Chapter 2: Eric’s Windfall

Eric was the new guy I’d been assigned to mentor all year. He tagged along on every deal, but I was the one burning the midnight oil, hustling to make things happen. Now he got the money?

I double-checked, but Karen just confirmed, "The funds are already in Eric’s account."

Anger boiling, I darted back to my desk, grabbed my notebook—packed with every detail of my work—and tried to steady my breathing. A few coworkers glanced over, sensing something was up.

“Everything okay, Matt?” one asked.

I gritted my teeth. “It’s nothing.”

But then Eric swaggered over, his grin a little too wide. “Guess who just got a fat bonus? Drinks on me tonight, Matt.”

I stared him down, but he just smirked, bouncing on his heels.

“No thanks,” I shot back, voice cold as ice, and marched straight back to HR.

I shoved my work records across Karen’s desk, but she didn’t even bother to look.

“I’m not reading that,” she said, barely glancing up. “Look, you and Eric worked on that deal as a team. It’s not my job to split hairs over who gets what.”

She leaned back, tossing her pen from hand to hand. “Besides, Eric’s tall and good-looking. Maybe the client just liked him.”

I nearly lost it. Was this for real? “Karen, it’s fifteen thousand dollars, not pocket change! How can you just brush this off?”

Karen glared at me, her lips pressed tight. The hum of the fluorescent lights overhead seemed deafening. The office went weirdly silent, every eye in the bullpen on us, Slack notifications pinging in the background. I felt exposed, humiliated—and furious.