Chapter 3

The next day, I pushed through the pain in my leg, got up on my crutches, and showed up to work on time.

Today was the presentation for Grandview Group. I had been the lead on this project for six solid months.

If we won this contract, I'd get a substantial bonus and lock in a promotion to Design Director. It was the position I'd been working toward.

I had pulled countless all-nighters for this. I had revised the designs more times than I could count.

I walked into the office, plugged my USB drive into the computer, and started pulling up the 3D model for one final check.

Katherine walked over carrying a cup of coffee.

She was wearing a fitted blazer and a skirt short enough to be a statement. She spotted me, and the corner of her mouth curved up.

"Morning, Hathaway. How's the leg?"

She said it loudly. Heads turned all around the office.

Then her ankle rolled.

"Oh!"

The entire cup of scalding coffee came down directly onto my laptop keyboard.

The screen flickered twice, then went black. A faint burning smell drifted up from the machine. The motherboard was gone.

Everything in my head went white. "Katherine!"

I shoved myself to my feet and grabbed her by the collar. "That was deliberate."

"Hathaway — what are you doing! I didn't mean it!"

Katherine's eyes went red immediately. The tears were right there, ready.

"I lost my footing in the heels — if it's such a big deal, I'll pay for the laptop. Why are you being so aggressive?"

She played the wounded victim perfectly. The whole office was watching.

"Come on, is she seriously going after the new girl over a coffee spill?"

"It was an accident. Does she have to grab her like that?"

I laughed, but there was nothing funny about it. I let go.

"Pay for the laptop? The only copy of the 3D model I'm presenting to Grandview Group in thirty minutes was on that drive."

"The client walks through the door in half an hour. What exactly am I supposed to show them?"

I pointed at the security camera mounted above us.

"Let's go. Security office. We pull the footage and settle this right now."

I grabbed her wrist and started moving toward the door.

Katherine struggled and twisted, then suddenly called out toward the end of the hall. "Mr. Ricardo! Help!"

Ricardo came down the hallway in a sharp suit, jaw set, moving fast.

He was VP of the company. He ran things here, and he knew it.

"What is going on out here? Does anyone actually work in this office?"

The room went quiet.

Katherine grabbed his arm like he was a life raft.

"Mr. Ricardo, I swear it was an accident — I spilled coffee on Hathaway's computer by mistake, and now she's accusing me of doing it on purpose. She almost hit me..."

Ricardo looked at the smoke still curling up from my laptop. Then he looked at me. His eyes were hard.

"Hathaway. You're a manager. Act like one."

"Making a scene over something like this is completely unprofessional."

I kept my breathing steady.

"Ricardo, that laptop had the final model for the Grandview project."

"She destroyed six months of the company's work. I'm pulling the security footage to find out what actually happened. Is that a problem?"

Ricardo's expression didn't change. "The cameras are down. Maintenance reported it this morning."

He said it without blinking.

"And even if she did it on purpose — you're the project lead. Not backing up critical files is on you."

I stared at him. "Are you serious right now?"

"The model file was too large for the company cloud. I finished the final render last night. When exactly was I supposed to back it up? And that's somehow my fault?"

Ricardo cut me off. "Enough. Stop making excuses."

He raised his voice so the whole floor could hear.

"Due to this critical oversight — causing irreparable loss to the company — Hathaway's performance bonus for the next six months is suspended, effective immediately."

"Furthermore, her candidacy for the Design Director promotion is revoked."

"Katherine will take her place at the Grandview presentation. She prepared a backup proposal. It's rough, but it's something. Better than showing up empty-handed."

The office went completely silent.

Even Katherine looked stunned for a moment. Then her eyes lit up with something she couldn't quite contain.

I stared at Ricardo.

He had let Katherine destroy my work, taken my promotion, handed my presentation slot to the woman who had destroyed it. All in one move. All in public.

"On what authority?" I said through my teeth.

"On the authority of being VP of this company."

He looked down at me with warning in his eyes and satisfaction barely concealed beneath it.

"And you're going to apologize to Katherine right now, in front of everyone. Your behavior this morning was a serious breach of professional conduct."

"If you don't, don't bother coming in tomorrow. I'll make sure you don't work in this industry again."

He thought that would break me.

Just like every fight over the past three years — he'd go cold, and I'd cave. Every single time.

I looked at his face. Then I looked at Katherine standing behind him, trying to hide her smile.

I didn't rage. I didn't cry.

I reached over, pulled the ruined USB drive from the port, and dropped it in the trash.

"No need to wait until tomorrow."

"I quit."