Dismissal

Chapter 1 Dismissal

"Mr. Jones, I regret to inform you that you have been fired."

In a small conference room, there was a long, curved wooden table. Ethan Jones had his back to the glass partition covered by blinds, while a man and a woman in suits sat in front of him.

The blonde woman who spoke looked apologetic, but her emerald green eyes were devoid of any emotion.

Ethan Jones nodded, accepting the fact. "Okay, I understand."

"Then, what about compensation?" he asked.

"Compensation?" The blonde woman raised her slender eyebrows.

He turned to look at his companion, and the man next to him immediately burst out laughing.

He tapped his index finger on the table, making a "thump thump thump" sound.

At the same time, he raised his voice, "Mr. Jones, I think you may not understand the situation." The man shook the documents in his hand and said, "The reason we are firing you is because you have caused the company huge financial losses."

"On the eve of our company's Odyssey new product launch, you sent an invitation to Nolan Bushnell. This act directly resulted in him plagiarizing our company's work, causing us to lose the market that should have belonged to us. Under these circumstances, the company is already being merciful by not pursuing your responsibility, and yet you still want compensation?"

"Do you think this is Washington, D.C.? I have a dream?"

The slightly teasing tone made Ethan Jones smile.

"Okay, okay."

He raised his hands and pressed them down slightly, signaling the other person to calm down.

As he moved, the white sleeves of his shirt peeked out from the cuffs of his suit jacket.

"Sir, I respect your right to speak, but before you open your mouth, please understand one thing."

Ethan Jones laughed and said, "You and I are both employees of this company. The only difference between us is that I'm in the marketing department and you're in the human resources department."

"So, please don't treat this place like your home, okay?"

Ethan Jones stared intently at the man.

The other person's expression changed upon hearing those sarcastic words.

Before the man could react, Ethan Jones had already looked away from him.

He looked at the woman who had spoken first and said, "Since the company has told you to fire me, let's be frank. Although California is an 'at-will' state, meaning any company can terminate the employment relationship with its employees at any time for any reason or no reason at all, that doesn't mean you can fire me arbitrarily."

"I admit that I sent Nolan Bushnell an invitation to our company's new product launch on the eve of the Odyssey product launch, but this was not my decision, but the decision of the company's marketing department. At that time, the core goal of our entire marketing department was simply to promote the company's products to the public."

"The so-called plagiarism was just an accident, an accident that no one wanted to see."

"You cannot use such an excuse to embezzle the compensation I am entitled to."

Ethan Jones spoke calmly, even with a slight smile on his lips.

But his refined and gentle demeanor made the woman who was looking at him purse her lips.

At that moment, she felt that the guy in front of her was extremely difficult to deal with.

As the company's HR, their first task upon arriving at work in the morning was to fire Ethan Jones.

They had assumed it would be an easy job, since Ethan Jones's infamous deeds had been circulating in the company for a long time, only the former boss had been merciful and hadn't bothered him.

But no one expected that when they actually started talking, this guy would be just like those rednecks—stinky and stubborn!

Wait, that's not right!

They're just like those WASPs on the East Coast!

Outwardly polite!

Glancing at her companion, whose angry expression made the woman abandon any thought of communication and say directly, "Oh, Mr. Jones, I understand how you feel right now, and I can even understand your intentions. Everyone has a self-preservation instinct, and when faced with trouble, they will always seek a positive outcome, but that cannot be a reason for you to be unreasonable."

"Does believing you've done nothing wrong truly mean you've done nothing wrong?"

"No, that's not it."

"If the company wants to hold you accountable, there's no way you can escape it..."

"Then just sue me!"

Before the woman could finish speaking, Ethan Jones had already spoken.

"What?"

The blonde woman thought she had misheard.

Ethan Jones, on the other hand, leaned back, spread his hands, and crossed his legs.

His face was filled with mockery. "I said—" he drawled, "Since you keep saying I've caused huge losses to the company, then be concise and sue me in court!"

"Perfect timing! I also want to stand in court and tell the judge about your illegal dismissal!"

"Do you really think I don't know why I was fired? It's just that the company got a new boss."

"Management hopes to quickly generate paper profits for the company by purging long-term employees, in order to demonstrate their value."

"There's nothing wrong with this behavior, or rather, many companies do it, but they won't try to save on employee severance pay like you do, because that's illegal."

"California's employee employment law stipulates that all companies must give employees advance notice before dismissing them and must provide compensation based on the length of their employment. If you want to avoid even these, then I will have no choice but to seek help from the union. I think the workers' union I belong to would love to hear my complaint."

"After all, our company's current boss is..."

"Philips from the Netherlands?"

At this point, Ethan Jones paused, then smiled confidently at the two men.

"At a time when Liben's automotive industry is having a huge impact on America, can I assume that your dismissal of me is a result of a capital invasion orchestrated by Philips of the Netherlands? If not, can you explain your current actions?"

"When I tell the media that I was laid off and won't get compensation, will they think that foreign capital is running rampant? That they don't seem to be prepared to abide by American law? After all, you are blatantly breaking the law now."

"If you still want to deny all of this, then can I interpret this as the company deliberately exploiting and oppressing workers like me?"

"If that's the case, then I'll have to apply for assistance from the American Legal Services firm, which was just established last year. Or do you want me to send a letter to affirmative action organizations in San Francisco to tell them that I'm experiencing discrimination here?"

At this point, Ethan sat up straight, adjusted his suit collar, and continued, "Although I am biologically white, I respect people of all skin colors and their right to speak."

"All men are created equal!"

"..."

The incessant talking caused the man and woman's faces to twitch.

When the declaration that "all men are created equal" was made, the man who had joked about Dr. Kim earlier frowned.

Although Ethan Jones did not vent his anger with shouts, his calm tone was even more frightening.

They stared at Ethan Jones for a long time before finally giving in.

"Okay, okay, okay, Mr. Jones, please calm down. We were just joking with you." The blonde woman brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

He then calculated, "You've worked for the company for three years. According to the company's compensation plan, we will compensate you with four months' salary. Since your weekly wage is eighty dollars, you will receive 1280 dollars..."

"I want the highest standard of 2N+1," Ethan Jones interrupted.

The blonde woman's breath hitched, and after a two-second silence, seeing Ethan Jones's unusual insistence, she finally agreed to the plan.

"Okay, 2N+1, that's seven months' salary, which is $2240."

"And my paycheck for this week," Ethan Jones continued to remind him.

"You won't be shortchanged!"

The man, his face grim, wrote Ethan Jones a note: "Go to the finance department and get a check!"

"Thank you." Ethan Jones smiled and accepted the gift, not minding the other party's rude attitude.

However, as he left the meeting room, he turned back and added, "Sir, there's something I'd like to reiterate."

"This is not your home, and I'm not taking your money."

So, please cheer up.

"Oh! SXXt!" The repeated taunts finally broke the man's temper.

He wanted to start swearing.

"Bang!"

But all he received in response was a tightly shut door.

Staring at the shadow passing through the blinds, the man angrily slammed the documents on the table.

"Hugh! Doesn't he know that our performance reviews save the company so much money?!"

The sharp sound faintly reached Ethan Jones's ears, but he ignored it. Instead, he smiled, nodded to his former colleagues outside, and strode confidently toward the company's finance department.

With the termination notice from the human resources department, I received my compensation.

After that, he left the company directly.

As soon as he stepped outside, he was greeted by the warm California sunshine in April.

The golden light made Ethan Jones squint.

Turning my head to look back, the gate facing away from the east made the company sign, hidden in the shadows, appear very clear.

Magnavox.

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Notes: ① Odyssey: The world's first commercially available home video game console, released in 1972. ② Nolan Bushnell: Founder of Atari, who pioneered the era of electronic arcade games. ③ at-will: At-will employment, where the employer can terminate the employment at will unless there is a contract or other written agreement; the employment relationship between the employer and employee is basically based on their respective free will. ④ American Legal Services Corporation: A national legal aid organization established by the U.S. Senate. ⑤ Magnavox: Milrova, an American electronics company that released the world's first commercially available home video game console. Aside from the console itself, it was also a very successful company, on par with Polaroid in the 1960s.

(End of this chapter)