Dominating the Boss

Chapter 1

I hated the sound of the phone ringing, even though it gave me an excuse to get away from the clogged underground cupboard they claimed to be an office. It was a small room, mostly underground, no window other than a hatch barely larger than my hand, and a ventilator that made more noise than a bone-crusher. The smell of rust, mixed with undertones of mold, did nothing to improve the overall experience.

Despite all the facts, I preferred this hellhole to the humiliating treatment I received upstairs. It had been just a week since I arrived to this new branch, but that turned enough to feel a strong sense of aversion to the upstairs. Insults and sharp jokes were bad, if predictable, parts of mobbing, not to mention any personal item I had forgotten had carried the risk of disappearance. All of those actions were purported by a few idiot who was clamoring for the promotion, and thinking that making me quit would get them that.

Still, none of those was as bad as the majority's attitude, looking at me with sad gazes, like I was a wounded puppy. It hurt. Being pitied by those pathetic peons annoyed me the most. I was fucking Nathan Smith, and I didn't need their misguided pity.

I wasn't surprised with the challenges I was facing. The whole point of transfer was to make me quit, something I had no intention of giving them. They lacked the ability to fire me. If they did so without a gross violation from my side, the non-compete agreement I had signed would become void, meaning I could work for a competitor or establish another company. Not to mention it would trigger a penalty cause, netting me a nice and cozy seven-figures payout. Markedly different from the case I quit in my free will, leaving me with nothing, and a non-compete agreement that would keep me out of the sector for two years. No thanks.

Still, I had to reach the phone, because not doing so could be leveraged as dodging the work, which would become another bullet-point to fire me with cause. And I wasn't suffering all these humiliation to leave without my payday. The fact that I was waiting for a menial job on the other side didn't faze me as much. If they were willing to pay high six figures to make me fix their computers instead of managing a department, who am I to argue.

I reached the phone, and the voice of my new boss rang angrily. "My computer is not working, come to fix it," rang her shrill voice, then she slammed her phone down. Very typical of her, which weirdly made me even more annoyed. I wouldn't have cared much if it was a part of their attempts to make me give up, but she treated everyone in the same aggressive attitude that implied she was better than anyone else. An ugly personality. Still, she was much harder on me compared to her attitude against the rest, an adversity that had been intensified when she had learned I had been making more than double of her salary, thus killing her profitability, which had issues even before my transfer.

I was thankful that she came in a pretty package, her sexiness made days go easier. She was barely in her thirties, but it was impossible to understand that from her looks. She could easily pass as in her early twenties. She was brunette, just tall enough to be deliciously petite, and with curves to die for, which she maintained with an obsessive diet, and hours of pilates. I knew, only because I had overheard her explaining her routine on three different occasions, extolling the virtues of exercise and superfoods. Still, it was hard to argue with the results.

I sent a quick mail to her, confirming that I was about to come to her room for the job she called me for. Another trick I employed to make sure I wasn't fired. I made sure to document every simple task that had been requested, ensuring they couldn't misrepresent the situation if they tried to bring the issue to the court. A relaxed sigh escaped my lips as I climbed up the stairs, bathing under the fresh air of the central ventilation, appreciating the lack of dampness. I could see people quickening around me, even avoiding eye contact, but it was nothing more than a momentary annoyance. In the current climate, a friendly relationship with me had a steep cost, as a few who insisted to act nice to me had learned. It was easier to fire someone who wasn't protected by a multi-million dollars non-compete agreement.