I Sleep To Earn, I Rejected His All-Nighter

Chapter 2 The Showdown

As the door to Conference Room A swung shut behind me, I noticed it was nearly 6 PM outside.

The sunset cast a brilliant palette of gold and crimson across the sky, while the projection screen blazed brightly in the dim room. Over 30 pages of roadshow materials lay scattered across the table, alongside my laptop, tangled data cables, and a cup of coffee, all strewn out like a chaotic workspace.

The conference room felt more like a cage designed just for me.

Mary burst in right after me. "Ms. York, you can't let Scarlett stay up! If she misses her sleep window, she won't be able to recover!"

Jenny continued flipping through the documents, barely looking up. "If she can't recover, then she shouldn't sleep."

Mary's anxiety skyrocketed. "You have no clue what might happen!"

Finally, Jenny glanced up. "What's going to happen? The company won't open tomorrow? The world will stop turning? Or if she skips one night of sleep, Starlight Waves will collapse?"

A few people in the conference room suppressed their laughter.

She slid a cup of iced Americano toward me. "Well, today I'm eager to find out who really can't handle it."

I stared at the coffee, a shiver running down my spine.

Mary's complexion turned ashen. "She can't have caffeine!"

"Quite a few issues, huh?" Jenny crossed her arms and stood tall, addressing the onlookers outside. "Listen up, effective immediately, Starlight Waves has no special roles and no sleep KPIs. Anyone trying to use Mr. Scott's name to gain special treatment is undermining the company's IPO goals."

Several new employees quickly chimed in.

"It's about time!"

"We're all just workers. Why should she get to sleep while we have to hustle?"

"With the company going public, we can't let someone like her hold us back."

Mary frantically reached for her phone. "I'm calling Mr. Scott. I need to call him right now."

Jenny's expression hardened as she strode over, snatching the phone from Mary's grasp. "During work hours, who authorized you to contact Mr. Scott without permission?"

"Give it back!" Mary lunged to retrieve it, but two security guards immediately stepped in her way.

The corridor outside the conference room was in disarray. Liam Lawson and the head of legal arrived just in time. As soon as they stepped inside and spotted me at the computer, their expressions shifted dramatically.

"Jenny, you need to stop this right now," Liam nearly yelled. "Scarlett has to return to her break room tonight."

Jenny turned to face him. "Mr. Lawson, I respect your experience, but you need to respect my role. I'm leading the IPO project. I'm the one in charge of the roadshow materials."

Liam's anger was palpable as he took a step closer. "Do you even realize how many projects fell apart when she didn't get proper sleep for three days straight two years ago?"

"I only know that a functioning company shouldn't revolve around one employee."

"That's because you don't get it!"

"I don't get it?" Jenny shot back with a smirk. "What I do know is that the biggest parasites in the company often have the loudest complaints."

She turned her attention to me. "Scarlett, are you going to revise this PPT today, or not?"

I looked up at her. "If I finish it, will you let me go back to sleep?"

She chuckled. "You think you can negotiate with me?"

She drummed her fingers on the table. "Finish the work first, then we can discuss anything else."

Liam stepped forward, his tone firm. "I'll say it again. If anyone makes her stay up tonight, I'll be the first to raise it at the board meeting tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me," Jenny retorted, unyielding. "Then you can leave right now."

She waved her hand at the security guards. "Please remove anyone unauthorized. Scarlett will be working on the materials here tonight, and unless I say otherwise, no one is allowed to leave."

As soon as the door shut, Mary's frantic knocking reverberated through the room. "Scarlett, don't overdo it! I'll find a way to get in touch with Mr. Scott!"

I focused on the cluttered charts on the screen, a buzzing noise filling my ears.

The clock ticked to 6:20 PM. I had just two hours and forty minutes until I usually began winding down for sleep.

Jenny settled into her seat at the head of the table, her voice flat and emotionless. "The logic on page seven is too weak. The case study on page twelve is outdated. The valuation on page nineteen lacks aggression."

She pushed the documents toward me. "Let's get to work."