4: 4

4

There was no point anymore, so I stopped arguing.

I had just packed up my bag and was about to leave.

Jeremy Finch stood in the doorway with his arms crossed, blocking my way.

"Edwina Chavez, you're a person with a record of violations who's been fired by the company."

"Under the company's new policy, departing employees have to submit to a personal-belongings check, to make sure no one walks off with internal documents, core proposals, or client resources."

I clamped both hands down on my bag.

"These are all my personal belongings. You have no right to inspect them. This is an invasion of privacy."

Humphrey let out a scornful snort.

"You're standing on company ground right now. Everything on you belongs to the company, so it gets checked."

He snatched the bag out of my hands and dumped everything onto the floor.

He kicked through the pile, item by item, until one of his shoe prints was stamped right on top of my feminine products.

When he didn't find what he wanted, Humphrey's eyes moved to my laptop.

"To eliminate any leak risk, your personal computer needs to be fully copied and archived."

At that, I let out a cold laugh.

They were clearly after my things.

In all his time working next to me, Humphrey had seen every study plan and contingency proposal I'd organized on that computer with his own eyes.

Along with the list of core private clients I'd spent ten years building.

He'd climbed over me by filing that report, all title and no skill, not an ounce of real ability under the "Supervisor" badge.

And now, using the company as cover, he wanted to seize it all in broad daylight.

Looking at the greed on both their ugly faces, I laughed to myself, cold and steady.

They wanted my work?

Dream on.

The proposals I'd polished through countless all-nighters, the client relationships I'd nurtured inch by inch, why on earth would I hand them free to the kind of people who kick you when you're down?

I took the work laptop out of my bag.

Humphrey assumed I was cooperating like a good girl and reached out to take it.

"See, if you'd just listened from the start, there'd be no need for all this ugliness—"

Before the words left his mouth.

Bang! I raised the expensive work laptop high and slammed it straight down onto the floor.

Everyone stared, stunned. Humphrey's face went blank with shock.

Before either of them could react, I stepped forward and ground my high heel into the laptop.

Again, and again.

Then I picked up the water glass beside me and poured every drop of it into the machine.

Sparks flew, the hard drive fried, ruined past any hope of recovery.

I drew my foot back, straightened up, and looked coldly at the two of them, faces gone ashen.

"There. Good enough?"

Humphrey was shaking with rage, grinding his teeth.

"Edwina Chavez, you've gone too far!"

"We were only following company rules, running a routine check. Was there any need to blow it up like this?"

"You've clearly got something to hide. Too guilty to cooperate, so you deliberately destroyed company property!"

I gave him a sideways look.

"Take a good look. This is my personal laptop. It has nothing to do with the company. Not one cent's worth."

I swept a cold glance over the room, took nothing with me, and walked out without looking back.

From that moment on, I was done with this heartless company for good.

That evening, while I was having dinner with that difficult client contact, Humphrey called.

"Edwina, I'm downstairs at your building."

His tone was meek, nothing left of the arrogant supervisor from earlier in the day.

"The proposal I submitted to the big client today, they were extremely unhappy with it. Sent it straight back to be redone."

"I can't pin down what the client wants. I just can't fix it. Edwina, this is a client you used to handle. Help me revise it, polish it up."

"I'll pay you separately, whatever it takes, we can work out any number. Just name your price!"

I found it laughable.

He'd climbed up by trampling my dignity, taken my office, wrecked my work, backed me into a corner.

He kept every good thing for himself, and now he wanted to dump the mess on me?

I didn't waste a single word. I hung up on him and blocked the number on the spot.

Across the table, the client started complaining to me.

"That new guy of yours sent me a proposal full of holes. The logic's a mess, there's no way to actually put it into practice."

"After all these years working together, the only person whose ability I trust is you, Edwina Chavez."

I lifted my glass.

"I'm starting at Skyward tomorrow. If you're interested, I'll build you a brand-new proposal, tailored just for you."

"Good, good, good. Let's meet at Skyward tomorrow, then."