Chapter 1Fired Under False Charges, All VIP Clients Left Him

Vanguard Law was nothing but a three-person sweatshop when it was first founded.

I poured three years of my blood, sweat, and tears into building it from the ground up, transforming it into one of the most prestigious law firms in Chicago. I personally carried more than half of the company's total revenue on my shoulders.

But when it came time to discuss my partnership equity and the commission for a ten-million-dollar mega-contract I just landed, my boss flipped the script.

"Do not think you are God's gift to this firm just because you hold a few big accounts."

"Those VIP clients do not care about you. They care about the Vanguard brand."

He fabricated an "unexcused absence" to force me out and threatened to blackball me with an airtight non-compete clause.

I sat in silence for a few seconds, let out a soft laugh, and signed my resignation papers.

Picking up my cardboard box, I walked to the door and tossed one last sentence over my shoulder.

"By the way, those top-tier VIP clients you love so much? They are my weekend hiking buddies. They are loyal to me, not your brand. If I walk, they all walk."

…

"Wendy, who gave you the nerve to pull a no-show for three days straight?"

Jackson lounged back in his oversized leather executive chair, looking me up and down with a gaze so slimy it made my skin crawl. His tone was dripping with venom.

"Do not think you are God's gift to this firm just because you hold a few big accounts."

"Those VIP clients do not care about you. They care about the Vanguard brand."

"You went AWOL for three days and ignored all calls. I have every right to terminate you on the spot."

I froze, my grip tightening on the contract in my hand.

"Jackson, I submitted a PTO request for those three days last week. You personally approved it. And besides..."

I wanted to tell him that even though I was technically on vacation, I had spent those entire three days hiking Blackwood Peak with Mr. Preston. I did it all for the firm, and because of that trip, I successfully locked down a ten-million-dollar retainer.

Jackson cut me off with a mocking sneer.

"Did I approve it? Funny, I do not remember that. Did you file the paperwork with HR? Show me the physical approval slip."

I was completely boxed in. Because the trip was a last-minute opportunity, Jackson had only given me a verbal okay.

Seeing my silence, his smug smile widened.

"Wendy, so what if you are the golden girl of this firm?"

"You vanished without a trace on company time. Several clients could not reach you."

"We all thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere, but you were out having a grand old time hiking some mountain!"

He knew exactly where I was. He knew I was at Blackwood Peak, which meant he knew I was entertaining Mr. Preston.

It hit me like a splash of ice water. Jackson was doing this on purpose. He was the managing partner, but for two years running, my billing numbers had utterly crushed his. He was threatened.

I shook the signed contract in my hand, refusing to back down.

"Blackwood Peak is high altitude, there is zero cell reception. And I was working! I secured a one-year exclusive contract with Apex Corporation. The deal is worth ten million dollars."

"Hilarious!" Jackson burst into a grating, obnoxious laugh. "Working? You really think a woman like you landed a shark like Mr. Preston strictly through legal expertise? We all know exactly how you close your deals."

He dragged his eyes over my body again, his expression so vile he might as well have called me a cheap streetwalker to my face.

I slammed my hand on his desk. "Watch your mouth, Jackson. Show some respect."

"Respect?" He scoffed loudly. "What kind of hike takes three days and three nights? You want respect? Look in the mirror. You do not deserve it!"

A dull ache settled in my chest.

Three years ago, Vanguard was a tiny, failing operation. Jackson fed me beautiful lies about potential, promised me equity, and begged me to treat this startup like my own family.

For years, I worked myself to the bone, calling in every personal favor I had to drag high-net-worth clients through our doors.

In three years, I grew this firm to a hundred employees. Over fifty percent of our total revenue came directly from my client roster.

Top-tier firms had tried to poach me constantly, but Jackson gave me the title of Vice President. I stayed out of loyalty to my clients. Even though I was paid significantly less than the industry standard, I never once complained.

I gave this company everything. And now, Jackson was throwing me under the bus the second I outlived my usefulness?

My voice dropped to absolute zero. "Are you entirely sure you want to push me out?"

Jackson waved his hand dismissively.

"Stop acting like you are irreplaceable. You think this firm will crumble without you?"

"The only reason you have that VP title is because you have been here the longest. I have a line of actual heavyweights begging to take your corner office!"

Right on cue, Jackson's assistant, a petty guy who had hated my guts since day one, chimed in.

"Oh, Wendy, did you not hear? Kyle, that guy who graduated a year behind you? He is a legal superstar now, and he is bringing tens of millions in fresh accounts with him."

Jackson took a drag of his vape and blew the vapor directly into my face. "Exactly. Kyle is golf buddies with half the CEOs in the city. If you had not been hogging the VP chair all this time, he would have taken Vanguard public by now."

Kyle?

I coughed, waving the sweet, sickening vapor away from my face, as the memory clicked into place.

Kyle was a junior from my law school. Sure, he was a well-known guy on campus, mostly because he failed his core classes twice. He was famously almost expelled after everyone found out he was the kept boy toy of a wealthy older woman.