“My 78-Year-Old Boss Took Me to a Park and Said, ‘As of Today, You No Longer Work for Me.’ I Froze, Thinking He Was Firing Me After Years of Loyalty… Then He Offered to Keep Me Only on One Condition. What He Said Made Me Walk Away in Tears.”

Maybe I could fix whatever was wrong.

“What condition?”

He looked directly at me.

“If you want to stay, starting tomorrow, you will no longer work for me for a salary.”

I stared at him.

For a moment, the sentence didn’t make sense.

“I’m sorry?”

“You heard me.”

“You want me to work without a salary?”

Richard said nothing.

And unfortunately, his silence gave my frightened mind exactly the answer it expected.

Something inside me broke.

Seven years.

Seven years of staying late.

Seven years of answering calls outside office hours.

Seven years of solving emergencies.

Seven years of loyalty.

I thought about all the times I had defended Richard when other employees called him cold.

I had always believed there was kindness beneath that intimidating exterior.

Now I felt foolish.

My eyes filled with tears.

“I thought you were a different kind of man.”

Richard’s expression changed.

“Emily—”

“No.”