Together, management resolved to solve the problem. -- Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
A Modern Retelling of "Cain and Abel"
At Mason Global Industries — the kind of company with glossy mission statements no one reads and enough middle managers to staff a football team — two employees were given high-profile projects.
Art Jenson was meticulous. He lived in spreadsheets, sketchpads, and whiteboards. When his project launched, it was a masterpiece. Co-workers were impressed, his General Manager sent glowing praise, and the results spoke for themselves.
Caleb Johnson? His project was… fine. It worked, technically, but lacked spark. The kind of thing that barely earned a thumbs-up emoji in the group chat. Still, Caleb bragged endlessly, telling anyone within earshot that his project was "game-changing" and "next-level."
Art stayed quiet, waiting for the next assignment. Caleb, simmering with jealousy, decided if he couldn't shine, he would make sure Art didn't either.
Little by little, he undermined Art's work. He spread rumors, questioned data, slipped "errors" into reports, and made sure every flaw was exaggerated in meetings. Within months, Art's shining reputation looked tarnished. HR called him in on Friday afternoon with the dreaded phrase: "This just isn't working out."
Art was fired. Caleb was thrilled. With Art gone, he coasted, turning in his usual lackluster projects, bragging all the way to his next paycheck.
But fate, like a nosy auditor, wasn't done.
Months later, CEO Mark Mason stumbled across Art's original project while reviewing old files. Impressed, he called his VP. "Find this Jenson guy — I want him on my team."
The VP asked the Director. The Director asked the General Manager. The GM checked with HR. And the trail ended in confusion. "He was fired."
"What? Fired? For this work?" The CEO was livid. A meeting was called. VP, Director, GM, and HR sat around the boardroom table, dreading what was coming.
Mark entered the boardroom. The angry look on his face, you could feel the steam coming out of his ears, told the story. He slammed the table. "Something is not right. Review every process from this project until now."
An extensive review of past projects revealed the truth: Caleb had been sabotaging Art from the inside. His fingerprints were all over the mess.
The verdict came fast. Caleb was fired. Worse, legal got involved — potential fraud charges, references blacklisted. His career in that industry was over.
CEO Mark Mason was still livid. He called all of his management teams from all divisions. Mark went over all the details of the Caleb discoveries. Management teams from other divisions were appalled at this discussion. A new directive was instigated. All management teams were to work together and produce protocols to prevent this from happening again.
The Art Jenson Protocol was born.
They never found Art.
Caleb walked out with a box of half-used office supplies and a LinkedIn post about "new opportunities." No Instagram pics or Facebook posts were made that day.
On a cloudy day, with a light rain falling, Barista Caleb thought of his future. He did not see an exciting future.
It was quiet in the Coffee Hub when a tall, beautiful redhead walked in. They both looked at each other and smiled. A chill, unlike anything Caleb had ever experienced before, shimmered through him. She ordered a Carmel Frap. Caleb could not understand why he was shaking so hard while preparing a drink he had done many times before. His nervousness got the best of him; he sprayed the whipped cream all over himself. He looked up at her in a state of panic. She smiled, handed him a stack of napkins, and laughed, "I don't think that is where it is supposed to go".
Caleb's future took an unexpected, yet wonderful turn that day…
Based on Genesis 4:1-17
Synopsis:
In the story of Cain and Abel, Cain's jealousy leads him to destroy his brother — and himself. This retelling swaps violence for sabotage, showing how envy corrupts and leaves a legacy of loss. Integrity matters more than ego.
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