Chapter 2

The more I thought about it, the more I felt I could still hang on at the company. After all, the value I create for the company is much higher than the Wives Club.

But I'll probably face some trouble. If they don't teach me a lesson, where would those self-important executives put their faces?

I sighed, resigning myself to my bad luck.

This society was never fair. If my husband outranked their husbands, I bet Manicure Lady wouldn't have dared use that attitude with me.

The boss's office was on the top floor. I'd been there once before for a project report, but rarely had the chance to go to the executive level.

Outside the boss's office was a slightly smaller office for his secretary.

As I was about to knock, the secretary's door opened a crack.

A woman in a gray suit poked her head out, asking coldly: "Who are you?"

I recognized this secretary - she was often seen following the boss. I couldn't afford to offend her.

I quickly replied: "I'm Rachel, the project lead. I'm here to see the boss about removing some absence records."

Understanding my purpose, the secretary frowned slightly: "For such a small matter, you should just go to HR. Why bother the boss?"

I explained: "HR said they can't remove it without a leave slip."

The secretary's frown deepened. After a few seconds of silence: "The boss isn't in the office now. He usually comes in around 3 PM."

What? The boss doesn't come in until 3 PM?

I almost blurted out in surprise but managed to hold it in.

After thanking her, I prepared to come back at 3 PM and turned to leave.

"Wait," the secretary called out, "Come register and I'll make an appointment for you."

"Huh? Do I need an appointment even though I'm an internal employee?"

I must have looked very foolish, as I really don't interact with upper management.

I couldn't believe our crappy company required appointments just to see the boss.

The secretary gave me an annoyed look: "Of course. The boss arrives at 3 PM and leaves promptly at 5:30 PM, not a second later. Even directors and managers can't always get on his schedule. How could a team lead like you not need an appointment?"

As she spoke, the secretary tapped on her tablet: "I've scheduled you for 5:20 PM. You only have 5 minutes. When time's up, you have to leave whether you've finished or not."

I nodded numbly, indicating I understood.

This boss puts on airs like an ancient emperor.

If I didn't need this money to live, I would have quit long ago!

Let whoever wants to serve him do it. Is it easy for us working folks to earn money?

As soon as I got back to the office, everyone crowded around asking if I'd gotten the absence records removed.

I told them we didn't have leave slips, so it couldn't be removed.

As soon as I finished speaking, Emma exploded. She's a young girl who just graduated and joined our company 6 months ago.

Emma shouted: "That's ridiculous! We pulled an all-nighter to meet the deadline, and end up with absence records. We might as well have let the project be delayed. It's not like it's coming out of my pocket anyway."

Emma started packing up her things: "Since I'm marked absent anyway, why should I stay at this crappy company? I'm going home to sleep!"

Several others also looked like they were thinking of packing up and going home.

I tried to calm everyone down: "I'll definitely get the boss to approve removing everyone's absence records this afternoon!"

After much persuasion, Emma finally put down her half-packed bag and sat in her chair sulking.

Olivia is a middle-aged woman like me, with elderly parents and young kids to support. She never thinks about her own feelings, only money!

After I promised to talk to the boss about removing the absence records, Olivia was still worried: "You must explain it well to the boss this afternoon. The monthly perfect attendance bonus is $300, and the year-end bonus is also tied to this. Without perfect attendance, we could lose thousands of dollars."

I reassured Olivia: "Don't worry, the boss should have that much perspective."