Chapter 5

"Kate! You framed me!" Carter roared as he shot to his feet, lunging over and trying to shove me.

I sidestepped him, so he missed completely and crashed straight into the corner of a desk. He doubled over, grimacing in pain.

"Carter, you can put anything in your mouth, but watch what comes out of it," I said, tilting my chin up at him. "You were the one who presented the PowerPoint. You were the one who sent out the contract. I'm just an entry-level grunt. How could I possibly frame someone with a master's degree like you?"

"You—" Carter jabbed his finger at me, too angry to get the words out.

Just then, the door to Rupert's office opened.

"What's all this noise? Haven't we embarrassed ourselves enough already?" Rupert barked as he stepped out, his expression dark as night. "Kate, get in here."

I followed him into his office. He locked the door behind us and pulled down the blinds.

"Kate, let's stop beating around the bush. You were the one behind this whole mess, weren't you?"

He stared hard at me, trying to find a crack in my expression, but I met his gaze without flinching.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Mr. Ribeiro. I simply followed your orders and handed my work over to Carter. He lacked the competence to handle it and screwed things up. How is that my fault?"

Rupert scoffed coldly.

"Lacked the competence? Then what about the falsified data? And the rookie mistakes in that contract? You've been with the company for ten years and never made mistakes like these! And yet somehow, all those mistakes appeared when you helped Carter.

"You dare tell me you didn't do it on purpose?"

I shrugged. "Nobody's perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. Maybe I was exhausted. Or maybe I'm just getting old, and my eyesight is failing me.

"After all, as you pointed out yourself, I'm just a 40-year-old woman who's outlived her usefulness."

I put particular emphasis on the phrase "outlived her usefulness".

Rupert's face turned ashen at my words. He took a deep breath and pulled a document out of his desk drawer.

"Fine. Very well. This is your termination notice. Due to your gross negligence, which resulted in major financial losses for the company, the company has decided to terminate your employment. We also reserve the right to pursue legal action against you.

"Now, pack your things and get the hell out!"

He flung the notice at my face. The sharp edge of the paper grazed my cheek, leaving a red mark.

I didn't bother picking it up. I just looked at him, a small smile creeping onto my face.

"You're firing me? I think you should take a look at this first, Mr. Ribeiro."

I reached into my bag, pulled out a resignation letter I'd prepared days ago, and slammed it onto his desk.

"I've worked here for ten years. Between unpaid overtime, compensation for unused annual leave, and the commissions you promised me, you owe me 120,000 dollars.

"Before you fire me, please pay me what you owe me. Short me even a dollar, and I'll take this straight to the labor board."

Rupert looked as if he had heard the funniest joke in the world.

"120,000 dollars? In your dreams! You caused the company about a million dollars in damages! You should be grateful I'm making you pay for them in the first place! And you still want money from us? Not a chance!

"Security! Throw her out of here!"

Two security guards came through the door and grabbed me by both arms.

"Ms. Bradford, please don't make this harder than it needs to be."

I pulled my arms free and straightened my clothes.

"You don't have to throw me out. I can walk out on my own. But there's something I need to do first."

I gave Rupert one long, deliberate look, turned around, and walked out of the front doors. Then I pulled out my phone and dialed my lawyer Tony Chavez's number.

"Hello, Tony? I'd like to file a lawsuit against my former company for labor-law violations. And I also want to report them for tax evasion and fraud. I'd like the relevant authorities to investigate."