Graduating the CEOChapter 3
Chapter 3 runs about 1,997 characters and is the last of the 3 opening chapters catalogued on this site; chapter 4 continues in the official app.
"I'm sorry, Leo. The decision is final," Sterling said, his face a cold, indifferent mask. "Get your things in order. We'll expect your resignation letter by the end of the day."
"Is this about the Christmas party?" I blurted out.
He flinched, just for a second.
"I can apologize. I can even sign an NDA."
Last year, at the company Christmas party, I’d taken a wrong turn looking for the bathroom and walked in on him and his executive assistant in a... very compromising position. I never said a word to anyone. The office rumor mill was completely silent on the matter. He had to know I’d kept my mouth shut.
"This is a purely professional decision, Leo. It has nothing to do with my personal life," he said, but the tight, vicious little smile playing on his lips told a different story.
"Mr. Sterling, please," I begged one last time. "My wife is pregnant. Our baby is due in two months. I'm the only one with an income. You have to understand."
At that moment, if he’d told me to get on my knees, I would have done it without a second thought.
"Your wife is pregnant and you're slacking off?" he said, his voice dripping with condescension. "Leo, your priorities are all wrong. Maybe you can reflect on that at your next job. Don't make the same mistake twice."
He was a monster. He didn't give a damn if I lived or died.
Seeing that his heart was made of stone, my resolve hardened. The desperation turned into cold, hard fury.
"No," I said, my voice firm and clear. "I'm not resigning. You want me gone? You'll have to fire me."
If they fired me, I'd at least get a severance package to tide me over. And if they decided the payout was too expensive and kept me on, well, that worked too. I had made my decision.
Sterling chuckled, as if I'd just told the funniest joke in the world. "You tech guys are all the same. So rigid. So black and white." He leaned back in his chair. "Leo, there are a million ways to make an employee want to resign."
His words hung in the air, and my heart sank into my shoes.