Chapter 4: The Severance Standoff

I stared him down, refusing to blink. “You’re laying me off, but don’t regret it. We haven’t done the handover yet.”

Chris burst out laughing, the fake kind you hear at country clubs after one too many drinks. His followers joined in, not even getting the joke.

“Jake Foster, you think you’re so important? Your job’s just running errands. I could hire a random college kid to do it!”

He wasn’t entirely wrong—I was the errand guy. But not everyone could do it right. It meant knowing which secretary liked two sugars, which bureaucrat’s kid played Little League, which inspector wanted Cubs tickets.

I’d handled six projects at once, juggled departments, met every deadline. In another company, it’d take five or six people to do what I did. Years of relationships and trust.

“Just pushing papers. No special skills needed. New hires are cheaper and easier to manage.”

He flicked my shoulder. I clenched my jaw, fighting the urge to smack his hand away.

“See? More benefits to replacing you. Why keep you?”

I calmly brushed the spot he’d touched and smiled. “I’ve been here eight years and got laid off for nothing. Settle my severance first.”

Chris narrowed his eyes. He could afford it, but he just wanted to see me crawl.

He’d dug traps for me, hoping I’d leave in disgrace. But I’d dodged every one.

“Jake Foster, you want a fat payout? Just take this month’s salary and get lost. Otherwise, I’ll have security toss you out!”

Even when times were tough, nobody ever got just one month’s pay. I could see fear on my coworkers’ faces—they were thinking, if it happened to me, it could happen to them.

“I made no mistakes. Fire me, and it’s a no-cause termination. You really not get that? After all that time abroad, you’re still clueless. Your dad wasted his money.”

Chris went red, his prep school mask slipping. He grabbed my collar, fist cocked. Before he could swing, his cronies pulled him back. They knew an assault charge wouldn’t look good.

I straightened my collar, brushing off his hand. “Maybe have your lawyers explain how severance works, genius. Otherwise, see you in court. I’ve got all day.”

One of his guys tried smoothing things over. “Jake, you’ll need references for future jobs. Let’s not make this messy…”

Ridiculous. Chris would badmouth me no matter what.

“Save it. Full severance, not a penny less, or I’ll see you in court. Illinois law is clear.”

Out of respect for the old boss, I still told Chris to get someone for the handover. There were two project files missing EPA reports, plus a bank loan pending. First National was expecting paperwork by Friday.

Chris waved me off like a waiter. “Just get out. No handover. Don’t try anything.”

He was afraid I’d sabotage things. Projecting his own pettiness on everyone else.

I had him sign the handover form anyway, witnesses included. Always cover your ass.