The Nepo Baby's Mistake, My Client Revenge

A new marketing director just parachuted into our company.

The new guy wanted to assert his dominance immediately. On his very first day, he dug up an old, dusty account to frame me and suspended me from work.

What he didn't realize was that I held eighty percent of the marketing department's client resources in my palm.

Since he wanted to squeeze me out, he shouldn't complain when I decide to let everything burn once they beg for my return.

The former marketing director was transferred to the head office for training. He was preparing for a promotion.

As the top sales performer in the department, it was an open secret that I was next in line for his chair.

My close colleagues, Artie and Lenny, along with my trainee Cassie, were all waiting to celebrate my big promotion.

When the corporate transfer order finally arrived, everyone was cheering for me.

However, before I could even get my chair warm, a new director was parachuted in the very next day.

He carried an order from the national headquarters. His paperwork held more weight than our regional office's decisions.

Just like that, I was pushed back down to being a regular sales rep.

Later, I overheard the office gossip and found out this guy, Barney Bullock, was the son of a high-ranking executive at HQ.

A nepo-baby had stolen my promotion. To make it worse, he was a total rookie with zero marketing experience.

I checked his profile on our internal system. Barney's previous role at HQ was just a fluff position where he did nothing.

I was beyond frustrated to have someone like that as my direct boss.

I tried to comfort myself. I told myself that as long as I had the talent, I would get my raise and promotion sooner or later.

But I never expected that on his first day, Barney would come for me using a discrepancy in the books.

Barney called me into his office. He narrowed his eyes and pushed a yellowed ledger toward me, trying to look serious.

"Ms. Sterling, I've heard about your performance over the years. You're a veteran here, and I should really learn from you," he said.

"But can you explain this thirty-thousand-dollar deficit in the accounts?"

"Why are there so many unclear transactions with clients that haven't been reported?"

The moment I saw that ledger, my head felt like it was filled with buzzing flies.

This deficit was a historical mess. I had heard rumors about it years ago.

An old sales rep had been dishonest. He was using company goods to run his own side business.

That debt belonged to that era. It had absolutely nothing to do with me.

If anyone should be held responsible, it was the former director.

Looking at the dates, I wasn't even working in this department back then.

I had only been the acting director for one day. There was no way this was my fault.

I shook my head and suppressed my anger. "I'm just a sales rep. I don't have access to these kinds of high-level ledgers."

"If you want answers, Mr. Bullock, you should probably ask the regional office for a full audit."

In our world, you always call someone one rank higher than they actually are. It's a survival tactic.

He called me Director to mock me, so I called him Vice President to play along.

He just smirked and didn't say another word.

I thought the matter was settled.

But a week later, the company issued a formal disciplinary notice against me.

Barney had officially pinned that old debt on my head!

I was given two choices.

I could go back to the factory warehouse to work the assembly line for three months. After that, I would be reassigned to a new market.

If I did that, all the client relationships I had built over the years would vanish.

I had been with this company for nine years. This treatment was a slap in the face.

The other choice was to take a three-month unpaid suspension.

This was happening right during the annual bonus season.

Our region did great this year. My bonus should have been around twelve thousand dollars. Losing that would hurt.

Looking at Barney's shady eyes, I knew he was the one pulling the strings.

He caught me in private later that day.

"Jade, if you're willing to share your client list with me, I might consider speaking to the board on your behalf."

He wanted to dump the old debt on me and steal my clients for himself.

This fat pig was a lot more calculated than he looked.

I refused him flat out.

If he wanted a fight, I would give him one.

He wanted my clients? He should go find them himself. Dreaming of taking mine was pathetic.

I filed an appeal through the company system. But Barney blocked it at the departmental level.

He replied with a condescending note.

"Jade, when you make a mistake, you need to own it. Don't let your seniority make you think you can fight the company."

After that, he made me a scapegoat in the department group chat. He criticized me over and over to set an example.

I realized he was using me to establish his authority.

The moment he posted the message, a flood of "Acknowledged" replies filled my screen.

Before I could even defend myself, I was kicked out of the chat.

I was furious. I knew Barney was trying to drown me to make himself look strong, and I wasn't going to take it.

The professional etiquette I had built over years of being a top seller was gone.

Cassie, the girl I trained, told me to just follow orders.

Lenny, who used to follow my every move, had already become Barney's lapdog.

Only Artie, another veteran, tried to speak up for me.

The others were just trying to suck up to Barney to get on his good side.

I hated them, but I also felt sorry for them.

A guy like Barney, who only came here to pad his resume, didn't care about them at all. Yet they were acting like dogs just for a tiny chance at a promotion.

I packed my evidence and drove straight to the Regional Manager's office.

I was determined to clear my name.

I brought in massive revenue every year and worked until 11 PM almost every night. I refused to believe there was no justice.

When the Regional Manager, Xavier Stone, saw me, his face turned sour.

"Jade, aren't you supposed to be at the warehouse for retraining? What are you doing here?"

I slammed my evidence on his desk.

"Mr. Stone, that bad debt isn't mine. The dates prove I wasn't even in the department when it happened."

Xavier frowned and slammed his hand on the desk.

"This is ridiculous! You're breaking protocol by jumping over your manager's head!"

"Don't you know you're supposed to report to the Marketing Director first?"

He didn't even look at my papers. He swiped them onto the floor.

"Besides, you were the director for a day. Why didn't you fix the books then?"

"You're clearly just making excuses for being lazy at your job!"

"I won't punish you for coming here today. Go reflect on yourself and report to the warehouse immediately."

Fix the books in one day? That was impossible.

I spent half that day just doing the handover. I was swamped with expiring contracts that needed urgent filing.

I was exhausted. I didn't have the energy to deal with ancient history.

I finally saw the truth. Xavier Stone and Barney Bullock were in bed together.

Since they wanted to play dirty, I decided to stop playing fair.

I looked him in the eye. "Sir, I'm not going to the warehouse. I'm choosing a six-month suspension instead."

Xavier looked shocked. "A suspension? You'll lose your entire year-end bonus."

"Fine by me," I said, shrugging.

I controlled eighty percent of the department's clients. I was the one maintaining the revenue and keeping the targets met.

Without me, Barney would be paralyzed.

In less than two months, he would be begging me to come back.

The quarterly review was next month. If the targets weren't met, the whole department's bonus would be slashed.

That idiot Barney probably didn't even realize that yet.

Shortly after I left, Barney started a "donation" system. It was just a fancy word for fines.

He also demanded that everyone in the department walk at least 20,000 steps a day.

If they didn't, it meant they weren't working hard enough, and they had to "donate" money.

Every weekly meeting missed was another "donation."

The company did have rules like that on paper.

But for sales reps, our hours and locations were never fixed.

Those rules were never supposed to apply to the marketing department.

Besides hunting for clients, we had to manage every expense and file them in the system.

When we were busy, we didn't even have time to eat.

This new rule made the whole department miserable.

After working overtime, they had to walk for hours to hit those 20,000 steps.

Within a week, many colleagues were filing complaints. Some even tried to take sick leave.

Of course, Barney rejected every single request.

Last month, during the holidays, the marketing team only got four days off.

Barney was pushing people to the breaking point.

In his mind, higher pressure meant better sales.

I started to feel glad that I was sitting at home on suspension.

When the quarterly audit came around, Barney was stunned.

Normally, if you hit seventy percent of the twenty-million-dollar target, you pass.

The bonuses get paid out proportionally.

But without me, the department didn't even hit thirty percent.

The only reason they even got that much was because Barney forced Artie to grind.

Because Artie had stood up for me, Barney gave him hell and forced him to out-drink clients every night.

Now, Artie was lying in a hospital bed with a stomach ulcer.

I brought a bag of fruit to visit him.

It was November and freezing, but he had a fan blowing on high. He had his phone tied to the fan blade so it would swing back and forth.

I was confused. "What are you doing?"

"Getting my 20,000 steps," Artie said with a bitter smile.

He sighed deeply. After making sure no one was around, he looked at me.

"Jade, you're smart. Please, help me find a way out of this."

"I'm buried in paperwork until 11 PM and then I'm forced to drink with clients until I puke."

"I only got four days off last month. This month, I haven't had a single day to myself."

"Half the sales this quarter were mine. And look at me. Not one person from the office has come to see me except you."

Artie wanted to say more, but his dry lips just pressed together.

I knew his situation.

He just bought a house in a good school district for his kid. With the mortgage, he owed nearly half a million dollars.

He used to think that if he worked hard and saved, he could pay it off by retirement.

But the way things were going, Barney was going to kill him long before he could retire.

I asked, "If Barney missed the target by that much, didn't the bosses put pressure on him?"

Artie shook his head.

"His dad is a giant at HQ. He's several ranks above Xavier Stone. Who would dare touch him?"

"He just told them he was new to the role and needed time to adjust. They let him slide."

"But he did sign a performance pledge. He promised to hit the targets next quarter."

I let out a cold laugh.

Perform better next quarter?

Next quarter was full of holidays. The sales quotas would be even higher.

Barney could use the "I'm new" excuse once, but he couldn't do it twice.

Without my clients, he wouldn't even hit ten percent of the target.

Sure enough, Artie told me that client orders were dropping fast.

If this continued, the company would force everyone back to the factory line.

At that point, Barney wouldn't be able to hide his failure anymore.

Suddenly, my phone started ringing. It was Barney, calling me again and again.

"Jade, how does it feel to sit at home doing nothing?"

"I heard the region is doing well. The year-end bonuses are going to be huge."

The bonuses were calculated based on the entire region's performance. They could be worth a lot of money.

Barney thought he could use that to pressure me?

Nice try, buddy. Not a chance.

I replied confidently, "I feel great. While the rest of the region is getting their bonuses, your team is going to be moving boxes in a warehouse."

"That's going to look real good on your resume."

Through the phone, I could hear him grinding his teeth.

I could almost see his face turning purple with rage as he tried to stay calm.

"Jade, don't push it too far. Let's meet in the middle. Give me your client list, and I'll let you come back to the department."

"Mr. Bullock, I think you have the order wrong," I said.

"You let me come back first. Then, I might consider sharing some clients."

"If that's your attitude, we have nothing to talk about!" he yelled.

"Fine by me. To be honest, with my experience, I can get a better job anywhere."

"When I leave, I'll take every single one of my clients with me."

I didn't give him a chance to respond. I just hung up.