"Not a single person in this department believed in this project. I wrote the proposal alone. I coordinated with every agency alone. I drafted every design and drew every blueprint alone. And now that we're about to sign, you hand it to someone else? How is that fair?"
"Ronnie," he said, switching to that patronizing, fatherly tone. "I'll admit you contributed to this project. But let's be honest, it was the company's platform that made it possible. On your own, you couldn't have gotten past the front gate at Cloudridge."
He looked at me, his eyes carrying the weight of a lecture he clearly enjoyed giving.
"You came here straight out of school. All these years, without the company investing in you, would you even have a salary? A design fee? People shouldn't forget where they came from. Show some gratitude."
"Gratitude?"
I laughed. Not because anything was funny.
"My second year here, the company landed a rush project right before the holidays. Everyone left. On New Year's Eve, I was the only person in this entire building, revising design drafts alone. After the contract was signed, you didn't mention my name once at the meeting. No design fee. No overtime pay."