people like you aren't needed here just disappear my boss told me Mary always had something nasty to say whenever Rec crossed paths I finally reached my breaking point I forced a smile and said useless people should be fired right yeah finally you get it he replied Mary seemed to sense something was off but took my reaction as acceptance her demeanor quickly shifted back to arrogance as she flashed a nasty grin little did she know at the shareholder meeting the next day Mary would end up kneeling before me my name is James Smith I'm a 41-year-old
salaried employee I grew up comfortably but everything changed when my father passed away from a stroke just before I graduated high school losing the brid winner left my mother and me in a tough spot my mother had no work experience and I Was preparing for college entrance exams I also had a younger brother who was much smarter and had our father's High Hopes pinned on him I believed he would benefit more from college so I decided to forego further education and start working I took a part-time job nearby and after a few years became a
full-time employee the company I work for isn't as well known or wellp paid as some big corporations but it has a warm friendly atmosphere even though I only had a high school diploma I was warmly welcomed many people shared their work knowledge and personal advice thanks largely to President John Williams president Williams had also given up on College due to family circumstances and started the company with a friend several employees like me had only high school or even Middle School diplomas president Williams always looked out for us inviting us to meals and giving generous bumes
his caring nature earned him the respect of every employee however that atmosphere was disrupted by Mary Johnson recruited as a department head for her exceptional Talent Mary came from a wealthy family and had attended Elite schools she flaunted her expensive accessories and often bragged about her possessions to us Mary had a terrible work attitude she looked down on employees without prestigious degrees treating those with only high school or middle school diploma as servants her comments made it clear she considered us lower in society unsurprisingly she was avoided by everyone Mary particularly disliked me and made
snide remarks whenever we met so you only have a high school diploma I don't need useless grads like you on my team hearing this all the time left me exhausted one day I asked her why she spoke so poorly of me her response was shocking poor people with only a high school diploma are unpleasant to look at I don't want you in my sight it seems she genuinely felt that way as she never gave me meaningful work and only assigned pointless tasks just yesterday she handed me a broom and a rag telling me to clean
a storage room full of junk this room might be used someday if you clean it now it will be nice and tidy later even a useless High School grab like you can hand hand L this she insisted I tried to explain that I was too busy but Mary wouldn't hear it maybe someone else who's free can do it or we can handle it during year-end clinging I suggested bowing my head Mary was Furious are you refusing a task from your Superior you need to restart your career from scratch she said shoving the broom and Ry
into my hands and standing guard with no choice I began cleaning after after 10 minutes Mary got bored and said do it as soon as you're told next time I'll let you off the hook for today finally I could return to my actual work but that was a mistake a few hours later Mary stormed in shouting why did you stop halfway don't you have any sense of responsibility I held back my frustration listened quietly and was left mentally and physically exhausted everyone in the office wondered how Mary became a department head she had skillfully presented
herself as a cheerful and kind Elite during her interview fooling the interviewers Mary had a history of impressive achievements at her previous job which earned her a department head rolled here her reputation for business management preceded her when she first joined us she made a great impression on the president and other Executives at meetings she was all smiles and very proactive it was hard to believe she was the same person I had met when Mary initially arrived at our office she was polite and professional she introduced herself as Johnson the new department head and expressed
eagerness to work with us we had high hopes for her but as time passed her true colors began to show she started acting like a tyrant Mary had a habit of flattering the higher ups while treating her subordinates poorly her behavior fear made other employees unhappy and some even wished for a new department head the office atmosphere became tense especially with recent thefts of employees money and belongings despite our attempts to enforce Locker use and reminders not to leave things unattended I was determined to catch the thief but then a major incident occurred one day
as I was about to leave for lunch Mary stormed up to my desk and slammed a document down don't think you can just go out for lunch what are you going to do about this she thrust an email and a client complaint at me the email read your products are of the worst quality frequently damaged and overpriced we are terminating future business I was shocked Mary accused me of sending the email but I had no memory of it I pointed out that the email wasn't even from my address despite my explanation Mary was relentless everyone
else handling this client is a college graduate only someone like you would send such an offensive message she insulted me saying I was a menace to the company her accusations and insults pushed me past my limit instead of backing down I decided to use all my power to teach Mary a lesson I put on a forced smile and said useless people should be fired right Mary seemed to sense something was off but assumed I had accepted her opinion she quickly returned to her arrogant self sneering at me from then on Mary made snide comments like
it's refreshing not to have a nuisance around or I'm glad to be free from babysitting an incompetent employee her cluelessness only made me want to laugh the next day was the company's shareholder meeting when I arrived at the venue Mary saw me and confronted me angrily why does a lowly employee like you here this meeting is for insiders only I calmly explained I was instructed to attend Mary ignoring me started pushing me out get out before you bother the president I was at a loss unsure of how the stay when I was being pushed out
as the shareholder meeting was about to start the president arrived Mary interrupted my explanation putting on her polite smile for him this is James Smith he was trying to attend the meeting without knowing his place I was just sending him away the president's expression darkened what are you talking about he turned to me Smith here holds 90% of the company's shares as a special controlling shareholder of course he has to attend the shareholder meeting Mary turned pale and stared at me trembling when I slowly nodded she let out a short scream and collapsed on the
spot in reality I own 90% of the shares of the company I work for a shareholder holding over 90% of the shares is called a special controlling shareholder such a shareholder is a powerful figure with the right to demand that all other shareholders sell their shares through a resolution of the board of directors this fact was known to employees at the manager level and above but Mary was unaware Mary had made herself dis liked by acting high and mighty right after joining the company no one bothered to inform her about the details how could someone
hold 90% of a company's shares normally people own just a few shares and even having more than 50% is unusual Mary sat on the floor mumbling to herself clearly in complete confusion unable to watch any longer the president began to explain this company was actually founded by my father who served as his president however when I was in high school he suddenly passed away from a stroke his best friend who was the vice president at the time took over as president the president also arranged for me to join the company immediately after graduating from high
school to grew me as the next president there were discussions about making me President right away but it was decided that it would be better for me to gain experience first to avoid risking the company and its employees due to my inexperience so I inherited 90% of the company shares from my father and worked on the ground while learning management skills from the president my smarter younger brother graduated from college and now works as the Executive Vice President I'm glad to see Smith has developed into a competent Templar I'm thinking about stepping down as president
and I told you this when you joined Mary struggled to get up mumbling incoherently it seems you weren't paying attention I just assumed he was an incompetent low educated person she was clearly shocked by my true identity Mary inadvertently let her true feelings slip and was immediately reprimanded by the president watch your language a person's worth is not determined by their educational background but I think it's wrong for Smith to hold 90% of the shares instead of reflecting Mary argued with the president it's just because he's the son of former president that he holds 90%
of the shares I am much more competent and contribute more to the company judge by ability I was utterly astonished that she would declare herself so Superior the president seemed to feel the same way letting out a deep sigh before speaking in a low voice Smith is far more competent than you he listens to the employees needs constantly improves operations and boosts workplace morale I do that too Mary tried to compete with me only making the president angrier don't be ridiculous do you think I'm unaware I've heard reports that you're harassing other employees instead of
boosting morale the president's face hardened as he began to reprimand Mary for her behavior you put on a good face for me and the upper management but I've been informed about your horrible treatment of subordinates looking down on People based on their education assigning unnecessary tasks and disrupting their actual work that was meant to help them grow their abilities Mary continued with her weak excuses but the president wasn't buying it enough you don't need to say anything more besides you are neither an executive nor a shareholder so you don't need to attend the shareholder meeting
I already sent an email about this what I thought it was a mistake I'm an extremely competent employee right I figured the president must have made an error in the recipient list I was eager to attend today to assume the president made a mistake and then crashed the shareholder meeting this sh just how Brazen Mary was the president sighed deeply and turned his back to her regardless you weren't invited today I'll be calling you in tomorrow so go home for now but I'm a highly valued department head I'm essential for the shareholder meeting Mary persisted
the president sternly ordered her to leave and she finally retreated watching the entire scene unfold I was thoroughly astonished the president was usually very gentle treating employees like family I had never seen him this angry even though I had known him for a long time this incident clearly deeply angered him after that the shareholder meeting concluded without further issues and I prepared to head home it had been a hectic day with Mary's Interruption and the president's anger so I planned to relax once I got home I had no idea another incident was waiting for me
as I left the venue and headed toward the taxi stand I heard hurried footsteps behind me I turned to see Mary sprinting toward me she quickly caught up and stood in front of me blocking my way Breathing heavily but grinning oh good I made it in time why are you here I thought you had left already I said puzzled could she have been waiting outside until the shareholder meeting was over Mary ignored my suspicious look and started talking with a creepy smile plastered on her face the president said he would call me in tomorrow but
I have a bad feeling about it I thought I'd ask a favor from you Mr Smith a favor I had a bad feeling about this and my face must have showed it Mary suddenly bowed deeply I'm sorry for everything I've said and done I'm apologizing so could you please say some nice things about me to the president you're not apologizing because you feel bad you just want to escape blame I refuse I firmly rejected her and tried to leave but Mary spread her arms wide blocking my way she kept bowing repeatedly while holding her arms
up like in a bizarre dance attracting a lot of of attention unfortunately it was a busy street and the stairs from pass by were painfully obvious when children started giggling at her Mary finally seemed to realize how embarrassing she looked anyway make sure to support me tomorrow I'm your boss remember shouting this Mary ran off as fast as she had come she tripped spectacularly drawing even more attention but I pretended not to notice and quietly left the next day when I arrived at work Mary with her leg wrapped in a bandage approached me I hurt
myself after I fell yesterday I scraped my leg and got bruises it was awful is that so what a misfortune I responded coldly if it had been anyone else I would have shown concern but considering everything she had done to me I felt no sympathy more importantly doesn't the Pres president have something important to discuss with you right Mary said I was told to go to the president's office as soon as I arrived since I was also summoned by the president I reluctantly accompanied Mary she kept complaining about her foot pain and insisted on walking
slowly which was really annoying throughout this she never apologized to me I felt justified in not forgiving her as I knocked on the president's door and entered we were met with the president's sternest expression yet the moment she saw the president Mary straightened up as if she had never been complaining about her pain good morning Mr President what can I do for you today if someone hadn't witnessed yesterday's argument they might think she was a polite woman but the president wasn't fooled and looked at her with a cold stare it's too late to try and
fix your attitude your punishment has already been decided punishment what do you mean by punishment Mary turned pale but the president continued without hesitation you are being dismissed for misconduct we no longer need you at this company you mean I'm fired this punishment is too harsh Mary tried to approach the president but stumbled due to the pain and her injured leg the president remained unfazed and calmly continued his explanation as for the reasons for your dismissal first first is your harassment of subordinates I haven't harassed anyone I'd admit I'd been strict but it was to
train my subordinance despite having me as a witness next to her Mary boldly insisted on her innocence the president furrowed his brow deeper and pulled out a voice recorder this voice recorder contains your abusive remarks when did you while Mary stood in shock the president pressed play her familiar nasty comments about education and job positions played back leaving not only me and the president but even Mary herself turning pale did I really say all that both I and the other employees endured your abuse every day can you understand our suffering and anger my words caused
Mary to waver I'm sorry it was the first genuine apology I had ever heard from her but her offenses didn't end there the second reason for your dismissal is that you cause trouble for our clients just ask Harris Smith the president then produced the document detailing the email incident from the day before the shareholder meeting an investigation of our company computers revealed that the email was sent from your computer do you have any explanation for this I'm sorry I wrote that email faced with irrefutable evidence from the computer investigation Mary finally conceded Mary who had
admitted her guilt in a low voice finally began to explain why she had harassed me so persistently I worked hard to graduate from an elite University and struggled to become a department head but Smith with just a high school diploma was liked by the other employees it made me so angry so I thought I'd scare him a little it was just a prank I didn't mean any harm her selfish reasoning made the president slump his shoulders in exasperation don't make childish excuses and what about the third reason for your dismissal the president then showed us
footage from the security cameras installed in the office the video clearly showed Mary sneaking around and searching for valuables Mary turned pale and stared intently at the screen her previously remorseful demeanor vanished and she began to sweat nervously as she fired questions at the president pal I checked all the security camera positions I shouldn't be on tape recently employees wallets and personal belongings were being stolen so we installed additional security cameras even as a department head you resorted to theft what were you thinking scolded by the president Mary lost all her strength and slumped to
the floor she hung her head and began to sob but eventually she started to speak the truth the truth is I bought too many luxury items and went into debt the repayment deadline was coming up and my parents wouldn't help me anymore so I resorted to stealing from the employees I had no idea Mary was buying luxury goods on credit not being able to repay with her salary and being abandoned by her family left her in a dire situation why didn't you just sell the luxury items I muttered Mary burst into tears I did sell
them but they said they weren't popular or had scratches so they didn't bring in much money I had held off on her dismissal thinking there might be some reason behind her actions until I heard her side of the story but after reviewing the evidence from the voice recorder and security cameras it became clear that her reasons were Petty and that she was a much worse person than I had imagined it took some effort to gather all the evidence but I'm glad I consulted the president and we made the right decision Mary please reflect and atone
for your sins as I spoke my final words to her she cried and said I'm sorry but I couldn't believe her words until she truly paid for her actions afterward we consulted the police about Mary and she ended up with a criminal record a thorough investigation revealed she had stolen from donation boxes at temples and shrines which ultimately led to her imprisonment I hope she sincerely reflects on her actions and atones for her crimes meanwhile I spent my final year of training as Mr williams' secretary before finally becoming the president moving forward I plan to
continue valuing employee performance over educational background and aim to create a rewarding workplace my brother who was the Executive Vice President has now become the vice president and is my indispensable right-hand man his dedication inspires me to keep striving I want to continue working with the people around me to cherish both the company and its employees