Chapter 13

Claire’s fingers moved on the keyboard and she started typing, she would create something entirely different that would prove once and for all who the real developer was.

The room watched in silence as her code appeared on the left side of the screen. She could feel every eye on her back as her fingers flew across the keyboard.

Her mind was crystal clear now, this was what she did best. Coding was her thing and she had discovered that passion and talent when she left her marriage five years ago. She had gone back to school and had always emerged as the best student in any coding lessons while in school, surpassing Theresa would just be a piece of cake.

Eight minutes passed and her solution took shape on the screen. The algorithms were cleaner, the structure more efficient. A completely different approach that would crack the encryption thirty percent faster than the method Theresa had presented.

Theresa's eyes flashed furiously and she stared at Claire with unconcealed hatred.

Claire almost smirked, Theresa had always hated her guts and she won't stop being gutsy

"Done." She announced and looked up at Brian.

The room held its breath.

“OMG” someone whispered in a voice filled with awe

Brain's mouth hung open and his eyebrows climbed higher as he studied what she'd created. "This is a completely awesome”

"This formula is more efficient and it'll process the encryption thirty percent faster. Run it and see for yourself." Claire said with pride in her voice

Brian clicked the execute button and the encryption cracked smoothly in half the time Theresa's solution had taken.

The room erupted in applause. She felt vindication rush through her chest like fire.

Several developers were leaning forward now, studying her solution with open admiration. They murmured to each other about the elegance of her approach.

“That's why she is the queen of coding,” someone said.

"That's absolutely brilliant." One of them said loudly. "I would never have thought of approaching it from that angle."

"Exceptional work, Amber." Brian nodded slowly as he continued examining her code. "Truly exceptional."

“It doesn't matter, I also cracked the code and I did it first”. Theresa said and Claire turned to stare at Brian.

Brian cleared his throat and wouldn't meet her eyes

"It true that your method is exceptional, however the board had agreed that Theresa completed her solution first and that was the term of the challenge we all agreed to."

The words slammed into her chest. Her stomach dropped.

“What!” She whispered in disbelief.

"But we recognize your talent." Brian rushed to finish, "So we've decided to give Theresa the senior developer position as originally planned, but we're promoting you to be her assistant. It's a significant step up from your current role and it comes with a substantial raise."

Her assistant.

They wanted her to work under the woman who had been stealing from her.

The woman who had destroyed her credibility, deleted her files, copied her work not once but twice.

"No." The word came out hard.

Brian frowned. "No?"

"I'm not working as anyone's assistant. Especially not hers."

"Amber, this is a very generous offer." Brian's voice took on a warning edge. "I think you should take some time to consider it before making a rash decision."

"There's nothing to consider." Her voice rose and she didn't care anymore who heard. "She's been stealing my work and you're standing here rewarding her for it."

"That's a very serious accusation and you don't even have proof of that." Brian's tone grew stern.

"Then let me prove it right now." She pointed directly at Theresa. "Have IT check her laptop for bugs or spyware or whatever she's using to copy my work. Check it right here in front of everyone."

The room went completely silent. The air felt thick and heavy.

Theresa's face transformed into shock and hurt. Her eyes went wide. "You're actually accusing me of hacking you? I would never do that, every of my work is my talent"

"Then let them check your laptop right now and we'll find the proof."

“And what if you don't?”Theresa challenged.

Brian sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. "Amber, you really need to let this go. You've created an excellent solution. You're being offered a promotion."

"I'm not letting it go especially if I get to be her assistant, that position is for her not me and also until someone in this room actually believes me." She turned to face the crowd. "She stole my presentation yesterday and deleted all my files. She copied my solution today using the exact same methodology I'd been developing. Check her laptop and you'll find the evidence."

"This is ridiculous but fine. Check my laptop. Check everything I own because I have absolutely nothing to hide.” Theresa’s voice shook with emotion but Claire knew that she was just playing the victim.

Brian looked between them for a long moment. Then he pulled out his phone with obvious reluctance. "Fine. I'll call IT up here right now. But Amber, if they find nothing on Theresa's laptop, you need to drop this."

"They'll find something." She replied it with certainty even though her stomach was clenched so tight with apprehension.

There have to be something in her laptop otherwise how could she be able to keep stealing her work?

The wait for IT to arrive felt endless. The room remained silent except for occasional whispers. She stood by her desk with her arms crossed. She refused to sit down or look away from Theresa, who had her head bowed and was wiping at her fake tears.

Ten minutes later, two IT technicians arrived. Brian explained the situation and they took Theresa's laptop to a side table. They started running their scans while everyone watched.

She could feel her heart pounding against her ribs. They had to find something. There was no other explanation for what had happened.

Twenty minutes passed. Each second felt like an hour.

Finally, one of the technicians looked up and shook his head. "The laptop is completely clean. No spyware, no malware, no keyloggers, no remote access software. There's nothing here."

The words knocked the air out of her lungs.

"What?" She moved closer to the table. "That's impossible. Check again. There has to be something."

"We ran a full diagnostic." The technician said patiently. "This laptop is clean."

"Then check her phone. Her tablet. Whatever else she has." The desperation in her voice was obvious now but she couldn't stop it. "She has to have something."

"Amber, that's enough." Brian's voice was sharp.

"No, it's not enough." She spun to face him. Something was breaking loose inside her chest. "She's stealing from me somehow. I know it. There has to be evidence somewhere."

Theresa's eyes filled with tears. They spilled down her cheeks. "How can you do this to me? How can you stand there and accuse me of these terrible things when I've done nothing wrong?"

Claire gritted her teeth at Theresa's pretence, "You stole my work and you know it”.

"No, I didn't." Tears were streaming down Theresa's face now. Her whole body shook. "I worked so hard on that solution. I stayed up late studying and practicing. I put everything I had into it. And now you're trying to destroy me just because you're jealous."

“How awful”. Someone remarked, clocking her tongue in pity.

"I'm not jealous of a thief!" Claire clenched out.

"Yes, you are." Theresa sobbed openly. "You can't stand that I'm better than you. You can't stand that I earned this position. So you're making up these horrible lies about me in front of everyone. It's cruel. I don't deserve any of this."

She looked around the room. Every face was turned toward Theresa with sympathy and concern. When those same faces turned back to her, all she saw was judgment and disappointment.

They all believed Theresa's performance.

They all thought she was the liar.

"Amber." Brian's voice had gone cold. "You have two choices right now. Drop this accusation immediately and accept the assistant position, or leave this company. Those are your only options."

She stared at him. After everything she'd done. After all the work and the late nights and the solutions she'd created. This was how it ended.

With everyone thinking she was a liar while the real thief got rewarded.

"You know what?" Her voice came out sharp and bitter. "I quit."

Brian's eyes widened. "Amber, don't make a decision you'll regret."

"I'm not going to regret it." She grabbed her laptop and shoved it into her bag. "I'm done working for people who reward thieves and punish honesty. I'm done being called a liar when I'm the only one telling the truth. I'm done with all of this."

"If you walk out that door right now, you'll be finished in this industry." Brian's voice dropped low and threatening. "I'll personally make sure of it."

"Do whatever you want." She slung her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door. "I would rather have no job at all than spend one more second in this place."

She walked out and slammed the door behind her. The sound echoed down the hallway.

Her desk was only a few feet away. She started throwing everything into her bag without caring if things broke. The framed photo of Adrian smiling at the camera. Her coffee mug that Eunice had given her last Christmas. The small plant she'd been growing on the windowsill. Everything went in quickly.

People were starting to emerge from the conference room. They stood in clusters staring at her but she ignored every single one of them.

Within five minutes, she had packed up three years of her life. She slung the bag over her shoulder and walked toward the elevator without looking back.

The elevator ride down felt like it lasted forever. She stared at her reflection in the polished metal doors. Her face was flushed. Her eyes were too bright. She looked like she was barely holding herself together.

When the doors finally opened on the parking garage level, cold air hit her face. She stepped out into the dim concrete space.

Her car was parked in the far corner where she always left it. She walked toward it on legs that felt increasingly unsteady. She fumbled with her keys and finally got the door open. She threw her bag into the passenger seat.

She slid into the driver's seat and closed the door.

And that's when everything she'd been holding back came crashing down.

Her chest tightened. Her breathing came in short gasps that hurt. She gripped the steering wheel with both hands and tried desperately to hold herself together.

But it was too late.

The tears came. They poured down her face faster than she could wipe them away. Sobs tore from her throat and echoed in the small space of the car.

She tried to hold it back but the more she tried, the sobs came harder. Her whole body shook with them. She bent forward over the steering wheel and let it all out. Every bit of anger and frustration and hurt that she'd been bottling up.

She cried until her throat was raw and her eyes burned. Until there were no more tears left inside her and then she cleaned her eyes and muttered, “fuck you all”.