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Working at Maximum Self has always been fun. An app that lets you connect with and talk to other versions of yourself throughout the multiverse? How did nobody think of it sooner?

Well, actually, it was thought of infinite times by infinite people. The company was founded a few billion times - We all joined together to form a mega-company and shared the profits. There's a reason that the Multiversal Councils are trying to mandate how money is allowed to be shared between universes; Infinity means infinite money, which wraps around to no money. But it's hard for them to come to a decision when they have an uncountable amount of members voting for endless choices... You know what, let's stop the political talk. The parties always draw with infinite votes each anyway.

Last week, we got a new boss after the old one stepped down. It was another me. I wasn't surprised - All of my bosses have been me. It's a game of ego, really. Who is going to set their replacement as anyone other than themselves? This company has had a long, long line of Max's, since the very beginning. But this Max is different. This Max is an asshole.

He got us all to install software that clocks us in and out when we boot up and shut down our PC. This means that when the internet goes, so does our paycheck. 3 minutes offline? Say goodbye to that day's money. We'd take him to court if the legal system wasn't in shambles right now. Multiversal travel has been a blessing and a curse. From miracles that you can't imagine, to horrors you can't comprehend. Infinity means everything; The good and the bad.

I decided to use the app to my advantage. I came up with an incredible plan: Use the app to find another Max in the same situation, and steal their plan. I spent hours swiping through other versions of myself. Max after Max after Max. Somewhere out there, there just had to be another me who had dealt with another asshole-me. Eventually, I found it. B-73812. His name was Max (unsurprisingly), and he had dealt with a very similar situation. He had hired a photographer for his wedding who turned out to be himself. His photos were terrible yet he demanded payment. Our stories were different, yet shared a common goal: We both wanted to take revenge to the Max.

I asked him if he had a plan. I was delighted when he said he did.

"I have an incredible plan: Use the app to find another Max in the same situation..."

🤣 nice!

I'm such a jerk.

Not me. Me.

You know, the other me. My Boss.

Just because he's in a higher position he thinks he can be rude.

He thinks he's better than everyone, and he does badically nothing.

All the work in this damn company depends on me and my team.

But he always get the credits.

Hours and hours of overwork, just for him to complain and send us more work.

I hate that guy.

I wonder what a shitty life that version of me had to turn out as horrible as him.

Shitty life, shitty company, shitty person.

But oh well, work has to be done, after all. Someone has to get the job done.

I'll send this to that other little jerk on my team. He never gets the job done right.

Not only that, but he's always so slow. He can't ever finish anything on time.

I wonder what happened with that version of me that made him so incompetent.

[Reflective Rhapsody]

Dean was surprised to find an unknown teenager in his kitchen. He walked in to start the coffee on his way to his computer. He switched on the light and jumped when he saw her. She had long, straight, snow-white hair and her eyes glowed with faint red energy.

"Good afternoon, Dean," she said. "My name's Rhapsody, from Sharp Development," she pointed at the red pair of scissors stitched onto the front of her white blazer. That put him at ease as far as having a stranger in his kitchen. He didn't know why she was there; but, he hoped it was because of the complaint he filed.

"Hi," he nodded at her. He continued to the counter to switch the coffee maker on, then he sat down at the small, two-person kitchen table. Dean lived alone and he was happy for it. He had an ex that disappeared as soon as the multiverse was discovered. In the back of his mind, he joked that she couldn't get far away enough from him; but, he didn't feel bad about it. Now, he was free to do things he always wanted to do without someone else always chattering away or trying to hang on his arm. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

"You submitted a complaint regarding your supervisor, Daniel. I'm here because of that," she said.

"Great, I'm glad somebody's doing their job," he nodded, then chuckled. "It sure as hell ain't Daniel."

"What leads you to believe he's not doing his job?" Rhapsody asked.

"Every time I see him, he's just gossiping and hanging around. I never see him do any work; but, he always expects mine to be on time?" Dean chuckled.

"I see," Rhapsody nodded. "That was all listed in the complaint, do you have any other evidence to report?"

"Yeah, he's always singling me out!" Dean said. His voice changed to a lower, mocking tone. "Dean was late today, so we all gotta work a little harder. Dean's report had some of the numbers in the wrong place, so we're a little behind today," he mimicked his boss. "He even pulled me into his office and told me 'I could be doing better'. What an ass!"

"Okay, I've got it," Rhapsody nodded. "I'm sorry to tell you that you're not Sharp Development material, Dean. We're letting you go."

"What!?" Dean jumped to his feet and stared down at the shorter girl. "What do mean? That asshole is the one not doing his job!"

"Just because you don't know what his job is doesn't mean he's not doing it," she said.

"Huh?" Dean asked. Rhapsody nodded.

"If you paid more attention, you'd have realized that 'every time you see him' is on a schedule. It's his job to check in with the employees; that's why you see him chatting. And that's the only time you see him, correct? He's working the rest of the time."

"He's always picking on me!" Dean replied.

"If that were the case," Rhapsody giggled. "It's not necessarily against company policy. But, all communications are monitored by Sharp Development. We've seen no evidence of bullying; he's only trying to get you to do your job better. Something you've proven incapable of," she smiled.

"I can do better!" This was the best job Dean ever had. He hadn't realized he was close to messing it up.

"Oh, can you? Starting when?" She asked.

"Today! I'll do better today!" Dean hoped that a company that was stretched across the multiverse would operate better than the corrupt corporations on his own Earth. But, they were obviously exactly the same; protecting their favorite workers. It was a pain; but, he could work around it.

"Well, if that's the case, you're still fired," she replied. "You're already late for work today."

"Because of you!" He didn't hesitate to shift the blame. It was entirely her fault that he hadn't gotten to the computer to log in yet. "I came in to turn on the coffee maker and I've been talking to you ever since!"

"It's been close to five minutes already; it's not that long," she said.

"Long enough to be late!" Dean replied.

"Technically, yes," Rhapsody nodded as a black portal opened in the air next to her. "But, not when it's 12:30 and you were supposed to be logged in at 12:00," she grinned. "You won't be able to log in to our servers anymore," she said. She turned and walked into the hole. "Feel free to apply again when you get over thinking everyone else is the asshole."

***

Thank you for reading! I’m responding to prompts every day. This is story #1896 in a row. (Story #086 in year six.). This story is part of an ongoing saga that takes place at a high school in my universe. It began on August 22nd and I will be adding to it with prompts every day until May 26th. They are all collected in order at this link.

My boss is an asshole—bossy and domineering. My boss is unfair, overly critical. Nothing is ever good enough for my boss. My boss never cuts me slack; my boss is more gentle with my co-workers than he is with me. My boss is more kind to my co-workers than he is to me.

My boss is discriminatory.

My boss doesn’t like me—I don’t like my boss. Why would I? My boss has unattainable expectations. My boss demands too much. My boss is easily disappointed. My boss is punitive bordering on cruel.

My boss is cruel.

My boss tells me that I’m not good enough—I try to ignore him. My boss knows my insecurities, my boss leverages my insecurities against me. My boss sabotages my success. My boss tells me that no one likes me.

My boss knows that no one likes me.

My boss doesn’t let me rest—I work day and night. My boss doesn’t believe in PTO, my boss doesn’t believe in sick days. My boss takes no time off, why should I? My boss wants me to always be online, my boss wants me to always be connected. My boss believes that hard work builds character. My boss tears me down to build me back up.

My boss forgets to build me back up.

My boss thinks I’m a loser—I think my boss is right. My boss says I should quit, I’ll never be good enough for my boss. My pushes me past my limits. My boss knows my limits. My boss knows I will not find success.

My boss knows my potential.

I tried to quit—to find a new job. My boss found me instead. My boss is relentless, my boss doesn’t sleep. My boss will always find me, my boss will always know me, my boss will always own me.

My boss will always be me.

r/InMyLife42Archive

Anyone who is intrigued by this prompt will absolutely love this short story by Ted Chiang:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety_Is_the_Dizziness_of_Freedom?wprov=sfti1

Holy shit. Holy SHIT. Bravo. Wow. I'm in shock that you just did that. Genuinely amazing from start to finish.

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