Incredible Michael Ventura

Fired

Chapter 3: fired

"Look! That guy is waking up," a gruff voice woke him up.

Michael opened his eyes to see two unfamiliar faces looming over him. They looked homeless and destitute. 

He realized he had been lying on the concrete in a dark alley, just beneath a large dumpster. Immediately, a wave of nausea hit him and his pounded like a hammer.

As he sat up, the men backed away, leaving Michael confused and disoriented. Nausea hit him like a wave, and he wondered," what had happened?"

He took a deep breath and tried to sit up, his hand instinctively went to his neck, where the necklace his family had passed down to him was supposed to be. 

He had a nightmare that it has somehow slipped into his body and disappeared.

He searched the garbage pile, hoping to find it, but it wasn't there. Michael's heart sank as he realized that his last link to his family was now lost.

As he stood up, he realized that he didn't feel any pain, though he knew he had taken a severe beating. He must have passed out. 

He remembered getting cuts and bruises, but there were no marks on his body. HIs nausea also disappeared momentarily and he felt healtheir than ever.

He wandered out of the alley and into the street, looking for some sort of help. He wasn't sure who to turn to, but then he remembered an old friend from college who lived nearby a middle class guy, James. 

Once there ,he Freshens up, wears borrowed clothes.

James also gave him some ointment to apply on his bruises and cuts. He was really nice.

As he walked in, his former colleagues especially women snickered and made fun of his tattered clothes. He was wearing an old pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt that James used to wear.

The floor super directed him towards the janitor closet where the cleaning supplies were kept.

"I want everything squeaky clean. Even the toilets should shine. Or next time you're cleaning the sewers." 

Michael began mopping the corridor. People passed him and fired looks of disgust.

"Looks like you were always meant to be a janitor," Jayna, a pretty blonde with pretty legs and generous curves.

"Who let the hobo in?" Betty. A very haughty redhead who used to always laugh at him 

"Did you get lost on your way to the Salvation Army?" A third chimed in.

Michael tried to ignore their comments and focused on his work. But the insults continued .

"If homeless chic is in, then Michael is definitely leading the trend," Betty added.

"Hey Michael, did you steal that outfit from one of the homeless people you defrauded?" Bella a sexy and seductive blonde, the most beautiful in the office snickered.

"At least they have an excuse for looking ragged," Jayna added.

The women in the office giggled and whispered to each other behind Michael's back, making him feel even more humiliated.

"I heard that he stole money and other important things from the president's son's Ryan office. Can't trust people with sticky fingers," Betty chimed in again.

"And let's not forget he got his ass kicked trying to break into Ryan's house he got beat up. Talk about dumb and desperate," a man laughed.

The insults continued and Michael could feel the humiliation growing inside him. He knew he was poor, but he didn't deserve to be treated this way. He tried to focus on his work and block out the snide comments, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.

Michael sighed as he continued wiping down the table, trying not to let the insults get to him. "I'll show them," he thought to himself. "I'll work harder than anyone here and make something of myself."

As Michael was scrubbing the floor of the office, trying to keep his mind off of the insults.

Someone suddenly entered the room and looked at him with disdain. "You know what? You're expected in the conference office. Don't be late, floor boy."

The girls giggled as Michael laid down the mop, wiped his hands, and left the room with a pounding heart. He had no idea what was waiting for him in the conference office.

 He could tell there was something off about the way he was being summoned.

Was he being reinstated? Had they finally found him innocent? 

Finally, he will be cleared of all charges and reinstated. Hope filled his heart and he entered the room with raised spirits.

When he reached the conference office, Michael saw John , Ryan, Samantha, his other former colleagues and the head of security waiting for him. They had wicked smiles animating their faces. Michael's heart sank as a sense of foreboding gripped him. He had walked into another trap.

"You've outdone yourself this time, Michael! To think you'd rob us in broad daylight! How far you've fallen, you wretch!" John shouted at him.

" I ..." He tried to speak but was cut off.

" You stole gold bonds of the company , in the amount of 1 million dollars you bastard! And you also stole my son Ryan's important documents."

Michael's mind raced. He certainly hadn't stolen anything. But he knew he didn't have anything to prove his innocence.

"I swear, I haven't taken anything. I ...," Michael stammered.

"Unfortunately, we have proof that suggests otherwise," the head of security added coldly. Michael felt as if he had been punched in the stomach.

"We have evidence that your login card went missing and was used to access the company vaults," the head of security continued. "It was swiped from the locker room just before the bonds went missing."

Michael's mind raced as he tried to remember where he had left his login card. He couldn't remember if he had returned it to his locker or not.

"But that doesn't mean I took the bonds," he protested desperately.

"Unfortunately, it does," the head of security replied. "You were the only one who had access to the vault at the time the bonds went missing. And now we have proof that your login card was used to gain access."

"But I didn't take them, I swear!" Michael protested, feeling trapped and helpless.

"Then where are the bonds, Michael?" the head of security asked pointedly.

Michael had no answer. He had no way to prove his innocence. 

"Sir, I don't know what to say," he began. 

"Sir... Someone has set me up.. It's Ryan... He's trying to sabotage me!"

"You peasant! You dare accuse my son of stealing from my company? Enough with your lies!" John was now furious.

He tried to defend himself but no one believed him, and he was mocked and threatened. Ryan and Samantha, were laughing at him. "You're a fraud, Michael. You deserve to be fired," Samantha said, a cruel smirk on her face.

Michael's heart sank as Samantha flashed a diamond engagement ring on her finger. "You're engaged?" he asked, his voice breaking.

"Yes, I am," Samantha said, still smirking. "And Ryan had the honor of proposing to me. Looks like you missed out, Michael."

Ryan chuckled and added, "Yep, sorry buddy, but Samantha is taken now. And you were never good enough for her anyway."

"I really regret my choice to hire a poor guy like you in this company, poor people always get in trouble." John said, his voice firm. .

"Looks like Michael finally got what he deserved," he heard one of them say.

Michael felt a wave of humiliation wash over him. He knew what they had always thought of him - that he was a poor, helpless nobody who could never be trusted. As the tears welled up in his eyes, he knew that he had lost everything.

"He probably can't even afford to pay rent now," one of his colleagues snickered.

"I heard he is now homeless," another added.

"Effective immediately, you're fired Michael! " John said his tone firm and without appeal.

His heart sank as he listened to John's words. Being fired means, he loses all his deposits with the company, he will be blacklisted from all management jobs.

He felt like he had been punched in the gut. He had worked at the company for two years, and now it was all over because of a false accusation

"Sir, please," he pleaded. "Please, sir, give me one more chance," he pleaded.

"You had countless opportunities, Michael," John's voice boomed through the room. "Opportunities to redeem yourself, but you chose to squander them all."

Suddenly, two burly security guards burst into the room and grabbed Michael by the arms, their grip firm and unforgiving. Michael struggled and tried to break free, but it was no use. The guards lifted him up and dragged him out of the room as he kicked and screamed. 

"This decision is final," John repeated, his eyes cold as ice. "And don't bother coming back."