My Boss Said “You’re Fired.” I Smiled and Said “Great”. He Had No Idea Why

I’ve been working on developing a machine that assembles parts for about five years. I named it Fabs, combining “fabrication” and “fabulous” to represent the joy of creation.

Fabs was designed to handle large and heavy parts accurately, automating a wide range of assembly tasks. Once completed, it would replace manual insertion processes, significantly reducing work time and stabilizing quality.

For the past year, we focused on finalizing the product based on the prototype. But one day, the prototype was found destroyed.

When I arrived at work that day, I was shocked to see the prototype forcibly toppled and in pieces. The prototype was quite large and was securely fixed to prevent it from being easily knocked over.

But now, it appeared as if it had taken a severe hit, with one side severely dented. As I stood there in shock, Evan approached, pretending to be passing by, and sneered at me.

“Oh, is that the toy you were making, Mark? Sorry, I bumped into it and it fell over. But isn’t it good that we found out its weakness before it was commercialized? You should be thanking me.” Lying through his teeth, he walked away laughing loudly.

There’s no way it would fall just from a bump; it was designed to withstand repeated shaking. Even though I knew it was his doing, without any proof of his deliberate act, I couldn’t report it anywhere.

Swallowing my frustration, I began repairing the prototype. Fortunately, most of the internal circuitry was intact, and within a few days, the prototype was restored.

Since then, I made sure to lock the room where the prototype was kept whenever I left. Previously, the development room was always open so that anyone in the company could freely observe it.

The low barriers for exchanging opinions across positions and departments were a strong point of this company, but from that day, such enjoyment became a thing of the past. Besides this incident, Evan continued to harass me by shredding documents I created and piling an excessive amount of paperwork solely on me.

Additionally, he would answer calls intended for me and delete data I was responsible for without permission, taking his harassment to new levels. Despite this, I stayed at the company.

This was because I had a strong resolve not to leave until Fabs was officially launched. I believe that once Fabs was released, it could bring about a small revolution in the manufacturing industry, which was suffering from a labor shortage.

Holding on to this belief, I endured Evan’s daily provocations and immersed myself in product development. In the midst of these trying days, a turning point finally arrived.

One day, an envelope was delivered to my desk. It was an invitation to the world’s largest technology and manufacturing exhibition.

This exhibition was a platform to showcase the latest manufacturing and implementation technologies in electronics, attracting related industries from both domestic and international companies. I had applied to present Fabs, which I had been developing for five years, at this event.

Now everyone will see how amazing Fabs is. I prepared day and night for the exhibition, fine-tuning Fabs and getting ready for the presentation.

On the day of the exhibition, the venue was filled with industry experts and media representatives. Finally, it was time to present Fabs.

As the presentation time approached, I felt a thrilling excitement like never before. But just five minutes before the start, I was suddenly called out by the event organizers.

“Mark, we’re sorry, but Evan will be presenting instead of you.”

“What? Evan?”

I was bewildered, but while I was trying to process this, Evan walked past me with my presentation materials and took the stage. He then began presenting the content I was supposed to present with a self-satisfied look on his face.

What is going on? I prepared everything: the demo files for Fabs, the PR videos—everything was made by me.

Next to me, Emily was also trembling at the sight before us.

“This is terrible. I can’t believe it. He has stolen all of your work, Mark. Fabs is my creation. I built it from scratch and finally brought it to completion.” She said.

After the presentation, Evan, completely satisfied, approached us as we stood there in shock.

“Evan, what is the meaning of this?”

“What’s the problem? It’s obvious. It’s better for a department head like me to explain than a regular employee like you. Don’t you understand that it increases the chances of successful deals?” He retorted, showing no remorse whatsoever.

Unable to hold back, I finally let go of my usual resignation and protested.

“But Fabs is my invention. You don’t even understand the content of the materials you just read, do you? The employee who understands the product should be the one presenting.”

“You just don’t get it, do you? Besides, I got permission from Mr. Carson to present this machine. Are you going to go against his decision?” He said.

Seeing the smug look on his face, I realized that arguing further was pointless. He must have been waiting for an opportunity to embarrass me for a long time.

When I reacted to him destroying the prototype, he probably figured out that Fabs was the most important thing to me. He had undoubtedly arranged everything in advance with Mr. Carson to take Fabs away from me.

But being told it was the CEO’s decision, there was nothing more a regular employee like me could do. As I stood there swallowing my frustration, Evan patted me on the shoulder and walked away with a gleeful look.

“Well, since there’s nothing more to discuss, I’ll take my leave. I have to handle the inquiries and orders for that machine.”

As expected, Fabs was welcomed with open arms by the industry. Evan had stolen my product and, as a result, gained significant recognition and fame in the industry.

Seeing Evan and Mr. Carson reveling in their success, I finally made up my mind.

The most shocking news came the day after the exhibition. Today, remembering the humiliating events of the previous day, I went to work as usual; however, my desk was completely empty.

All the research I had accumulated over the years and the meticulously gathered documents were gone.

“What is going on here?”

“I don’t know. I have no idea. When I came in this morning, it was already like this.” Emily said.

I asked Emily and my other colleagues, but everyone just shook their head, clueless. After searching the department, we found that everything from my desk had been stuffed into garbage bags and left in a storage room.

“Who would do something like this?” Emily muttered in shock, and everyone thought of the same person.

At that moment, Evan appeared, clearly in high spirits.

“Mark, what are you doing over there?” He asked, grinning smugly.

He glanced at me holding the garbage bags and snorted derisively.

“Rumaging through trash early in the morning? You’ve really hit rock bottom, haven’t you?”

“My belongings were thrown away. Do you know anything about it, Evan?”

“Oh, that? It was all unnecessary, so I took care of it last night. You should be thanking me.” He replied.

What? He casually admitted it was his doing, leaving me speechless. As I struggled to find a response, he smiled and dropped a bombshell.

“Congratulations, Mark. You’ve been selected for workforce reduction. We’re hiring a top-tier new graduate starting tomorrow, so you’re fired.”

I was stunned by the sudden announcement. He continued, enjoying himself.

“The new hire is Mr. Carson’s son. He’s a young, college-educated employee, totally different from an eternal regular employee like you. The machine you made, Fabs or whatever, is finished, right? That means you’re no longer needed by the company. The new hire will use your desk starting tomorrow, so clear it out and leave today. In other words, you’re fired.”

“I’ve worked diligently for 20 years, and now you’re telling me to leave by the end of today?”

His grin widened even more at my response.