A Bitter Taste In His Mouth
Max left the HR office with a bitter taste in his mouth, seething at the veiled suggestion that his days were numbered. The conversation had felt less like a professional discussion and more like a thinly disguised warning.
But he wasn’t worried. Their baseless assumptions would cost them more than they realized. If he chose to walk, he’d have a new job within days. Replacing him? That would be their real problem.
A Cunning Scheme
Max began devising a cunning scheme. He had insider knowledge about the company—details no one else had access to—which gave him the power to stir up trouble when he eventually walked away.
Two weeks later, with everything in place, Max penned a letter addressed to the head of HR and discreetly left it on her desk before anyone arrived. Without a word, he exited the office. As he stepped outside, his phone lit up with a flurry of messages.
In Chaos
The company was in chaos, desperately trying to recover, but Max remained unmoved. After 25 years of loyalty and hard work, he knew the truth—they had never truly valued him. Their panic now felt ironic, almost amusing.
When the HR rep called, her voice thick with urgency, begging him to come to her office right away, Max simply smiled. This time, he had the upper hand. And instead of rushing over, he delivered a calm, unexpected response that would leave them reeling.
Not My Responsibility
"That's not my responsibility anymore. I left my resignation on your desk days ago — not that you noticed," he said with a smug grin, fully aware of the chaos his absence would cause.
The company had taken his contributions for granted, and now, just when they needed him most, he was gone. He had been working overtime recently, but not out of loyalty — every extra hour had been for his own gain.
Burning The Midnight Oil
Max wasn’t burning the midnight oil out of loyalty—he was doing it to leave a mark they couldn’t erase. He knew the company didn’t value him, but that didn’t matter. Every extra hour he put in was calculated, deliberate, and designed to make his absence unforgettable.
He had no plans to stick around. When he left, chaos would follow. Systems would stall, and no one would know how to fix what he built. They’d realize too late just how much they relied on him—and by then, Max would be long gone.
Max Temprence
Max Temprence approached everything he did with unwavering dedication and precision. Known for his keen eye and commitment to excellence, he never settled for less than perfection in any project he took on.
His journey into technology began at just ten years old when curiosity led him to dismantle his father’s record player. That moment sparked a passion that would shape his future, eventually leading to a thriving career where his skills were consistently sought after.
A Qualified Engineer
After graduating in the 1980s, Max set out to begin his career as a qualified engineer. However, his Eastern European background became an unexpected barrier. Despite his skills and training, employers were hesitant to give him a chance, judging him more for his heritage than his abilities.
With the Cold War still casting its shadow, Max struggled to find meaningful work. His strong Polish accent often led to rejections, and he had to settle for odd jobs fixing radios just to make ends meet. It was a tough chapter in his life, marked by prejudice and missed opportunities—but things wouldn’t stay that way forever.
Far Beneath His Abilities
After ten years of working in positions far beneath his abilities, he was at last offered the role he had always dreamed of. With the Cold War behind him, 1996 brought a long-awaited breakthrough—he became the head engineer at a leading tech firm.
In this new role, he thrived. He oversaw critical security systems and managed major contracts for large-scale construction projects. For a while, it seemed like everything was falling into place. But success, as he would soon learn, wouldn’t last forever.
Feeling The Weight Of His Years
These days, Max is feeling the weight of his years—now 63, he’s no longer the spry young man he once was. His body reminds him daily with stiff joints and a persistent backache. Still, despite the physical toll, Max believes he's at the top of his game.
After nearly three decades of refining his skills, he’s traded youthful energy for a depth of experience that only time can offer. While his body may have slowed, his mind and mastery have never been sharper.
Insightful Man
That’s when the insightful man began to notice a shift. The company he had once admired was no longer the same—it was beginning to decline.
Everything changed after the original CEO sold it to new ownership. Under the new leadership, long-time employees were overlooked, and the respect they had earned over the years seemed to vanish.
HR
One day, while going about his business, Max got an email that he could never have expected. It was from HR, and they wanted him to go into the office for a "chat."
His eyes went wide; there couldn't have been any reason for him to go into HR's office. Maybe there was an electrical problem? But he was about to learn the horrible truth.
Leah
He dragged his feet to the office, knowing that no outcome could have been good. He sat down in the chair opposite the woman - her name was Leah, but that was pretty much all he knew.
She was a recent hire after the previous HR lady was let go. He had no idea why she was fired, but he had a bad feeling about this new one.
A Warning
The young lady smacked her lips together as she chewed gum. "Hello, Mr… Temp." Her shortening of his surname already made him grumpy, but what she said next would have his blood boiling.
"I called you here because I need to issue you a warning." She said bluntly. Max clenched his fists. Why was she giving him a warning? But the reasoning wouldn't make him any calmer.
Letting People In
She told him that he was letting unauthorized people into the building. Max remembered what she was talking about. He'd held the door for a fellow engineer the previous week.
He couldn't believe he wasn't allowed to hold the door for an employee. But what she insinuated next had him in a blind rage.
Insinuations
"This will be the last time you do something like this, okay? We don't want to have to lose you." She told him with a sarcastic grin.
This put Max into a rage; he couldn't believe she spoke to him like this after pouring the last quarter century of his life into the company. He knew what to do next, but it wouldn't be pretty.
A Devious Plan
On his way out of the office, something had changed in Max. From that moment, the company was dead to him. He would make sure that they regret treating him like trash.
He was a clever man that had clever resources at his fingertips. He hatched a devious plan that would put an end to the company once and for all.
Putting It Into Motion
The genius put in a request to work overtime. The company greedily approved it without hesitation. But Max had ulterior motives. He wasn't working overtime from the kindness in his heart.
Over the next two weeks, he worked long into the night, putting his plan to work. Most of it he already had access to, but he would take things overboard.
Making Sure He Was The Only One
Max made sure that he was the only person that would be able to fix what he had caused. It was, after all, his right as the head engineer.
He knew no one else would be competent enough to pick up the pieces once he had done the dirty deed. Passwords that were only known to him would be lost forever once he decided to do the unthinkable.
Getting Everything Done
He spent two weeks working overtime, tackling every task with determination. The long hours and hard work were demanding, but he knew the end result would make it all worthwhile.
The effort he put in was not just about meeting deadlines; it was about delivering a message that mattered. Every bit of his labor was invested in ensuring that the outcome would be meaningful and impactful.
Finishing Touches
Now came the finishing touches. He knew that the software would cause problems for the company in the following days.
But there was another system that would be affected because of the way the software was in the building. It wasn't just going to be the building, and even Max didn't see it coming.
Resignation Day
The day had finally come to enact his vengeance. He got to work right on time and walked straight to HR.
Leah was working at her desk when Max got there. He put down an envelope and walked back out without saying a word. She didn't even look up at him. He smiled on his way out of the office.
A Call
Max walked outside of the building and started walking towards a cafe. That's when it happened, but it was sooner than he expected. His phone started buzzing.
Now he had the opportunity to break their hearts. The HR representative called him frantically, asking him to see her in her office immediately, but he just smiled and said the unexpected.
Not My Job
"Sorry, that's not my job; I put my resignation letter on your desk, but you didn't bother to look, did you?" He said with a wolfish grin. He knew he had won, and the company would sink now.
They needed him now more than ever, and without his valuable skill set, they were doomed. The truth of the matter was that he put in extra hours over the last two weeks sabotaging the whole company.
What He Had Done
What Max had done was update the system software on the company's servers. The hitch was that he was the only one that knew how to do that.
Even if anyone else knew the password, they wouldn't have a clue what they were doing. Max was the only competent senior engineer the company had.
They'd Have To Start Over
The company had fired all of the other engineers that were getting old; that's why he knew what was coming to him. But he'd have the last laugh.
They'd have to scrap the whole system once they found out that they could never get into it again without the help of their former engineer, who they took for granted.
It Wasn't Over
Vivan begged him to help her sign into the system, but he told her that he was no longer able to do that. But she wasn't talking about the building; she was talking about the company car.
Apparently, her morning had been a nightmare, answering dozens of calls related to all of their company cars. Employees were all complaining about the same thing.
Control Of The Car
Even Max didn't expect the software in the cars to be changed due to the update he had made the previous day.
He was over the moon with the development that he had just learned. The software installed into the cars meant that no employee could use the sensitive diagnostic data they needed on the job.
Moving To Nicer Pastures
After speaking to Leah for a few minutes on the phone, he understood the gravity of what he had done.
The company was in a panic, and they hadn't even learned about the servers in the building. Once they would, all hell would break loose. But for now, Max could breathe easy and move on to nicer pastures.
Finding A Better Place
Within a week, Max was set up with a few interviews with companies looking for senior engineers. None of them cared about his age at all.
This reassured him that he had made the right decision. His previous company suffered, and he was now going to be in a place where he was respected.
Never Looking Back
He never looked back. In a matter of months, he was at a new company that had a much bigger base salary than his previous job.
Even though he got calls from his old boss every week, he never returned his calls. Whatever he was going to offer wasn't going to be worth his integrity.