Five years. I had given this company five years of my life, clawing my way up alongside him from the startup days. I'd closed more than half the deals that built this place. As Vice President, my year-end bonus was two dollars and fifty cents.
A secretary who'd been here ninety days walked away with twenty thousand.
The irony was suffocating.
Panic flickered across Neal's eyes—just for an instant—before he shoved my phone away and barked at the watching crowd:
"Tania just joined the company and already closed a ten-million-dollar deal—a tremendous contribution! She absolutely deserves that twenty-thousand-dollar bonus!
"As for Ivy, our so-called Vice President, she's been showing up late and leaving early constantly. She's set a terrible example for the entire company. She's lucky to even get twenty-five dollars!"
The room erupted in laughter.
"So that's why her bonus was so pathetic—she doesn't actually do anything!"
"Everyone knows Vice President Pruitt only got her position by sleeping with Mr. Gilbert. Now she can't even bother to show up on time. She doesn't deserve that title!"
The words crashed over me like waves, and blood rushed to my head. My ears rang.