, come in here for a minute!" 03 Inside the office. The boss slammed his phone down in front of me. He looked at me with a face full of feigned regret. "Chloe, I wanted to let you leave with some dignity. But this is too serious. It's so serious it crosses the company's bottom line." "Posting the company's underlying code on a public forum constitutes leaking trade secrets. I can call the police and sue you for damages." "How about this? You resign voluntarily, and I won't call the police." I had figured it out earlier. My salary was high. According to his promise, my year-end bonus was to be calculated at eight times my monthly salary, which meant he owed me forty thousand dollars. He didn't want to pay that money. Moreover, in his view, for the new project, he just needed to find someone barely competent to replace me; there was no need to pay another huge salary. Businessmen prioritize profit above all; there is simply no room for sentiment. But his evidence was provided by me. Who would actually sabotage themselves? I pulled a chair over and sat down firmly. I picked up his phone, zooming in on the date and the post title in the photo. Then I took my own phone from my pocket, opened the forum, found the post history, and placed both phones in front of him. "Who gave you this photo? I encourage you to call the police." "The date on the photo is October 11th. Based on the title, it should be this post: 'Practical Sharing on the Underlying Architecture of 2D Side-Scrolling Games'. I did write this post, but it was in 2023." "The reason I was looking at this that day was to find commonalities in order to modify the company's underlying architecture." "If you want to be pedantic, the company should be paying me intellectual property fees." The boss's eyes widened. He incredulously picked up the two phones, comparing them repeatedly. His face turned red, then pale. I pressed my advantage. "Boss, are you going to pay up?" "I'm afraid that once I walk out that door, I might not be able to resist mentioning this to the client." The contract stated that any intellectual property disputes involving materials provided by the vendor would require triple compensation. The boss looked like he was about to shatter his teeth. "Two hundred! That's enough, right?" "Thank you, boss!" I left satisfied. Actually, I was lying to him. Publicly shared knowledge like this doesn't meet the conditions for tracing intellectual property rights. But he only cared about money; how would he know that? Back at my desk. My alt account was bombarded with messages. [Sarah! You useless trash! This photo is completely useless!] [I knew you were garbage. Thank God I fired you!] [Transfer the money back to me, or else when I find your current superior, I'll make sure you're completely ruined!] Why would I return money that was already in my hands? I started playing the victim. [Boss! You can't blame me! That bitch Chloe definitely guarded against this! She has more schemes than a sieve has holes!] [Trust me one more time! This time, I got a voice recording! From her own mouth!] [I had to pull a lot of strings to get it, and the hundred you gave me was spent on that... So, could you give me a little more? Fifty is fine!] [I promise! This recording will nail Chloe to the wall!] Between falling for another fifty-dollar trick and losing forty thousand dollars, the boss chose the former. I sent him the specially edited recording. [Chloe secretly contacted a rival company, saying she wants to bring our company down!] This time, the boss sat in the surveillance room for most of the day. If he was attentive enough, he would have definitely seen the fierce expression on my face while holding the phone on the rooftop. He naturally attributed it to my hatred for the company. At midnight, I received a warning from the boss. [Delete the transfer record. You should know the consequences of being a snitch.] I replied fawningly: [Yes, sir! I promise to keep it a secret!] 04 Early the next morning, the boss called a company-wide meeting. His face was dark, his eyes red, looking exactly like a gambler who had lost all his chips. "Some colleagues have engaged in egregious behavior, biting the hand that feeds them!" "Today, I must teach her a harsh lesson!" My colleagues' gazes unanimously fell on me. I stood up, acting as if nothing was wrong, entered the conference room, chose a corner seat, and logged into my alt account. [Boss, I have a friend who runs a gaming industry news blog. When are you free? I'll have her come over.] [Give her the recording. Tell her some more dirt, and once the article is published, her reputation will be ruined. She'll definitely have a hard time finding a job in the future.] The boss stopped in his tracks at the door. He frowned at his phone, then said: "Something came up. The meeting is postponed to 2 PM." My phone vibrated. He sent a message: [Does she charge? I don't want anyone who charges! If she doesn't charge, have her come to the company at 2 PM.] [Got it, boss! Absolutely free!] 05 During the lunch break, my colleagues squeezed into the pantry. "Isn't the boss going too far? Chloe has made a lot of money for the company." "The boss is incredibly stingy! Look at the job boards; the salary for the same position is at least five hundred more. If it weren't for the bad economy, I would have left a long time ago." "Stingy and short-sighted! Last week, the boss didn't want to fight for that project because he thought the production cycle was too long. Chloe secured it anyway, and only then did he find out the six-month project fee was over a million dollars. Sticking with a boss like this, who knows when the company might go under? If it weren't for my car loan, I would have left too!" "Whatever, let's just coast here. If you do a good job, you still have to leave eventually!" The receptionist hurriedly filled a cup of coffee. "Can't talk to you guys right now. The boss told me to receive a visitor. Sigh, when will I find a company that allows a normal lunch break?" I shrank back into the corner. Visitor? But I just messaged my journalist friend, and she said she was coming over after lunch. Could there be someone else?
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