Executive VP Sawyer appeared, holding the non-compete agreements we'd signed when we were hired.
"Breach of non-compete: one million dollars in penalties."
The color drained from my teammates' faces.
"A million dollars! I couldn't save that in ten years even if I didn't eat or drink!"
"What do we do? Is my life just... over?"
The boss raised an eyebrow, smug.
"A bunch of clowns who can't even see what they're worth. You really thought someone would pay five times market rate for you?"
He held up an acquisition agreement.
"That company next door? I bought it a year ago. You think your little schemes were fooling anyone?"
