Chương 5
“Then don’t.”
“I already didn’t.”
Something clanged in the distance.
Someone called his name.
He covered the phone, answered, then came back.
“He told me I was being emotional.”
“You?”
“Apparently I’ve developed feelings.”
“That’s devastating.”
“Don’t spread it around.”
For a few seconds, we were simply two tired coworkers making fun of something stupid.
Then Carlos said, “He fired you because of this, didn’t he?”
I looked toward my laptop.
“No.”
“You were the one pushing back on material.”
“That doesn’t mean the termination was because of Ridgewell.”
“He told me you were disruptive.”
“That may be what he believes.”
Carlos made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a cough.
“You defending him now?”
“I’m trying not to invent facts.”
“Well, congratulations.”
His voice sharpened.
“I’ve got facts.”
“What facts?”
“Three weeks ago, I told him the new alloy was causing tool wear.”
My hand tightened around the phone.
“You told me you raised it.”
“I did more than raise it.”
“I sent an email.”
“To Derek?”
“To Derek, Miles in purchasing, and engineering.”
“Did you get a response?”
“Miles said they’d monitor it.”
“Derek?”
“Called me.”
“After the email?”
“Ten minutes later.”
“What did he say?”
Carlos hesitated.
“He said stop creating a paper trail for normal startup variation.”
The kitchen seemed suddenly very quiet.
“Those exact words?”
“Pretty close.”
“Pretty close is not exact.”
“I know.”
“Do you still have the email?”
“I assume.”
“Do not send it to me.”
“I wasn’t going to.”
“Do not forward it anywhere personal.”
“Elena.”
“I mean it.”
“I know what you mean.”
His anger had shifted direction.
Not at Derek now.
At me.
“You think everybody here is going to panic and steal files because you got fired?”
“No.”
“Because that’s what you sound like.”
I sat down.
“You’re right.”
He was quiet.
“I’m sorry.”
Another pause.
Then he said, “You sound weird.”
“I got fired four hours ago.”
“Fair.”
He exhaled.
“I have to go deal with Ridgewell.”
“Carlos.”
“What?”
“Document the hold through normal quality procedure.”
“You just said you weren’t directing operations.”
“I’m not.”
“That sounded suspiciously like direction.”
“It was annoying personal advice.”
“Better.”
He hung up.
At 10:02, Thomas emailed the board.
The subject line was simple.
THURSDAY MEETING MATERIALS REVIEW.
He stated that additional quality documentation had come to his attention and requested that directors preserve existing copies of the quarterly packet pending discussion.
No accusation.
No mention of me.
No mention of altered charts.
I read it twice and forwarded it to Grant.
He replied one minute later.
Good.
At 10:19, Derek called.
I watched his name pulse on the screen.
I did not answer.
He called again.
Then a text arrived.
We need to discuss company information in your possession.
There was no hello.
No please.
No acknowledgment that he had fired me.
I screenshot nothing.
I simply left the message where it was and called Grant.
“Derek contacted me.”
“What did he say?”
I read the text verbatim.
“Do not answer tonight.”
“He’ll say I’m withholding company material.”
“You are entitled to take reasonable time to obtain counsel.”
“He knows Thomas sent that preservation email.”
“Almost certainly.”
“So now he thinks I gave Thomas something.”
“Probably.”
“You’re allowing inference now?”
“I’m a lawyer.”
“I hate you.”
“I’ll note that in the invoice.”
Another message arrived while we spoke.
Failure to return or disclose proprietary data may require further action.
My jaw tightened.
“He just threatened me.”
“Read it.”
I did.
Grant was silent longer this time.
“Still no response.”
“He’s trying to scare me.”
“Yes.”
The certainty surprised me.
“Finally.”
“Do not enjoy it.”
“I’m enjoying it a little.”
“You’re allowed three seconds.”
I counted silently.
“One.”
“Stop.”
“Two.”
“Elena.”
“Fine.”
I set the phone down.
“What happens tomorrow?”
“Thomas and I review the board-document chain.”
“And me?”
“You stay out of Harborstone.”
“I own Harborstone.”
“You are also a terminated employee, and physical access would create unnecessary complications.”
I stared at the ceiling.
“I hate that you’re right.”
“Get some sleep.”
“That seems unlikely.”
“Then lie horizontally and resent people.”
“Finally, practical advice.”
I slept badly.
At 2:13, I woke convinced I had forgotten to submit a supplier report.
At 3:41, I dreamed my grandfather was asking why all the machines were running backward.
At 5:58, I gave up.
I made coffee strong enough to damage paint and stood barefoot at the window while a sanitation truck groaned down the alley.
Wednesday morning looked offensively ordinary.
People walked dogs.
A woman in a red coat scraped something off her windshield.
Somewhere below, a child objected loudly to getting into a minivan.
At 6:32, my phone began vibrating across the counter.
Nina.
I answered before the second ring.
“Please tell me nobody shipped Ridgewell.”
“They didn’t.”
Her voice sounded wrong.
“What happened?”
“Derek suspended Carlos.”
I put the coffee down.
“For what?”
“Insubordination.”
“When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
“That makes no sense.”
“He came in early.”
“Derek?”
“Yes.”
“Carlos was still there?”
“He never left.”
I closed my eyes.
Of course he hadn’t.
“What exactly happened?”
“I wasn’t in the room.”
“Then don’t guess.”
“I’m not guessing about the suspension.”
“I mean the reason.”
She went quiet.
Then she said, “Marcy was there.”
That mattered.
“Is Carlos still in the building?”
“No.”
“He left about ten minutes ago.”
“Did security escort him?”
“Yes.”
The same machinery.
The same ritual.
Different box.
Different badge.
A pattern could still be coincidence.
But patterns became harder to ignore with each repetition.
“Nina, do your job today.”
“That’s your advice?”
“Yes.”
“Seriously?”
“Especially today.”
“What are you going to do?”
I looked at Thomas’s preservation email still open on my laptop.
Then at Derek’s unanswered threat on my phone.
Then at the quarterly meeting notification for Thursday morning.
May you like
“For the first time since Derek arrived,” I said, “I’m going to stop trying to fix Harborstone from the middle.”
By seven fifteen, I had showered, changed twice, and made the mistake of checking my work email out of habit.
