When Colin and his wife, Alice, both landed jobs at the same company under the powerful and feared Mr. Taylor, they thought they’d finally hit the jackpot. It wasn’t exactly their dream, but it was good money and a step toward something bigger. What they didn’t know was that one mistake would ruin everything — and lead Colin down a path of revenge that no one saw coming.
I never imagined I’d end up as a driver for a businessman. It was never part of the plan. My real dream? To run my own construction company one day. But life doesn’t always care about your plans — it throws you wherever it wants.
The only silver lining of my job was that it paid well enough and, best of all, I got to work alongside my wife. Alice had landed a position as Mr. Taylor’s personal assistant, and when she heard he was looking for a driver, she slipped him my résumé.
“It’s going to be okay, Colin,” she told me one evening while we stirred pasta sauce together in the kitchen.
“He needs a driver, and you can do that. We don’t have to stay there forever. The pay’s good for now, and until something better comes along, we’ll make it work.”
“I know,” I sighed. “It’s just… this is so far from my dream. I’m scared I’ll get stuck here.” I gave her a half-smile. “But I’ll only get stuck if I give up — and I’m not doing that.”
Mr. Taylor looked like your classic businessman: expensive suits, always glued to his phone, talking like he knew secrets no one else did. But underneath that slick exterior was a man obsessed with control. The tighter his grip on the company — and on us — the worse things got.
Alice had been dealing with his temper for months. He was preparing for a massive business deal that could bring in new investors and skyrocket his security empire.
“You’re stressed,” I told her one night when she complained about how tense her shoulders were.
“He’s under a lot of pressure, darling,” she sighed. “Which means I’m under a lot of pressure too.”
I watched her constantly double-checking every email, every document, terrified of making even a tiny mistake. And then, it happened — the mistake that changed everything.
Mr. Taylor had started trusting Alice with more responsibility. He saw her potential, and when it came time to negotiate a new contract with some big contractors, he handed the job to her.
“I’ve groomed you for this, Alice,” he boomed in his usual dramatic way. “Everything’s in the presentation and the booklets we prepared. All you need to do is present, answer questions, and get them to sign. Flash them a smile — it’s easy.”
Alice was thrilled. She was tired of being just an assistant and wanted to prove herself. But when she came home that evening, her face was pale as paper.
“The meeting didn’t go well,” she admitted softly. “They backed out. All of them.”
“What? Why?” I asked, my stomach dropping. I already knew this was going to blow up in her face.
She explained while I made tea to calm her down.
“He demanded a bunch of ridiculous terms,” she said. “I told him they’d never agree, but he wouldn’t listen. There was even a clause saying they’d have to pay up to fifteen million dollars if they backed out after signing. Fifteen million, Colin! Of course, they walked away.”
“And now he’s blaming you?”
She nodded, tears welling up in her eyes. I squeezed her hand.
“It’s not your fault. He pretends to be a mastermind, but he always cuts corners. He should have known better.”
The next day, things exploded.
I had gone up to the office to let Mr. Taylor know I was taking the car for service. But instead, I walked into chaos. He’d called a sudden meeting and dragged everyone into the open office. I stood at the back, unsure if I should stay — until I saw Alice. Her eyes were hollow, her shoulders slumped.
“Everyone!” Mr. Taylor barked. The room fell silent.
“I want you all to look at Alice. Take a good, long look.”
Alice shifted, cheeks burning red.
“This,” he shouted, pointing at her, “is what failure looks like! No wonder our potential partners backed out. Look at her — hunched over, terrifying. Like a scarecrow! She’s a perfect example of what NOT to hire. A mistake.”
A few people let out nervous laughs, but most just stared at their shoes. My blood boiled. No one had ever humiliated Alice like this before.
Before I knew it, I was pushing through the crowd.
“Hey! That’s enough!” I shouted.
Mr. Taylor turned to me with a sneer.
“Oh, here comes the knight in shining armor. Come to defend your damsel in distress?”
I stood tall and met his cold gaze.
“You’re the failure here,” I shot back. “You don’t get to talk to Alice like that. The deal didn’t fall through because of her — it’s because of you. You were the one who insisted on those ridiculous terms.”
“Excuse me?” he barked. “Do you think you know how to run a business better than I do? You’re just a driver.”
“And you’re just a bully,” I said calmly.
The room went dead silent.
“YOU’RE FIRED!” he roared, his face red with fury. “Both of you! Get out of my company!”
Alice gasped, but I grabbed her hand.
“Come on. Let’s go.”
The office door slammed shut behind us.
“I’m so sorry,” Alice whispered as we walked to the car. “I didn’t want you to lose your job too.”
“It’s not your fault,” I told her. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”
But as I drove us home, something inside me shifted. This wasn’t over. Not even close.
That evening, Alice tried to distract herself by making dumplings from scratch — something she only did when she needed to keep her hands busy.
“Colin, I tried so hard,” she said quietly. “And now… we’re both unemployed because of me.”
I wrapped my arms around her.
“It’s not over yet. I know where he’s going to be tonight. There’s one more meeting with those partners. It was on my schedule this morning.”
“You’re not thinking of crashing his meeting, are you?” she asked, wiping her eyes.
“Trust me,” I said, grabbing my keys. “This will be worth it.”
I drove to the hotel where Mr. Taylor held all his fancy meetings. His luxury car was parked right out front. I almost turned around — but I couldn’t walk away without doing something.
Inside the restaurant, I scanned the room. There he was, sitting in the back. But he wasn’t with any business partners. He was with a woman.
They were sitting way too close. His hand rested on her knee, and glasses of wine clinked between them. My heart pounded. I pulled out my phone and snapped a few photos before slipping out.
Then I drove straight to Mr. Taylor’s house. Mrs. Taylor needed to see this.
“Colin! How lovely to see you!” she greeted me warmly when she opened the door.
“Hi, Mrs. Taylor,” I said, my voice steady but firm. “I need to show you something.”
Her eyebrows furrowed as I handed her my phone.
“Is that… is that my husband?” she gasped.
“I’m sorry,” I said gently. “But I thought you should know.”
I told her everything — about the office, the humiliation, and how we’d both been fired. Her expression hardened.
“Send these to me,” she said coldly. “I’ll gather the investors and end this once and for all. I want to see what he does without money. And just so you know, this company was my father’s. Our marriage contract says if he’s caught cheating, ownership goes to me alone.”
I blinked. “Wait… really?”
“Give me a week, Colin,” she said, her voice steady with determination. “You and Alice will be reinstated — working for me this time. Enjoy the week off. I’ll also compensate you for the stress he caused. And when you come back… expect a raise.”
I left her house buzzing with adrenaline. I couldn’t wait to get home and tell Alice that the man who humiliated her would soon lose everything.
For the first time in months, hope bloomed inside me. Maybe we’d even get the chance to chase our real dreams again. Maybe, just maybe, I could finally start that construction company after all.
And as for Mr. Taylor? Let’s just say he was about to learn the hard way that when you treat people like dirt… sometimes, they rise up and bury you instead.
The end — or rather, the beginning of something much better.