Chapter 4

Ridgetech's numbers collapsed faster than I'd expected.

In a single month, the whole industry knew what they'd done.

The big players, the ones who cared most about privacy and appearances, heard that Ridgetech was now fobbing everyone off with cheap products and a brain-dead AI. One after another, they cancelled.

By the end of the month, the client churn rate hit a terrifying eighty percent.

The cash on the books wasn't even enough to cover next month's payroll.

And Bianca, desperate to keep her seat, finally put to use the little scrap of cleverness she had left.

She dug up the fact that all the major clients who'd cancelled on Ridgetech had turned right around and signed higher-tier annual deals with Sinclair Group.

And the person handling those accounts at Sinclair was me. One month into the job.

Bianca clutched at it like a lifeline and ran straight to Sam Dickerson, claiming I'd stolen the company's secrets and maliciously poached every client.

That afternoon, I was on my way down to the first-floor café to meet a client.

I'd barely reached the lobby when I heard someone screaming.

"Fiona Fox, you two-faced corporate spy! Get out here!"

Bianca had a few security guards with her, blocking the turnstiles, spoiling for a fight.

Sam Dickerson stood behind her, face dark as a storm.

The lobby was full of foot traffic, and plenty of people had stopped, murmuring to each other as they watched the circus.

I frowned and walked over.

The moment Bianca saw me, she lunged like a rabid dog.

"I kept wondering why those clients suddenly cancelled. Turns out it was you, you little bitch, stealing every last one of them!"

"You sold our resources to your new employer. I'm going to have you charged with corporate embezzlement!"

Her logic was so absurd it made me laugh.

"Bianca, if you're not using that brain, you could donate it to someone who needs one."

"You're the one who used that idiot AI to blast a toilet-brush ad in the middle of Valentine Chavez's bid meeting."

"You're the one who used a $9.99 holiday pie to humiliate Winifred Finch."

"The clients ran off because of your stupidity and your arrogance. What does that have to do with anyone else?"

Sam Dickerson couldn't stand there and listen anymore. He put on his boss face and stepped forward, trying to shut me down.

"Whatever you want to say, those clients were built up on Ridgetech's platform."

"I'm giving you a chance right now. Come back to Ridgetech and pull all those clients back in."

"I'll let bygones be bygones, and I'll even give you a two-thousand-dollar raise."

Looking at the charity in Dickerson's expression, all I felt was nausea.

"Sam, do you think you're the only person on earth who was born with a brain?"

"You people were the ones who decided I cost too much and told me to get lost."

"Now the company's going bankrupt and you want to pay two thousand dollars to have me come back and save your life?"

"Keep dreaming."

I turned around and waved to Sinclair's security.

"Get these two out of here. They're just here to cause trouble."

As Dickerson was hauled toward the doors, the mask came off completely and he started to roar.

"Fiona Fox, you just wait!"

"You took my clients. I'm taking you to court! I'll leave you with nothing!"

I couldn't be bothered to even look at him. I turned and walked away.

A week later, the front desk brought up a court summons and a complaint.

The instant I saw the cause of action, I froze.

Obviously Ridgetech couldn't produce a shred of evidence that I'd embezzled anything or leaked any secrets. So instead they were suing me for this:

"Deliberately concealing the true value of her own work in maintaining client relationships, causing the company's management to make a serious misjudgment and a wrongful decision to terminate her."

"This directly triggered the total loss of major clients, and damages of $5,000,000 are hereby claimed."

My phone lit up. A message from Bianca.

"Got the summons, didn't you?"

"If you know what's good for you, you'll bring those clients back to Ridgetech this afternoon and get down on your knees and apologize!"

"Otherwise, the second this goes to trial, I'll make sure you spend the rest of your life behind bars!"