The Company Mascot
"Sophie Mitchell thought she'd landed the world's easiest job as a 'lucky charm' at Henderson Tech—showing up for client meetings and getting paid handsomely for it. But when a vindictive new sales director tries to force her out to make room for his boyfriend, Sophie discovers that sometimes the best revenge is a strategic career move. A witty tale of office politics, superstition, and finding your worth in unexpected places."
The Company Mascot
Chapter 1: The Lucky Charm
I'm the company mascot. When my boss first hired me, he specifically created a cushy position just to keep me around.
The new supervisor who parachuted in from corporate is a strict materialist. He can't stand seeing me idle and covets my position. While the boss is off on a two-week digital detox retreat in the mountains, this new guy is pulling every trick in the book to force me out so his little boyfriend can slide into my spot.
I went from flexible hours to a rigid nine-to-ten schedule, living in absolute misery. I thought I could grit my teeth and hold on until the boss returned to deal with him.
But the day before the boss was supposed to come back, this bastard posted a company-wide memo criticizing me for taking a bathroom break longer than five minutes, lambasting me for "negligent work attitude" and "dereliction of duty," tearing me apart like I was public enemy number one.
It was the last straw. I quit on the spot and seamlessly transitioned to the rival company across the hall—the one that's nearly bankrupt and about to be acquired by my old boss...
When my mom was pregnant with me, my fortune-telling uncle calculated her due date and picked a specific day. He said if I was born on that day, I'd bring prosperity to my parents and shower them with wealth and good fortune.
But I just had to be difficult.
Two days before the lucky date, I decided to make my grand entrance from mom's belly. Even though my mother tried desperately to hold me in—refusing to go to the hospital, determined to wait for the auspicious date—I slipped out as smooth as silk.
Just like that, I missed my shot at being born into wealth.
When my uncle calculated my actual birth date, he consoled my devastated parents by saying I was born to be a workhorse—I'd grow up to be self-sufficient and make good money, so they wouldn't have to worry about me mooching off them.
My parents were so distressed by this! They'd look at me with such pity in their eyes. Here they were, already working like dogs themselves, yet they were already feeling sorry for their future little workhorse.
Who would have thought that being "born to work" meant being a company mascot?
It's actually quite a coincidence how I ended up at this company. During my interview, the boss was worried about poor business performance and suspected feng shui problems, so he hired a consultant to examine the office.
After the consultant surveyed the entire office, he had HR show him all the employee files. When he finished reviewing them, he told the boss the feng shui was fine—the problem was with the people.
The boss was stunned, thinking there might be corporate spies in the company.
But then the consultant explained that some employees' zodiac signs clashed with the boss's, and their birth charts were incompatible with his. The consultant casually pointed out several people who made the boss nearly declare bankruptcy on the spot.
Because those people he pointed out were all senior executives and shareholders. If they were just regular employees, firing them would be no big deal. But firing several top executives would be tantamount to shutting down the company entirely.
Just as the boss was feeling hopeless, I walked in for my interview. When HR led me past the consultant, he pointed at me and told the despairing boss that I looked prosperous.
After the consultant reviewed my birth chart, he got so excited he started slapping his thigh, saying I wasn't just lucky—I could actually neutralize the negative energy between the boss and those incompatible employees. He told the boss that if he wanted the company to come back from the dead, he absolutely had to keep me.
I was right there listening to all this, thinking I'd stumbled into some kind of scam company. This had to be a new type of fraud. I was so scared I started to leave.
The boss was actually skeptical about the consultant's claims too.
The consultant was desperate not to let me go, pleading with me to stay while I became even more convinced this was a scam operation. I pulled out my phone to call the police.
At that crucial moment, a major client the boss had been trying to land for months showed up for an unexpected visit. The client said he was in the neighborhood on business and thought he'd drop by to see how things were going.
The consultant insisted the boss have me accompany him during the client meeting. Under the boss's offer of a thousand dollars an hour, paid upfront, I—a recent graduate just entering the workforce—couldn't resist such temptation.
That day, the major client enthusiastically signed a huge contract with the boss, pulling the company back from the brink of disaster to profitability.
Chapter 2: The Offer I Couldn't Refuse
Now the boss had witnessed my money-making abilities firsthand. But... I still wasn't planning to stay.
I had come to interview for the R&D department, but the consultant and boss said I needed to be in sales. And every time they signed contracts with clients, I had to be present to close those difficult customers—only then could the company thrive.
This sounded completely ridiculous to me. I personally didn't buy it.
I was more inclined to think that major client signed so readily because the boss had laid the groundwork through previous efforts. It just happened that I was... the consultant and the boss believed it!
To keep me around, the boss made an offer I simply couldn't refuse.
He specially created a new position: Sales Contract Administrator, with a monthly salary of twenty thousand plus commission, full benefits, no time clock, flexible hours. My job description was simply to be present when salespeople brought clients to the office for negotiations or contract signings.
That was it. Just show up.
And so I stayed at the company for six years. Over those six years, as the boss built the company bigger and bigger, my salary kept rising, and my reputation as the company mascot became legendary.
I thought I'd stay at this company for life.
Then everything changed two weeks ago.
The boss decided to expand operations again, promoting the original sales director to CEO of a branch office, and poaching someone from overseas at a high salary to fill the sales director position at headquarters.
On new Sales Director Aaron Warren's first day, the boss called me to his office to make introductions. The boss specifically told Aaron not to assign me any work—except for client meetings and contract signings where I needed to be present, I could do whatever I wanted at the office the rest of the time.
Aaron agreed readily enough in front of the boss.
The boss then headed off to the mountains for his two-week fasting retreat, determined to live longer so he could enjoy his wealthy lifestyle.
The boss never could have imagined that the moment he left, Aaron would show his true colors...
He called all the sales department staff for a meeting. In the conference room, he passive-aggressively called me a shameless fraud who had manipulated the boss's superstitious nature to create a "lucky charm" persona for myself, basically freeloading at the company.
This made me so angry I was ready to have it out with him right there in the meeting. Several sales colleagues who got along well with me desperately tugged at my clothes under the table. They whispered for me to calm down, saying he was just using tactics to force me to quit, so that when the boss returned, he could claim I left voluntarily and it had nothing to do with him.
That wouldn't do at all...
My colleagues told me to endure it for now and report him when the boss returned.
Fine! I'd endure it...
This patience only made him more convinced I was a fraud.
The next day when I slept in naturally and arrived at the office, he had HR notify me that I was three hours late, docking my daily pay and monthly perfect attendance bonus.
This bastard was going after my wallet now...
The HR sister tried to comfort me, telling me not to impulsively fight with the new sales director. When the boss returned, the money wouldn't actually be deducted.
That's what she said, but I still felt wronged.
Seeing my gloomy mood, my sales department colleagues kept feeding me snacks every few minutes. Before long, my workstation was covered with bubble tea, cakes, cookies, chips, spicy strips, fried chicken, fries, and burgers...
Team Leader Linda Hill whispered in my ear: "Sophie, hang in there. When the boss gets back, we'll make him apologize to you."
Sipping the bubble tea my colleagues had brought me, I felt a bit better. "Second day without the boss... I miss him already..."
Linda couldn't help but laugh, then skillfully pulled out her phone and held it toward me, pleading: "Stop missing the boss for now and help me make a call. I have to land this client. We were talking fine, but yesterday I called all day and couldn't get through. There must be a competitor trying to steal my client. You call..."
I took Linda's phone under her expectant gaze and pressed dial.
"Hello, Linda..." The call connected immediately.
Linda grabbed the phone back, giving me a thumbs up while enthusiastically greeting the person on the other end: "Mr. Johnson..."
Chapter 3: The Perfect Storm
After seeing Linda off satisfied, I checked my work schedule—no salespeople had clients coming to the office today.
That meant I could arrange the rest of my time freely.
But to prepare for unexpected situations—like clients suddenly becoming available and wanting to change appointment times—I generally stayed at the office until closing time.
Unlike other colleagues who had to pretend to be busy even when they had nothing to do, when I had no work, I could openly slack off, watch shows, and read novels. My sales department colleagues, who I'd worked with for six years, had no problem with this. They'd often recommend good novels and TV shows to me.
They were just afraid that if I got bored at the office one day, I might suddenly not want to waste time anymore, decide to rely on my own abilities to succeed, and quit to work elsewhere.
Initially, they had been skeptical too, but eventually reality smacked them in the face and they wholeheartedly acknowledged that I deserved the title of mascot—it was well-earned.
Because in my second year, I found the job too boring and, not wanting to do sales, I begged the boss to transfer me to R&D.
The boss couldn't resist my persistent pleading and agreed to let me go to R&D.
The result? As soon as I left, bizarre things started happening. Several clients who had been negotiating well suddenly, inexplicably, refused to cooperate.
The sales team initially kept this from the boss, thinking it was just coincidence. Sales success depended on negotiation skills and company products, not on me being there.
They stubbornly continued contacting the clients, trying to change their minds.
But the clients were determined to leave. After all, what our company could do, other companies could do too, at the same prices. But other companies were bigger with better reputations and natural advantages—we really couldn't compete with the big corporations.
Just as it looked like we were about to lose these clients, the sales team, unwilling to lose their commission, went to the boss and explained the situation.
The boss was furious and transferred me back to sales from R&D, where I had just gotten comfortable.
Then something magical happened. A client who was literally on his way to sign with another company almost got in a car accident. Shaken by the experience, he decided to turn around mid-route and come to our office to sign the contract instead.
After this incident, both the boss and the sales team were completely convinced of my mystical abilities.
Even the boss, who had harbored some doubts, treated me even better after that.
Except he wouldn't let me return to R&D. He absolutely refused to let me go back to R&D...
I was insecure about it!
I had no confidence in myself!
I felt very unsafe about my supposed mascot abilities.
Seeing my restless heart wanting to leave, the boss and colleagues took turns trying to convince me that month.
The sales team went all out finding clients to talk to and sign with, focusing on the most difficult clients from the top 100 challenging customers list.
When they couldn't get clients to come out for meetings, they'd have me make the calls. One call, one success—talk to one, sign with one.
That month, company performance hit a record high. It was a win-win-win for the boss, colleagues, and me.
The boss made money, colleagues got commissions, and my salary increased too.
From then on, I settled down in the sales department.
Eat what I wanted, drink what I liked, play when I felt like it...
The boss had no objections, colleagues had no objections...
The new sales director had major objections.
Aaron had just penalized me for being late this morning, and now as he walked past my workstation, he saw a TV show playing on my computer. His footsteps changed direction and he walked over to me.
He frowned with a stern face, tapped his finger on my desk, and said, "Personal entertainment during work hours is prohibited. Didn't you know that?"
I took off my wireless earphones and looked up at him: "Sorry, what did you say? I didn't hear clearly."
His expression got even darker as he angrily said, "Watching shows during work is a first warning and a two-hundred-dollar fine. Three warnings and you're automatically terminated. I won't allow employees like you who lack ambition under my supervision."
Aaron said this loudly, immediately panicking the colleagues who were secretly watching the situation.
I stood up angrily to confront him: "Watching shows was approved by the boss. The boss never said anything about it, so what right do you have to fine me and give me warnings?"
Aaron calmly retorted, "Because I'm your direct supervisor. As long as you're in the sales department, I have the authority to manage you."
A colleague stood up to defend me: "Director Warren, Sophie is different..."
Before the colleague could finish, Aaron rudely interrupted: "There's nothing different about her. I don't believe in special privileges. If all sales department employees acted like her, how could the company grow stronger? Are you standing up for her because you're too idle? If you have time for this, why not make a few more client calls and develop some new customers? What are you all standing around for? Waiting to starve?"
Aaron's words directly ignited everyone's anger.
Someone muttered quietly: "Sophie was just sitting there quietly watching her show, not bothering anyone."
Someone chimed in: "If I could be a mascot like her, believe me, I'd be even more arrogant than her."
Someone agreed: "Exactly! If you piss off our good luck charm, I'll have it out with you..."
Aaron heard this but didn't know who said what, so he shouted angrily: "Who's talking? If you have complaints, stand up and say it to my face."
Several hot-headed young people were about to stand up and argue with him.
Seeing I was at the center of this storm, I knew Aaron obviously had bad intentions. Worried that my colleagues, without the boss's protection, would be made examples of and fired, I had to swallow my anger for now and accept the fine and warning.
Aaron saw me submit and compromise, his face showing unmistakable satisfaction. "Don't let me catch you doing non-work-related things during office hours again. Since you're so idle, help other colleagues organize documents."
"Have all of these organized by end of business today."
Aaron pointed to Document Administrator Emma Chen's workstation, which was piled high with various unorganized files.
Emma was suddenly called out and looked at me with complete bewilderment.
After Aaron left, Emma and I stared at the pile of documents. She looked like she wanted to cry: "This is a week's worth of work for me. How can we finish it before end of business today?"
Me: "Damn you, Aaron Warren..."
Chapter 4: The Breaking Point
We couldn't finish it. There was absolutely no way to finish it...
Emma helped me and stayed to work overtime for two hours, but I finally sent her home and continued working alone.
While working, I viciously imagined how, after the boss returned, I'd make Aaron kneel before me, slap himself, and tearfully apologize to me.
Want to find fault with me to justify firing me? Dream on...
Three warnings and automatic termination—I just wouldn't let him have his way.
I channeled my anger into motivation, then looked at the remaining third of unorganized files and felt completely overwhelmed.
This really showed how difficult it was to go from luxury to frugality.
It was eight o'clock. Normally at this time, I'd be in my little rental apartment, having showered and lying in bed, teaming up with friends for online games.
Instead, I was here, buried in these seemingly endless documents.
My stomach was growling in protest.
I rubbed my hungry belly and decided to go downstairs to the ramen shop to fill up, then come back to continue the grind.
Walking from the office front to the ramen shop required going around in a circle.
Going through the underground parking garage, there was an exit right next to the ramen shop.
The elevator stopped at the basement level. As soon as I stepped out, I saw Aaron at the entrance.
Out of instinctive reaction to avoid greeting someone I disliked, I quickly ducked into the stairwell, moving faster than my brain could think.
Me: ...
After hiding, I realized—why was I hiding? I could have just pretended not to see him.
But... since I was already hiding...
I saw Aaron turn to look at the opened elevator door, then turn back when he didn't see anyone.
At this moment, going out would be somewhat awkward.
I'd wait for him to leave, then come out.
Aaron seemed to be waiting for someone and hadn't left the entrance yet.
I was starting to regret this decision.
Why wait? I could just take the stairs to the first floor and exit through the main entrance!
I thought this and was about to do it.
Just as I lifted my foot to step onto the first stair, a sweet, coquettish male voice rang out: "Darling... sorry to keep you waiting..."
Me: !!!
I stared in shock as a rather attractive young man—definitely male—came running over and threw himself into Aaron's arms, hugging him intimately.
I watched Aaron affectionately stroke the young man's face and say with a smile, "It's fine. I'd wait for you forever."
The young man looked touched: "Darling, you're so good to me."
Oh my God!
This was just too perfect!
Wait, that wasn't the point.
Didn't Aaron have a wife?
My mind was in chaos as I realized I'd discovered something incredible.
But what scrambled my brain even more was what Aaron said next.
"This counts as being good to you? Wait until I tell you I found you a job that's easy work with high pay—then you'll really have to cry with gratitude."
I wanted to spit at him. Cry with gratitude? You stingy bastard, if you can't afford to keep a boyfriend, just say so. Don't try to get free labor.
I pulled out my phone to record. I was going to expose this pair of cheating scumbags to Aaron's wife.
The young man was very cooperative, excitedly asking Aaron what kind of job it was.
I shook my head listening to this. Could this guy be completely brain-dead from being in love?
Even if he was brain-dead from love, breaking up someone's marriage was wrong and deserved punishment!
Then I heard Aaron say: "It's a contract administrator position in our department. Basically no work required, you can leave early whenever you want, full pay, plus you get the sales department's group commission."
Damn! This was targeting me.
The young man was delighted: "There's actually such a good job? When can I start? I want to see you every day."
Aaron smiled and shook his head: "No rush, I still need to figure out how to get rid of the current person before there's an opening for you."
The young man became more anxious: "With such a good job, only an idiot would want to leave, right?"
Me: I felt oddly offended.
Aaron reassured the young man, explaining his plan for me.
I listened as the two of them discussed me.
When Aaron talked about me, the contempt in his tone was impossible to hide. He mockingly said I had gotten where I was through mystical manipulation of the boss.
He promised the young man that after forcing me out, he'd hire a fake consultant to pull the same trick as when I was hired, having him interview on a day when an arranged "consultant" would fool the boss into thinking he could also bring good fortune to the company.
This way, even when the boss returned and found out I'd been forced out, he wouldn't be able to do anything to Aaron.
No wonder he went after me as soon as he started the job.
What a perfectly calculated scheme.
Chapter 5: Evidence Gathering
Suddenly witnessing such dirty workplace tactics shocked me so much I forgot about filling my stomach. After they left, I rode the elevator back to the thirteenth floor in a daze.
Just as I exited the elevator, I ran into Mr. Peterson, the boss of the company across the hall.
When he saw me, his eyes lit up.
"Sophie! Why are you still at the office so late?"
He was unusually enthusiastic.
I was a bit overwhelmed: "I have some work that's not finished, working a little overtime."
Mr. Peterson was surprised: "This late and you still have clients coming to sign contracts?"
I smiled awkwardly: "No, I have other work."
Mr. Peterson was even more surprised: "Your boss is too inconsiderate of his employees, making you work overtime this late. Sophie, if you came to my company, I'd never bear to make you work overtime. Not only would I not make you work overtime, I'd give you shares. How about it..."
Mr. Peterson finished speaking and waited expectantly for my agreement, just like always.
Me: ...
Why are there so many bosses who believe in this stuff? I'm really just an ordinary, unremarkable person who's had a lot of coincidences happen around me.
Offering high salary is one thing, but offering shares too...
But Mr. Peterson's company is almost bankrupt, so even if I jumped to his company, those shares wouldn't be worth much.
This office building is in the prime downtown area with sky-high rents.
When our boss started the company, he drained his entire savings to rent half of the thirteenth floor as a showroom.
When I first joined the company, two-thirds of our office space was still empty.
Three years ago, the company had grown so much we didn't have enough space for new employees.
The boss started planning to expand the company. He felt this building had good feng shui for him and didn't want to move to a larger building elsewhere.
He set his sights on the company across the hall. Three years ago, their company was doing fine, and they owned their half of the floor—definitely something our boss couldn't acquire.
So he opened branch offices first.
But the boss never gave up hope.
The main reason was that the company across the hall used to be our boss's competitor. Previously, their company was stronger than ours and our boss was always a step behind. If he could acquire the rival company, our boss's vanity and sense of achievement would be enormously satisfied.
This opportunity came three years later. The rival company was struggling financially, on the verge of bankruptcy and desperately needing funding.
When our boss heard this news, he decided to acquire the rival company. He's currently having people negotiate with them, but they haven't reached an agreement yet.
Our two companies are so close, and Mr. Peterson had heard about my reputation as a mascot.
He used to not believe a word of it.
Later, he'd try to poach me whenever he got the chance.
I declined Mr. Peterson as usual.
Mr. Peterson was very disappointed, but before we parted, he mysteriously whispered: "Think about it some more. If you come to my company and get shares, when your current boss acquires my company, your net worth could multiply dozens of times."
Me: Boss, I'm just an ordinary mortal who can't resist the allure of money. If you don't come back soon to help me seek justice, I might really succumb to temptation and run away with someone else.
Chapter 6: Escalating Warfare
Temporarily resisting temptation, I returned to the office urgently needing to power through work, experiencing what real corporate slavery felt like. I didn't finish until after ten and finally got to go home.
The next day, I crawled out of bed purely through sheer rebellion against my circumstances.
This time I wasn't late—I clocked in right on time.
Aaron saw me arrive punctually and looked very disappointed. Unable to find fault, he said to me: "Everyone else arrives at least ten minutes early. Only you clock in right on time. If other employees followed your example and all clocked in at the last minute, could you take responsibility for that?"
Damn, is clocking in on time a capital crime now?
What's with all the chatter? I wasn't even late.
I was thinking this but didn't keep my mouth shut and it slipped out before I realized I wanted to stop talking. By the time I was conscious of wanting to shut up, the words were already out there, and Aaron's face was twisted with rage.
He pointed at my nose and shouted loudly: "Disrespecting your supervisor—second warning! You only have one more chance!"
Me: ...
I'd been careless!
I mentally added this to his tab. When the boss returned, we'd settle all old and new grievances together.
I huffed angrily and went to ask the HR sister about Aaron's wife.
The HR sister shook her head blankly. Aaron had just joined, his file said he was married, but the emergency contact wasn't his wife.
Unable to get useful information, I had to leave disappointed.
Returning to my workstation, the pile of documents covering my desk almost made me think I'd gone to the wrong place.
The colleague sitting next to me looked at me with sympathy: "These are all work assignments Director Warren gave you."
Emma came over, apologetically telling me: "Sophie, sorry you're having such a hard time these days. Director Warren found out I helped you yesterday and warned me not to help you anymore, or he'd dock my pay."
That bastard Aaron...
When it comes to making trouble, if Aaron claimed second place, no one would dare claim first.
The documents he wanted me to process were sales data from the company's founding, which he wanted me to re-verify and enter into the system.
Deadline: Friday end of business.
This was going to kill me.
He was messing with me, so I'd mess with him too.
I took screenshots of his video footage with his male mistress hugging and cuddling in the underground parking garage, printed out several photos, and had a delivery guy take them to the front desk with instructions that Aaron had to sign for them personally.
While I was buried in the pile of documents working hard, I caught sight of Aaron walking toward the front desk.
My workstation had a perfect view of the reception area. I watched Aaron walk up to the delivery guy who, following my instructions, made Aaron open and inspect the contents.
As soon as Aaron opened the envelope and saw those photos, his face went pale with fright, though he tried to maintain composure as he put the photos back in the envelope.
Under the puzzled gaze of the receptionist, Aaron walked back to his office with unsteady steps, shut the door tight, and closed all the blinds.
Getting a small bit of revenge made me feel a little better.
Chapter 7: Counter-Surveillance
Aaron stayed in his office for a long time. Only when people from other departments came looking for him for a meeting did he emerge with shifty eyes.
His gaze swept over everyone he passed, as if each person was a suspect trying to harm him.
When he looked at me, he lingered for an extra two seconds.
Look all you want, what are you looking at...
I stared right back at him. He looked speechless and exasperated, then looked away to examine other people.
I was secretly pleased. Good, I'd thrown off suspicion.
Soon I'd be celebrating too early.
After his meeting, he actually went to ask HR where the surveillance room was, saying he'd lost something in the elevator.
I beat him there, running to the surveillance room to find Old Liu. I brought him a bunch of kids' snacks, showed him Aaron's photo, and repeatedly begged him that if this person came asking to see surveillance footage, absolutely not to let him see it.
Old Liu took my snacks and cheerfully assured me that when Aaron came, he wouldn't even let him through the surveillance room door.
See! At crucial moments, good relationships solve problems.
When I was bored at the office, I liked to visit the surveillance room or security office to chat with the older folks.
The love-hate dramas between these middle-aged uncles and aunties could keep me entertained for hours—absolutely riveting and mind-blowing stuff.
Old Liu in surveillance had a chubby grandson who loved snacks.
Old Liu doted on his grandson, and every time I visited, I'd bring leftover snacks my colleagues had given me to share with Old Liu. We'd built a solid intergenerational friendship.
Sure enough, Old Liu was reliable.
I saw Aaron return with a sour face, his brow so furrowed it could kill flies.
Hmph, want to find me out? You couldn't catch up to a hot turd.
Chapter 8: The Final Straw
After working overtime for a whole week straight, my energy and spirit had completely abandoned me.
My mental state was exhausted, but my heart was satisfied.
Because I had accomplished the impossible through sheer willpower.
By Friday end of business, when Aaron came to inspect and find fault with my work, I proudly displayed my results, thoroughly slapping him in the face.
He couldn't find any errors and could only reluctantly say "keep it up" to dismiss me.
After saying this, he still wasn't satisfied and wanted to assign weekend work to occupy my time.
I immediately used the bathroom excuse to escape before he could open his mouth.
As soon as I got home, I slept solidly for a day and night. During this time, my mom called several times.
Just before my mom thought something had happened to me and was about to call the police, I finally woke up from my deep sleep and answered her call.
My mom was about to scold me, but I started crying first about all the suffering I'd endured as a corporate slave this week.
After listening, my mom felt terrible for me and hung up the phone.
Me: ???
This wasn't the right response!
I called back, but it showed the other party was on another call.
After a while, my mom finally returned my call.
As soon as she started talking, she said she'd just asked my uncle to do a reading for me.
My uncle said I was currently in a career fluctuation period—no breaking, no making. I needed to make changes to take my financial luck to the next level.
Otherwise, maintaining the status quo would lead to financial losses...
Hearing this made my heart go ice cold.
Even though I said I didn't believe it, I didn't dare to be stubborn about it.
It's like people say they don't believe in gods or Buddha, but when they're actually in front of a wealth deity, they'll still light three incense sticks and pray to get rich.
Even watching short videos, when the host starts by saying "seeing this video means you're about to change your luck" and tells you to comment for good fortune, you get hard-controlled and your hands just automatically type it out, frantically accepting good luck.
Chapter 9: The Last Straw
One week until the boss returned.
For the first time, I felt work days dragging on endlessly.
Monday morning, I made a special effort to arrive ten minutes early.
See! This is how a workhorse gets trained.
But early birds get worms—look who I ran into in the underground parking garage.
I had just parked and turned off my engine when a car pulled up in front of mine. Seeing Aaron in the passenger seat, I was grateful for the first time that my privacy film was so effective.
The driver was an elegant, attractive woman. After Aaron got out, he said goodbye to her tenderly, thoughtfully reminding her to drive carefully on her way back.
He even called her "honey."
Thinking about my unused video footage, this was truly "searching everywhere only to find it effortlessly."
The only question was whether their marriage was happy and if she might be the type to be blinded by love.
What if I told her about Aaron's male mistress and she turned around and betrayed me to Aaron? Wouldn't that make me the bad guy in everyone's eyes?
I should add her as a contact first, observe for a few days, then decide.
Aaron took the elevator while she started her car to leave. I followed her car, found the right angle, and lightly scraped her rear bumper, causing some paint damage and successfully getting her to stop.
I sincerely apologized, saying I was rushing to work and willing to settle privately with cash. I successfully got her WeChat contact.
It just cost me some money.
Adding another entry to Aaron's tab in my revenge notebook.
Chapter 10: The Boyfriend Arrives
Being delayed in the parking garage meant I was clocking in right on time again.
I thought Aaron would hassle me, but his gaze went right past me to look behind me, his expression management briefly losing control, like he'd seen a ghost.
I turned around to look.
Whoa! For Aaron, this was definitely ghost-sighting level.
The male mistress had come to the company.
These two clearly hadn't coordinated well.
Obviously, even if you gave Aaron all the courage in the world, he wouldn't dare let the male mistress come to the company openly before finding out who had discovered their affair.
The HR sister brought the male mistress to Aaron, telling him this was a newly hired salesperson.
I inwardly admired this—what a man of action.
Aaron's smile was extremely stiff as he called over the Team 2 leader to place the male mistress under her supervision, appearing to handle it professionally while having her train the new hire.
The male mistress—who seemed determined to make their relationship obvious to everyone—kept looking at Aaron with eyes that practically dripped honey.
This was absolutely thrilling.
This feeling of being the only one who knew the secret while eating popcorn and watching the drama unfold was... exhilarating.
The male mistress's arrival temporarily rescued me from my living hell.
Aaron was so flustered he couldn't spare the energy to hassle me anymore.
However, I underestimated the shamelessness of this pair.
Within half a day, they had reached an understanding.
Aaron returned to normal, and the male mistress—oh, his name was Jake Roberts—stopped staring at Aaron with those clingy eyes.
Once Aaron had his energy back, he started targeting me again.
This afternoon we had a client coming to the office to view products.
According to usual protocol, my job was simply to accompany the salesperson when the client arrived, act as a decorative presence throughout, and occasionally show some awareness by handing products to the client at key moments.
Easy work that required no brains.
Ten minutes before the client was due to arrive, Aaron placed a sheet of paper with several addresses written on it in front of me.
I looked at him with complete confusion.
He pulled out his wallet, extracted about ten twenty-dollar bills, and commanded authoritatively: "I'm personally treating the department to afternoon tea. These are all well-known local establishments with great reputations. You go buy them. Consider the leftover money your delivery fee."
There are many ways to humiliate someone, but Aaron chose this physically exhausting method.
Him finding fault with me this way was obvious to everyone—he was deliberately targeting me.
I made eye contact with the salesperson who was supposed to meet the client later. Years of working together let us reach an understanding in that moment: let's get him.
Choosing between a one-time solution versus endless harassment was easy.
Previously, when Aaron only targeted me without harming everyone's collective interests, we could endure until the boss returned to solve the problem naturally.
But now he was harassing me for his personal agenda at the expense of everyone's interests. That was unacceptable—we couldn't tolerate a leader with no sense of the bigger picture who would drag everyone into a pit.
Moreover, given his current behavior, even when the boss returned, he'd probably act one way in front of the boss and scheme behind his back to make my life difficult.
Chapter 11: The Perfect Setup
I took Aaron's money, outsourced the afternoon tea buying to a professional delivery service, then found a coffee shop nearby to kill time.
My colleague texted me that as soon as I left, Aaron arranged for Jake to take my place accompanying the client to view products.
This was exactly what I expected.
I also wanted to test one final time whether it was really my lucky charm abilities bringing orders to the company, or if sales skills played a stronger role.
Our original plan was for my colleague to pretend to have an emergency when the client arrived, leaving Aaron and Jake to handle the negotiations alone.
If Aaron and Jake could close the client, then the sales department staff would acknowledge his abilities—after all, this would be the man who beat the company mascot.
Conversely, if Aaron couldn't close the client but continued targeting me afterward, I'd simply take leave until the boss returned, letting Aaron enjoy himself at the company.
When the boss came back and saw the sales department's dismal performance, that would be more than enough to deal with Aaron.
But plans never keep up with changes...
Things took a ridiculous turn.
We had a private sales department wealth group chat, and colleagues were frantically messaging:
【Breaking news: client trapped in elevator.】
【Along with Mr. Peterson from the company across the hall.】
【I have a bad feeling about this.】
【Photo.jpg】
【Feast your eyes on Aaron's expression.】
In the photo, Aaron stood at the elevator entrance with a dark expression.
The building's elevator maintenance company inspected weekly, and in all my years here, the elevator had never malfunctioned.
Who would have thought such a low-probability event would happen today?
And right after the maintenance company's inspection the day before.
The rescue team arrived quickly, but unfortunately the elevator was stuck between the twelfth and thirteenth floors.
The rescue team needed to first assess the elevator's specific condition, then manually move it, carefully and gradually bringing it back to the twelfth floor before they could open the car doors to rescue the trapped people.
This meant more time, during which the client would be scared inside while people outside could do nothing.
And the client was trapped with Mr. Peterson from the rival company—he'd definitely seize every opportunity to win over the client.
Sure enough, forty minutes later, when the client and Mr. Peterson were rescued together, they had formed a solid life-or-death friendship.
Aaron tried to ingratiate himself and win back the client, but the client directly expressed that he'd decided to visit Mr. Peterson's company.
When I returned to the office building with the delivery guy's afternoon tea haul, I happened to run into Mr. Peterson walking out with the client, both in great spirits.
After seeing off the client, Mr. Peterson returned and we took the same elevator back to the thirteenth floor.
Seeing me carrying so many things, he insisted on helping despite my repeated refusals. He said to me with undisguised gratitude: "Don't be so polite, Sophie! If you hadn't been at your company today, how would I have had the chance to steal your client?"
Me: ...
Murphy's law—Aaron overheard this comment.
He looked at me like I was a corporate spy.
Did this guy have negative IQ? How could I control elevator malfunctions?
Aaron perfectly demonstrated the saying that people believe what they want to believe.
I followed him back to the sales department, pretending to be blind to his expression, cheerfully calling everyone over for afternoon tea.
I went up to Aaron with complete obliviousness, pulled out the three remaining twenty-dollar bills, and thanked him: "Thanks, Director Warren! This is the leftover money from buying afternoon tea. You said earlier to consider it my delivery fee, so I'll gratefully accept it!"
"You're welcome..." Aaron said through gritted teeth, his jaw muscles bulging from clenching so hard.
Jake couldn't stand seeing his lover suffer and stood up to seek justice for Aaron: "Director Warren was kind enough to treat everyone to free afternoon tea, and you still pocketed the leftover money?"
I was speechless. Besides Aaron's good points, could this guy see anything else?
"This was Director Warren's idea to give me a delivery fee. He has no problem with it, so what right does some brown-noser have to criticize me?"
I KO'd him with one sentence.
Unable to argue logically, he immediately turned to Aaron with an aggrieved voice: "Aaron, look at her..."
This statement made everyone's bodies jolt as they all turned to look at Aaron.
Aaron's face was black as a pot bottom. He scolded Jake: "Look at what? Am I that petty?"
Jake's face showed hurt, clearly having more to say, but Aaron stopped looking at him and turned to me: "Come to my office. I have questions for you."
Jake was so frustrated he stamped his foot and glared at me viciously.
Me: ...
Utterly ridiculous.
Chapter 12: The Confrontation
"So tell me, when did you start having private contact with Mr. Peterson from the rival company?"
In Aaron's office, he opened by trying to convict me directly.
I wouldn't accept blame for something that never happened: "I haven't had any private contact with Mr. Peterson."
At most, he tried to poach me, I refused, he tried again, I refused again.
Aaron didn't believe me and suddenly changed his expression, slamming his desk in fury: "You still won't tell the truth! I heard it myself."
Damn, thinking desk-slamming makes you impressive.
I stood up, kicked the wheeled office chair away, and shouted back even angrier: "I told you the truth! Believe it or not!"
The chair crashed into the bookshelf with a loud "BANG."
The commotion was so loud that colleagues outside, thinking we were about to come to blows, rushed in en masse to surround and protect me, confronting Aaron:
"Director Warren, how can you hit people?"
"Director Warren, that's going too far."
"Director Warren, what kind of man picks on a woman?"
"Director Warren..."
Everyone started with "Director Warren," building him up high before dropping him hard. He never expected the sales department to be so united, and these difficult subordinates made him gasp with rage.
One person stood out from the crowd—Jake pushed through to shield Aaron.
"You're all ganging up to bully him! You didn't even understand the situation before accusing Director Warren of violence. Do you see any injuries on her? Making accusations without proof—does Director Warren look like someone who'd resort to violence? Are you all trying to get fired?"
Jake's final threat directly ignited everyone's anger.
Before Aaron arrived, the sales department had the most harmonious atmosphere in the entire company.
Since his arrival, the sales department had been filled with complaints.
He constantly held meetings where he either put down subordinates or made empty promises.
He created competition rankings with no rewards for first place but fines for last place.
Everything out of his mouth was "Are you that idle? Why not contact more clients? Finished your work? Is that all there is?"
Who knew where the boss had found this "talent"—did he used to work at a prison company? Even inmates got regular breaks, but Aaron was determined to test human limits with his endless demands.
It was inevitable he'd provoke group anger; I just happened to be the catalyst.
Aaron had completely lost face at the company.
When other department heads heard he couldn't control his subordinates and nearly got mobbed, they came to rescue him.
The sales department colleagues weren't actually stupid—talking back was legal, but if they really got physical and Aaron reported them, they'd face detention and compensation.
So when other departments came to mediate, everyone dispersed, leaving Aaron alone in his office questioning his life choices.
But this couldn't continue—the boss wouldn't return for several more days.
Speaking of which, everyone couldn't help complaining about the boss. How could he feel comfortable going on a digital detox retreat in the mountains while leaving such a big company behind?
Of course it was because nothing like this had happened before.
Since I joined the company, the boss had become even more superstitious. Hearing that fasting could enhance one's energy field, he'd extended a typical one-week retreat to two weeks.
Let's not discuss that—everyone debated how to solve the current dilemma.
After today's incident, Aaron would definitely hold grudges against everyone in the sales department except Jake.
After discussion, everyone unanimously decided to endure and lay low for a few more days until the boss returned.
Finally, I became the key person needing protection.
Me: ...
Because they unanimously agreed that Aaron would definitely target me first.
Thanks a lot, everyone.
The saying "three heads are better than one" proved false—even with ten times three people, we couldn't come up with a useful strategy.
For some reason, I thought about the fortune my mom had my uncle read: "No breaking, no making..."
How to break through?
Would forcing Aaron out count as breaking through?
He wanted to force me out; reciprocating and pushing back at him wouldn't be unreasonable, right?
Thinking this, I suddenly had an idea.
Looking at my colleagues still heatedly discussing, I decided to handle this myself.
Chapter 13: Surveillance Network
The method to deal with Aaron was simple—I didn't believe that with Jake now at the company, they could maintain distance at work while also keeping it up everywhere else.
Even if Aaron could manage it, Jake wouldn't be able to resist.
So it was time to demonstrate my incredible network connections in this office building.
I had a "Seven Aunts and Eight Grandparents Gossip Group" in this building, filled with security guards and cleaning staff from throughout the building.
These energetic older folks, looking to supplement their income or pass time, would also take on part-time internal cleaning jobs at various companies.
As long as there was money involved, no matter how little, these aunties and uncles would fight to earn it when they had free time.
I posted a recruitment message in the group.
Job description: photograph Aaron and Jake together. Twenty dollars for any photo showing these two people in the same frame.
Thirty for photos of them hugging or more intimate behavior, fifty for videos.
This message caused an earthquake in the group.
These lifetime gossip enthusiasts had heard about, but never actually witnessed, this kind of male-male drama.
Their interest was immediately piqued and they enthusiastically signed up.
Less than an hour after posting the recruitment, I received the first photo—a video of Aaron and Jake embracing on the rooftop.
In the video, Jake was comfortingly holding Aaron while Aaron angrily cursed me out. Jake kept consoling him, and the latter part was... indescribable.
Me: ...
Blooming Riches: 【Young people these days really know how to play.】
Aunt Wang, who earned fifty dollars, couldn't resist editorializing.
I couldn't bear to watch, hoping it was just a hallucination...
I immediately took screenshots, printed the photos, and like before, had a delivery person take them to the front desk for Aaron to personally sign for and open.
Seeing Aaron's "ghastly pale" reaction, I was satisfied.
Soon after, Aaron and Jake ran out again.
Quickly I received a photo of their backs huddled together looking at photos in the men's restroom.
When they emerged from the bathroom, another delivery person was already waiting at the front desk.
This familiar scene made Aaron's face gradually turn ashen.
Jake didn't look much better. When they opened the envelope together and saw their own photo in the men's room, both their faces showed identical panic.
I was internally ecstatic.
Just wait! There's more coming.
Next, they tried to find the person taking secret photos.
After discovering the photographer only captured them together, they started changing locations in various ways.
No matter which corner they chose—stairwells, basement, inside cars, elevators—they were precisely photographed, yet still couldn't identify who was following them.
They could never imagine that it wasn't one person photographing them, but a whole group.
Aaron and Jake grew increasingly haggard and paranoid.
One more day until the boss returned.
Aaron and Jake were getting desperate. Jake was eager for my position and pressured Aaron to find a way to get rid of me before the boss returned.
They had initially ruled me out as a suspect.
Because every time they were photographed, I had an alibi.
So knowing the troublemaker behind the scenes wasn't me, they weren't afraid of forcing me out and having me retaliate with threats.
But they couldn't find anything wrong with my work to justify firing me.
I remained completely unresponsive to their various harassments, like hitting cotton.
I was simply following one principle: lay low first, wait for the boss to return, then I'd file a massive complaint.
But these two were absolutely, completely shameless.
I went to the bathroom, and when I returned and opened my computer, a company-wide critical memo had popped up on screen.
Aaron had written a scathing criticism of me for taking bathroom breaks longer than five minutes, lambasting me for "work negligence" and "dereliction of duty," tearing me apart completely.
What a vicious scheme.
I knew this was deliberately trying to provoke me, but I still couldn't help being furious.
Just then, Mr. Peterson messaged me, saying he'd give me ten percent equity stake and asking me to consider it.
His company was in acquisition talks with mine. He wanted me to join him so he'd have better negotiating power during the acquisition discussions.
The acquisition would be a partial equity purchase. When the companies merged, I could keep my shares, making me a shareholder. Then no matter how many sales directors came and went, no one could boss me around or make my life difficult.
Me: Boss, I'm sorry, but people have to look out for themselves.
No need to think about it—I'm coming over right now.
I immediately opened a document to write my resignation letter and sent it to Aaron's email.
Before I could even get to Aaron's office to have him approve my resignation, he had already instantly approved it.
I immediately started packing my personal items from my workstation.
A colleague saw this and asked confused: "Sophie, why are you packing everything up?"
I smiled and said happily: "I quit."
This statement caused an uproar...
"What? You quit?" Colleague A let out a sharp shriek.
"I must be hearing things." Colleague B refused to face reality.
"I can't live without you!" Colleague C wailed dramatically.
"Have you found a new company? I want to quit too and follow you wherever you go." Colleague D reacted fastest.
"We'll all follow you..." the colleagues said in unison.
Aaron came out of his office shouting: "What's all this hysteria?"
"Yeah, I'm hysterical! You forced away my good luck charm—how can I not go crazy?"
"I just got a loan for a new car. The base salary of twenty-three hundred doesn't even cover my car payment. Without Sophie, how will I survive?"
That's a bit dramatic...
After my colleagues failed to convince me to stay, they tearfully saw me off. In front of everyone, I took my personal belongings and gracefully walked into the company across the hall, where Mr. Peterson stood at the entrance joyfully welcoming me.
Sales department colleagues collectively: "!!!"
Aaron: "Sophie Mitchell, I knew it! You're a spy sent by the rival company. Now you're showing your true colors!"
Everyone looked at Aaron like he was an idiot.
What company would send their good luck charm to prosper the enemy? That would be insane.
Mr. Peterson was all smiles, stepping forward to shake Aaron's hand, extremely grateful to him, saying it was all thanks to his help that I was willing to jump ship to his company.
This was pure injury and insult in equal measure.
Aaron's face went through a color spectrum—blue to purple to red—absolutely spectacular.
I secretly shared insider information in the sales group chat, telling everyone not to panic or impulsively quit, that I'd be back.
This put their minds at ease.
They cheerfully said goodbye to me, then turned around and went back into the company.
Suddenly the entrance was empty except for Aaron and Jake.
Jake, like an idiot, excitedly asked Aaron to let him take my position right now.
Chapter 14: The Boss Returns
The next day, the missing person returned.
I unexpectedly ran into my former boss, Marcus Henderson, in the underground parking garage.
He was carrying several shopping bags and greeted me cheerfully, saying these were gifts for me.
Before I could refuse, Mr. Peterson appeared too, gratefully shaking Marcus's hands that were full of shopping bags.
"Mr. Henderson, thank goodness for your keen eye for talent. Sophie is wonderful—I'm extremely satisfied with her."
Marcus looked at me in complete confusion.
I looked down, feeling slightly guilty.
In the elevator, Mr. Peterson chattered on praising me to Marcus, who also joined in praising me.
Both men were very satisfied with me.
Until we three reached the entrance to our respective companies and I followed Mr. Peterson through his company's doors.
"Sophie, you went the wrong way, come here..." Marcus called out urgently.
Mr. Peterson was still smiling happily: "She didn't go wrong—Sophie started working for my company yesterday."
"What did you say?" Marcus roared, and all the shopping bags fell to the ground.
Chapter 15: Justice Served
"That's how it happened, boss. You have to help us seek justice!"
After an hour of complaints from the sales department colleagues, Marcus's face grew darker and darker.
"That bastard Aaron, I'm going to destroy him..."
Legend has it that day, Marcus nearly sent Aaron to his next reincarnation. It took several strong men to hold back the enraged Marcus.
All of Aaron's strength and schemes were useless in front of the boss.
He was fired that very day.
Jake was thrown out along with him.
With things at this point, the boss accelerated the acquisition process. Originally both sides planned to take their time, with extreme negotiation to secure maximum benefits.
After Marcus learned I had shares with Mr. Peterson, he—who had been very tough and uncompromising—suddenly became much more agreeable.
Acquiring Mr. Peterson's company when I had equity meant I'd be a shareholder, forever tied to the company. He'd never have to worry about me being poached by some other shameless company again.
Mr. Peterson sold his company to Marcus under satisfactory terms.
He kept his shares while other small shareholders took cash and sold their stakes to Marcus.
Marcus moved quickly, completing the acquisition process within a month. Now the entire thirteenth floor belonged to him.
I moved back to my original workstation.
Colleagues sighed: "Sophie, you don't know—the month you were gone, I didn't close a single deal."
Marcus said with lingering fear that he'd never go on digital detox retreats again. The company really couldn't function without him.
Me: ...
I silently transferred some money to my mom to buy good wine and cigarettes for my dear uncle.
"Ding..."
My phone chimed.
It was a message from Aaron's ex-wife, saying that with the evidence I provided, she'd successfully divorced Aaron and made him pay dearly.
She transferred back several times the car repair fee I'd paid, along with a "thank you."
Epilogue
Six months later, I was still the company mascot, still showing up for client meetings with my mysterious "lucky charm" abilities. Marcus had given me a small equity stake as a bonus, making me officially a shareholder.
The sales department thrived under new leadership, and I continued my pleasant routine of flexible hours and easy work.
Sometimes I'd catch myself wondering if it really was all just coincidence, or if there was something more to this strange pattern of good fortune that seemed to follow me around.
But then I'd remember my uncle's words about not breaking, not making, and how sometimes the best changes come from the most unexpected challenges.
Aaron never did figure out who had been photographing him. The network of building staff still occasionally sends me amusing gossip from around the office complex. As for Jake, I heard he found work at a call center across town.
Marcus never went on another retreat longer than a weekend, and he installed a special emergency phone in his office that couldn't be turned off—just in case.
And me? I'm still here, still the luckiest unlucky person I know, still wondering how long this charmed life can possibly last.
But for now, I'm content to sip my colleague-provided bubble tea, catch up on my shows during work hours, and occasionally help close million-dollar deals just by sitting in a conference room.
Some people are born to greatness. Others have greatness thrust upon them.
And some of us? We're just born to be really, really good at showing up at the right time.
THE END