When Colin and his wife, Alice, end up working at the same company for business tyrant Mr. Taylor, they think that they’ve gotten a sweet deal while they branch out to their passions. But after one mistake at work, Alice is ridiculed in front of everyone, causing Colin to retaliate. As the couple lose their jobs, Colin is left fighting for revenge…
Working as a driver for the owner of a mid-sized company was never the dream, but it paid the bills. If I had to be honest, I would tell you that what I had always wanted to do was own my own construction company, but life often works in funny ways.
The silver lining to being a driver was that I got to go to fancy places and I got to work alongside my wife, Alice. We’d met years ago, long before either of us ended up working at the same place. But when Alice got the job as Mr. Taylor’s personal assistant, she dropped him my resume.
“It’s going to be okay, Colin,” she told me one evening when we were making pasta for dinner.
“He needs a personal driver, and you can do that. Neither of us have to stay there forever, but the pay is good enough for the moment. So, until something better comes along for us, we’ll have to make do.”
“I know,” I agreed. “It’s just that this is so far from my dream that I feel as though I’m going to get stuck in this. But it’s okay, I’ll only get stuck if I settle. And I’m not doing that.”
Our boss, Mr. Taylor, was a piece of work. On the surface, he seemed like the typical entrepreneur. You know, the sharp suits, always attached to his phone, and he had a way of talking that made you think he knew something you didn’t.
But the truth was simple: Mr. Taylor was a man who thrived on control, and the tighter his grip on the company and all his employees, the worse things got for us all.
Alice had been dealing with his moods for months. Recently he had been gearing up for a big business meeting that would invite new investors into the company, putting his security empire on the map.
“You’re stressed, Alice,” I said simply when she told me how tight her shoulders felt.
“He’s under a lot of pressure, darling,” she said. “Which means that I’m under a lot of pressure.”
She tried to shrug it off, but I could see the toll it was taking on her. Alice was constantly on edge, always double-checking everything, afraid of making even the smallest mistake.
Then, last week happened.
Over the years, Mr. Taylor had gotten close to Alice, and he trusted her deeply. So, when it came to negotiating a new contract with a few new contractors, he sent Alice in.
“I’ve groomed you, Alice,” his voice boomed. “It’s straightforward, and everything is in the presentation and the booklets that we’ve made for them. All you’ve got to do is present and see if they have any questions. Then flash them a smile and make them sign. Easy.”
Alice beamed. I knew that she loved the extra responsibility and wanted to prove her worth to him. She was tired of being a personal assistant and wanted more.
But when she came home that night, her face was pale.
“The meeting didn’t go well,” she admitted quietly. “They backed out. All of them.”
“What? Why?” I asked, feeling the pit in my stomach start to churn. I knew that there was going to be a fallout. Mr. Taylor was bound to let everyone know how disappointed he was in Alice.
Putting the kettle on, I sat Alice down, encouraging her to tell me everything.
“He insisted on quite a few ridiculous terms,” she explained. “I tried to tell him that they wouldn’t go for it, but he wouldn’t listen. I mean, Colin, there were clauses for up to fifteen million dollars. As in, if anyone backed out, they had to pay him that amount of money, and it would have been viable once the contract was signed.”
