They Called Me the Freaking Rulebot

Bella piped up from the side. "That one's from Mr. Lawson in Sales. He even printed it in color. So thoughtful, right?"

I said nothing and kept flipping.

One page was just a massive QR code. Beside it, someone had scrawled: [Dear finance ladies, scan this yourselves.]

I set the whole stack down and looked straight at her.

The truth hovered right there—

'We're in the middle of an IPO. None of this is even remotely approvable.'

But I let it go.

Just gave her a faint smile.

"My head's killing me. Gonna grab some meds. Since you care so much about the team, you can handle the approvals."

***

I ignored Bella's protests and walked out.

It was nearly lunchtime anyway.

For once, I didn't stick around to catch up on work—I just left.

Barely made it through my meal before the higher-ups started blowing up my phone.

In the work group chat, my department head—Winnie Dunn—blasted me directly:

[@Rina Ralph, get to my office. Now.]

I didn't rush.

Waited till the last possible minute before heading back in.

Aside from Winnie, a few other department heads were already there—like they were gearing up for a full-on public trial.

When I walked in all calm, Winnie smacked her hand on the table.

"Rina, I've gotten multiple complaints about you today. What do you have to say for yourself?"

I sat down slow, didn't say a word yet.

Didn't get the chance anyway—Bella jumped in fast. "Ms. Dunn, just look at her attitude. She doesn't respect you at all!"

Winnie's voice spiked, practically yelling. "Rina, show some respect! Stop acting like you own the place just 'cause you've been here longer!"

I just smiled, quiet.

Back when the company had, like, twelve people, I was already the finance supervisor.

Now, with thousands on the payroll? Still the same title.

Carrying risk almost like I was the legal rep, but getting paid like a janitor.

I figured as the company grew, I'd move up—or at least see a raise.

Instead, they dropped Winnie in as the new finance head.

The boss's wife.

Didn't have much choice but to suck it up.

Day one, she handed me a reimbursement form—for a brand-new LV handbag.

Like it was no big deal.

"What's with that look?" she said. "The company belongs to my husband. He told me to manage the money, so I'm using OUR money to buy a bag. Totally reasonable."

I forced a smile. "It's a large amount. We need a receipt."

She was doing her lipstick in the mirror and blinked at me like I was speaking another language.

"What's a receipt? Can't you figure it out yourself?"

Then she waved me off. "You're the expert, right? Why are you bugging me with this? You're useless!"

With a superior like Winnie, there was no way I could even pretend to respect her.

Of course, Winnie's ambush had the full cheer squad—every department head.

Peter Lawson from Sales jumped in, all smug and fired up. "Rina, I've been meaning to talk to you. Times have changed, but you're still stuck in the Stone Age with those rules. You're always making things hard for my team. Did you hit your head or something?"

I shot him a cold look. "A hard time? Mr. Lawson, you mean when your team signed a $10K contract but tried to claim $40K in entertainment?

"Spent $60K on gifts for a client's execs, then asked for a $20K bonus—which I rejected?

"Or when you wanted me to issue $200K in fake invoices and I said no?"

"You—" Peter jabbed a finger at me, face went beet red. Guy was two seconds from blowing a gasket.

"You finance people live off the money we bring in! I'm the top seller! You're just support—who the hell gave you the right to talk back?"