Chapter 1 CELEBRATED
CHAPTER ONE: CELEBRATED
“And the Best HR Leader in the World goes to…”
The drums began rolling.
A few seconds of suspense passed before the announcer finally shouted—
“GODRIC MELENDEZ!!”
The crowd erupted.
Cheers filled the ballroom. Some people stood immediately while others followed, clapping and shouting as Godric slowly rose from his chair. For a moment, he just stood there, taking it all in.
He looked at Star.
She was already smiling at him.
Godric smiled back, shook his head slightly, and then began walking toward the stage.
He had received awards before. He had been recognized by companies, professional organizations, and HR groups from different parts of the world. But this one felt different.
Best HR Leader for 2026.
The words were printed on the trophy and the plaque that were waiting for him on stage.
As Godric reached the stairs, several of the most prestigious personalities in the HR industry approached him. Hands were shaken. Congratulations were exchanged. Photographers surrounded him, their cameras flashing continuously.
One picture.
Another.
Then another.
Godric smiled, posed, shook another hand, and accepted another congratulations.
For a man who had spent most of his career working behind the scenes, he suddenly found himself at the center of everyone’s attention.
The award was finally placed in his hands.
He looked down at it.
For a few seconds, he said nothing.
The host handed him the microphone.
Godric took a deep breath.
“Thank you,” he began.
The room slowly became quiet.
“Thank you to all those who support me and believe in what I do.”
He paused.
“Thank you to my family, especially my wife, for always understanding the sacrifices that come with this kind of work.”
His eyes moved toward Star.
She smiled.
Godric looked back at the audience.
“And thank you to myself…”
The crowd laughed.
Godric smiled, but his eyes were already beginning to water.
A tear slowly rolled down his cheek.
“No, seriously,” he continued. “Thank you to myself for pushing what I always believed was right for the people. Not only for the people I work with, but for employees everywhere.”
He wiped his cheek with his hand.
“It is you who makes companies rich. It is you who makes things happen. It is you who keeps businesses alive.”
He raised the trophy slightly.
“In business, three things matter…”
The crowd listened.
“Product.”
He raised one finger.
“Process.”
A second finger.
“And People.”
He stopped.
“The most vital is…”
Godric pointed the microphone toward the crowd.
The entire ballroom shouted—
“PEOPLE!!!”
The room exploded again.
Cheers. Claps. Whistles. A standing ovation.
Godric laughed as he looked around.
This was the part he loved.
Not the trophy.
Not the cameras.
Not even the recognition.
It was the reminder that people mattered.
That had always been his philosophy.
People first.
Godric took several more photographs before finally walking back toward his table.
Star stood as he approached.
He leaned down and kissed her.
She kissed him back.
“You deserved it,” she whispered.
Godric smiled.
“I know.”
Star laughed.
“You’re becoming arrogant.”
“I’ve been arrogant for years. You just noticed.”
They both laughed.
Godric took a picture of his trophy and plaque and immediately sent it to the company group chat of Great Deals Financing International.
Within seconds, reactions started appearing.
Heart emojis.
Congratulations.
Clapping emojis.
Messages from employees.
Congratulations, Sir God!
Well deserved!
Our HR Boss!
Godric smiled as he scrolled through them.
At almost the same time, the company’s Chief of Business Development, Bryan Jenson, posted pictures from the event on the company’s official pages.
The comments began pouring in.
Godric’s phone continued to vibrate.
He ignored it.
For once, he wanted to enjoy the moment.
The program eventually ended, but the night wasn’t over. People continued approaching him for pictures. Even some of the award presenters wanted photographs with him.
Godric obliged.
One picture.
Two pictures.
Ten pictures.
Twenty.
Then his phone began beeping repeatedly.
He finally looked at it.
The notifications weren’t coming from the group chat.
They were from one person.
Precilla Patrick.
The owner of GDFI.
Godric opened the messages.
The first one read:
How are you, Mr. Best HR?
Then another.
Any update on the funds I asked for?
Another.
The ones I asked for two weeks ago??
Then—
What an inefficient process!!
And finally—
You call yourself Best HR??!??!
Godric stared at the screen.
His smile disappeared.
Of all the days.
Of all the possible moments.
Today.
The day he had just been recognized as one of the best HR leaders in the world.
He slowly locked his phone.
Anyone who worked at GDFI knew about Precilla.
And almost everyone who worked with Godric knew about Precilla’s dislike of him.
For reasons Godric had never completely understood, Precilla had always seemed to have a particular problem with him.
She had an unmistakable insecurity around him. She challenged him. Questioned him. Second-guessed him.
And whenever Godric accomplished something, she somehow found a reason to remind him of something he had not accomplished.
For five years, Godric had worked at GDFI as its Chief People Officer.
He had accepted the position after retiring from corporate life in 2021.
At the time, he thought he was finished.
Done.
He had spent decades working.
He had made his money.
He had built his career.
He had raised a family.
He had told himself that the corporate world was behind him.
Then life happened.
Money started to matter again.
And eventually, Godric found himself sitting in an interview room at GDFI.
There were two major interviews.
The first was with the President and Chief Financial Officer, Jake Connor.
The second was with the Chief Executive Officer, Bill Johnson.
Godric remembered the process clearly.
He also remembered that there was one person who did not want him hired.
Precilla.
During the deliberation, she argued that Godric was too expensive.
That was the official reason.
But Godric knew there was more to it.
Precilla had her own circle of HR friends—people who had built careers around coaching, training, consulting, seminars, and various corporate programs.
Godric had nothing against consultants.
What he had a problem with was people who read something on Google on Monday and tried to implement it in a company on Tuesday.
Godric had spent years in the real world.
He had dealt with employees.
Managers.
Executives.
Unions.
Layoffs.
Salary structures.
Promotions.
Conflicts.
Resignations.
People crying inside his office.
People screaming inside his office.
People threatening to resign and then coming back two days later asking for another chance.
He understood that HR wasn’t simply about theories.
It was about people.
Real people.
Real problems.
Real consequences.
And eventually, despite Precilla’s objections, Godric was hired.
Five years later, he had become one of the most respected leaders in the organization.
One of his biggest accomplishments was salary alignment.
When Godric arrived at GDFI, he discovered something disturbing.
Employees were significantly underpaid compared with market levels.
Some had been with the company for years.
Some had been there for decades.
And somehow, salaries had remained behind the market for far too long.
Godric fought to change that.
He studied the numbers.
Reviewed salary structures.
Compared market data.
Built proposals.
Argued his case.
And eventually, salary alignment became one of the biggest HR projects in the company’s history.
For Godric, it wasn’t simply about numbers.
It was about dignity.
Employees gave companies their time.
Their skills.
Their energy.
Their lives.
And Godric believed companies had an obligation to recognize that.
Precilla disagreed.
Almost every major employee-related project that required significant spending eventually became a battle.
To Precilla, employees were expenses.
To Godric, employees were investments.
That difference in philosophy had created a quiet war between them.
And it had been going on for years.
Godric looked at his phone again.
He sighed.
Then he replied.
Godric: Hi ma’am. I’ll check with our CFO since I’m not the one releasing any funds.
The reply came quickly.
Precilla: That’s what Jake said. Both of you are passing the blame to each other.
Godric stared at the message.
He typed.
Godric: Like what I said, ma’am, I don’t have the right to release any money from the company.
The response came almost immediately.
Precilla: Then you’re the Best HR??? Find a way!
Godric nearly threw his phone.
“Of all the days?” he muttered.
Star looked at him.
“What happened?”
“Precilla.”
Star immediately understood.
She didn’t even need to ask what Precilla had said.
Godric shook his head.
“Of all the days, she chose today to show her power. The fucking audacity.”
Star tried not to laugh.
“Don’t laugh.”
“I’m not laughing.”
“You’re smiling.”
“Because you’re angry.”
“Her fucking insecurity is unbearable.”
Star reached for his hand.
“Forget her.”
Godric looked at her.
“That’s easy for you to say.”
“Yes,” Star replied. “Because you’re on vacation.”
Godric looked at his phone.
Then at the trophy.
Then back at Star.
She was right.
He had paid for the trip himself.
He had filed his leave.
He had earned this day.
So he switched his work phone to airplane mode.
“There,” he said.
Star smiled.
“Good.”
“No more Precilla.”
“Good.”
“No more emails.”
“Good.”
“No more employees.”
“Good.”
Godric looked at her.
“Except you.”
Star smiled.
“Unfortunately.”
They both laughed.
And for the rest of the day, Godric decided that Precilla Patrick did not exist.
They walked around Las Vegas, enjoyed the sights, had a few drinks, and eventually ended up inside one of the casinos.
Godric wasn’t much of a gambler.
At least, that was what he told himself.
A few bets became a few more.
Then somehow, the couple found themselves ahead by roughly thirty thousand dollars.
Star looked at the winnings.
“We should stop.”
Godric looked at her.
“Absolutely.”
They played another hand.
After a few more drinks at the bar, they finally returned to their hotel room.
The anger from earlier had disappeared.
The award, the casino, the drinks, the laughter, and simply being together had made the day feel like a celebration again.
They spent the night together, enjoying the rare freedom of having no children asking for anything, no employees calling, and no Precilla Patrick demanding answers.
Tomorrow, they would return home.
Back to Chicago.
Back to work.
Back to the five children waiting for them.
Star had three children from a previous relationship: Pablo, eleven; Beatrice, ten; and Manuel, four.
Godric had two from his previous relationship: Michael, twenty-one, and Violet, ten.
It was an unconventional family.
But it was their family.
And Godric loved it.
Godric’s body clock had always been annoyingly reliable.
Five in the morning.
His eyes opened.
He looked at Star sleeping beside him.
For a few seconds, he simply stared at her.
Then he quietly got out of bed.
He went to the small coffee machine in the room and prepared two cups.
When he returned, Star was beginning to wake up.
“Good morning, love,” Godric said as he handed her the coffee.
She smiled sleepily.
“Good morning.”
Godric winked.
“One more round?”
He gave an evil laugh.
Star threw a pillow at him.
“Godric!”
He laughed.
They packed their things and headed toward the airport.
As they prepared to board their flight back to Chicago, Godric finally checked his personal phone.
There was a message from Jake.
Jake: The money Precilla asked for is on the way.
Godric showed the message to Star.
She smiled.
“See? I told you.”
Godric shook his head.
“Let them be.”
“Exactly.”
He looked at his phone.
Then he smiled.
“Still a bitch.”
Star laughed.
When they finally arrived in Chicago, Godric collected the small trading card he had asked the pilot for.
The card read:
Delta 262.
He placed it inside his back pocket.
He had no idea why he collected things like that.
Maybe it was the HR habit.
He liked records.
Proof.
Documentation.
Everything had to be accounted for.
They took a cab home.
The moment they walked through the door, the house exploded with noise.
“Mommy!”
Beatrice ran toward them and hugged Star.
Pablo followed.
Then Violet.
Then Manuel.
Everyone wanted attention at the same time.
Godric laughed.
“This is better than Vegas.”
Star looked at him.
“Really?”
“No.”
She laughed.
“Thought so.”
Later that evening, everyone gathered around the dinner table.
Family dinner was one of the rules Godric tried to maintain.
Everyone at the table.
Everyone gets asked something.
Everyone gets heard.
Godric looked at Michael.
“Michael, how’s school?”
“It’s alright, Dad.”
“Just alright?”
Michael shrugged.
“The usual. Exams are coming this week, though.”
“Study.”
“I am studying.”
“You better be.”
Michael smiled.
Godric turned toward the others.
“Pablo? Beatrice? Violet?”
As usual, Beatrice was the first to speak.
She immediately started telling everyone about one of her classmates.
Then, somehow, the conversation turned into Pablo being accused of not paying attention in class.
“I wasn’t not paying attention,” Pablo protested.
Beatrice looked at him.
“You were reading.”
“I was reading for the next subject.”
Violet interrupted.
“He was reading a book for the next subject. That’s why.”
Pablo pointed at Violet.
“Thank you!”
Godric laughed.
“Okay, okay. Court dismissed.”
Everyone laughed.
Godric then looked at Manuel.
“And you, baby boy?”
Manuel looked up.
“Have you been eating?”
The nanny answered from nearby.
“Yes, he has. A lot of eggs and noodles.”
Godric smiled.
“That’s my boy.”
After dinner, the children were eventually sent to bed.
The house slowly became quiet.
Godric and Star returned to their room.
For the first time all day, there was silence.
Godric looked at his wife.
He walked toward her and kissed her gently.
“Thank you, love.”
“For what?”
Godric smiled.
“I have a better life because of you.”
Star smiled.
“Aww. Thank you, love.”
She walked toward the door.
Then she locked it.
She turned around.
Looked at Godric.
And this time, she was the one who winked.
