Angry
The events of the past few minutes disgusted Alex as he left HR's office. Insinuating that he was about to leave the woman inside heavily insinuated that he was about to leave.
Nonetheless, the company would suffer if it made aimless accusations. If he wanted, he could be picked up by another company a week from now. His absence would never allow them to recover.
Master Idea
An evil plan was being hatched by Alex. His knowledge of the company was unsurpassed by anyone else. In other words, he was able to ensure that things were difficult when he left.
A couple of weeks later, after his plan was put into action, he sent a letter to the HR department's head. A few minutes later, he left the office, and his phone began to ring.
Rebuild
The company was scrambling to pick up the pieces, but Alex wasn't concerned. In spite of the fact that he had worked for the company for 25 years, he knew he wasn't appreciated.
This was the chance he had been waiting for. He smiled and said the unexpected when the HR representative called him frantically, asking for an urgent meeting.
Not My Job
"Sorry, that's not my job; I put my resignation letter on your desk, but you didn't look at it, did you?" He muttered wolfishly. With the company sinking now, he knew he had won.
It was important for them to have him now more than ever before, and they would be doomed without his valuable skills. It's true that he put in extra hours over the last two weeks but for himself alone.
Malintent
The extra hours were not to be devoted to a company that was clearly uncaring; he was doing them to ensure that even after he left, the company would not be the same.
It wasn't his intention to stay for long, but as soon as he left, they begged him to return and fix the mess they had created. They were unable to do anything without Alex.
Hard Work
All that Alex Vladanoy did was infused with blood, sweat, and tears. Everything he was involved in was immaculate because he had a keen eye for detail.
When he was 10, he took apart his dad's record player to learn about technology. It gave him the opportunity to start a career that kept him in high demand for years to come.
Done At Last
With close ties to Eastern Europe, Alex wasn't hired as a qualified engineer because of his roots in the 1980s.
Because no American employer would hire an engineer with a Slavic accent during the Cold War, he found meager jobs repairing radios. There was a decade of hardship for the Polish engineer, but things looked up in the end.
Ideal Workplace
Having worked at jobs below him for a decade, he finally got the job of his dreams. A tech company hired him as head engineer in 1996, when the Cold War was finally over.
As a result, he became a flourishing professional, making sure security systems worked correctly and contracting work in big building projects. There would be times when things wouldn't be as great as they are now.
Advanced Age
The present-day finds Alex showing signs of aging. The man had now reached the age of 63. Although his body disagreed, with 27 years to master his craft, he still felt he was at the peak of his abilities.
As a result, he traded in his young, fit body for an old, aching one. The experience he had, however, is one that few will ever have the opportunity to experience.
Man In Charge
A wise and perceptive man began seeing things differently at that point. It began to go downhill for the once-loved company he once worked for.
Having been sold to a new CEO, things had changed. There was no respect shown to the veteran workers at the company by the new CEO.
HR
One day, while going about his business, Alex 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.
Vivian
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 Vivian, 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… Vlad." 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. Alex 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. Alex 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 Alex 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 Alex. 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 Alex 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
Alex 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 managed to get everything he could done in the two weeks of overtime.
It was laborious but was well worth it for the message it would bring.
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 Alex 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.
Vivian was working at her desk when Alex 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
Alex 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 Alex 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. Alex 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 Alex 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 Vivian 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, Alex could breathe easy and move on to nicer pastures.
Finding A Better Place
Within a week, Alex 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.