"Madeleine, what on earth are you doing?" Lincoln snapped. "Every other sales team has already turned in their paperwork. Yours is the only one still missing. You said you needed to follow procedures, and I approved all of it, but deadlines don't wait for anyone. I need a definite timeline from you today. If your team causes a delay in the tax filing, you won't be the only one dealing with the consequences."

I stared at him helplessly but said nothing.

A colleague at the next desk finally couldn't hold back and muttered under their breath, "Madeleine hasn't done anything wrong. Didn't Naomi from finance do the same thing? It's been over a month, and Madeleine still has a pile of expense reports waiting for reimbursement. Why does finance get credit for doing this, but sales gets the criticism?"

Lincoln caught on instantly. He didn't argue and simply walked off. In under two minutes, he came back, holding Naomi by the arm and forcing her to stand in front of me.

"Naomi, what are you thinking?" he snapped. "Who authorized you to withhold your coworkers' expense reports? You are staying in the sales department until you apologize to Maddie and earn her forgiveness."

After that, Lincoln turned to me with a broad smile. "Maddie, don't worry. I will process your reimbursement myself right now. The money will be in your account within ten minutes."

Even after Lincoln had made himself perfectly clear, Naomi still looked bitter and completely unconcerned.

As soon as he left the sales office, she lunged at me with a string of curses. "Well played, Madeleine. Did I give you too much slack? You actually dared to hide behind company policy to get back at me like this?"

I looked at her calmly and said, "No, not at all. I wasn't trying to get back at you. I was simply following company policy. Ms. Lane, you probably aren't familiar with the sales department's regulations. Give me a moment, and I'll go through them for you one by one."

My calm, unshaken demeanor seemed to set Naomi off completely. Her eyes flared red as she charged at me. Luckily, my height and speed gave me the advantage, and I easily stepped back out of her reach.

That seemed only to enrage her further. She blurted out, "Mark my words, Madeleine! Don't assume this ends just because Mr. Brooks handled your reimbursement this month. I'm the accounts officer, and if you manage to get even one dollar reimbursed from now on, I'll admit defeat."

By then, I was already thinking about quitting.

Naomi wasn't wrong. I could push finance once, like I did today, and get reimbursed. However, someone as petty as her wouldn't let it go. If she pulled this kind of stunt every month, would I ever have a single peaceful day at work again?

Just as I was seriously considering losing my temper before handing in my resignation, the sales office door was kicked open.

Lincoln stormed in and jabbed a finger at Naomi. "Is this how you handle things behind my back, Naomi?"