Chapter 33
4/5
33 Rules Are Rules
33 Rules Are Rules
Right now, Ruby just thought it was such a waste.
* Free Come
Troy had been a useful piece on the board, and she hadn’t even gotten the chance to play him properly before losing him.
“Fine. I’ll allow it. Head to HR and wrap up your paperwork.”
Even though Ruby hated it, she had to act decisive in front of everyone.
Still, even if Troy was leaving, there was no way she’d let Alice take his spot as IT director.
She needed someone loyal–someone she could control.
Right then, Alice suddenly spoke up, sounding genuinely surprised.
“Wait, are you serious? I was just joking earlier. You’re actually letting him go?”
Ruby was furious.
Alice kept going.
“Sure, he did throw some wild accusations at me, and yeah, he might not be the best at his job, but the guy’s been around here forever. He’s worked hard, Ms. Randall. You’re just letting him go like that?”
She let out a sigh and said with a hint of sadness,
“Poor Mr. Hayden … he must be crushed.
Troy hadn’t thought much about any of it at first, still caught up in his own anger.
But after hearing Alice’s words, he turned to Ruby with a confused look.
Ruby’s face went stiff.
Just a little while ago, she was all soft and trying to keep him from quitting, but Alice didn’t buy it .
And now, because of that dramatic fainting episode, the whole thing had blown up in public.
If she tried to stop him from leaving now, people would definitely start talking.
1/5
33 Rules Are Rules
She didn’t see this coming–Alice had flipped the situation on her so fast.
Then she glanced at Troy’s gloomy face and realized… he’d totally misunderstood her intentions.
But now that she had said it out loud, as the company’s CEO, she couldn’t take it back .
Since she’d accepted Troy’s resignation, he had no choice but to step down.
Clenching her jaw, she forced herself to sound firm.
“Those are the company rules.”
Then she turned to Alice with a warning.
“Alice, I know you’re new here and still learning the ropes. But don’t forget–rules are rules . If you break them, I won’t be cutting you any slack.”
Alice gave her a bright smile and a thumbs–up.
“Ms. Randall, putting the rules before your personal feelings–what an inspiration. Truly impressive.”
Ruby had to hold back the urge to explode at the sarcasm.
She turned sharply to Troy and said in a frosty tone, “Mr. Hayden, follow me to my office.”
Troy was boiling inside, and after actually passing out earlier, he was still feeling lightheaded.
But no matter how bitter he felt, Ruby was still his boss–the one who helped him rise. If she called, he had to go.
Once he left, the office quickly went back to normal.
Alice smiled as she looked at the group still gathered around the doorway.
“Pretty sure crowding the hallway like this breaks company policy.”
Everyone froze for a second, then scrambled away like birds being chased.
It was a strict rule–no group gatherings.
Ruby had been too angry to care earlier, but if she cooled off and remembered, they’d be in trouble.
33 Rules Are Rules
Soon, the only ones left were Eric and Daniel.
Daniel looked a little awkward and gave Alice a quick wave. “Mrs. Nolan…”
“Don’t call me that at the office,” Alice said flatly, clearly annoyed by the nickname.
Daniel scratched his head. “Ms. Spencer, you really crushed it back there.”
Alice just waved it off. “I just told the truth. That’s all.”
Daniel thought, almost gave Ruby a heart attack , and she says it was nothing ?
Back when Eric and Oscar were unconscious, Ruby basically ran the whole place.
Nobody dared to challenge her.
“Mr. Eric, don’t you have work to do?”
Alice glanced over at Eric, who was chilling in his wheelchair like he had all the time in the world. She had to bite her lip.
The difference between them was wild.
She was being tossed around with random jobs in the IT department, and Eric? He had time to sit back and watch the chaos.
The favoritism was clear.
Eric lightly tapped the armrest of his wheelchair.
“Let me give you a heads–up–she’s not done with this.”
He hesitated for a moment, then added an explanation, just in case Alice hadn’t caught on.
“She always gets her payback. So watch yourself.”
Then he hit a button on his wheelchair and rolled away.
Alice just shrugged. She already knew what kind of person Ruby was – someone who never backed down.
What a coincidence.
She just happened to be the type that made people want to back off.
133208
33 Rules Are Rules
CEO’s office.
Troy sat slouched with his head down, looking completely defeated.
Ruby slammed her palm on the desk, clearly fuming.
“Do you see what you’ve done? I told you to deal with Alice, not hand her the upper hand !
“Completely useless!”
Troy felt completely blindsided.
“Ms. Randall, I admit I made a mistake, but you never told me Alice was some kind of tech genius!”
If he’d known what she was capable of, he would’ve been way more cautious.
There’s no way he’d have messed up this bad.
Ruby let out a cold snort, clearly furious.
But despite her anger, she stayed level–headed.
Deep inside, she knew this whole mess wasn’t entirely Troy’s fault.