Chapter 2

I shoved the tablet aside on my desk and grabbed the projector remote.

The company group chat lit up across the glass wall of the conference room.

I zoomed in on the typhoon yellow warning posted yesterday at three in the afternoon.

I pointed at the screen and looked around the whole office.

"Management sent this out yesterday. Everyone was told to stay safe."

"Narelle, you chose to look cute. You didn't care about your own safety."

"And now that there's a problem, you go around borrowing things off people in a pinch?"

I looked at my coworkers, one word at a time.

"Fine if nothing happens. But if something does, who answers for it? Which of you is willing to carry that?"

The office went dead quiet.

A few of the ones who'd been whispering and blaming me a moment ago ducked their heads and pretended to study their keyboards.

Narelle gripped the edge of those black rain boots so hard her knuckles went white.

"Nora, I didn't see the group message—"

I cut her off without ceremony.

"Not seeing the group message is your problem. It's not a reason to show up at my desk first thing to borrow shoes."

Edgar strode up to my desk and pulled out a form stamped with a red seal.

"Nora, you think you've outgrown this place?"

"This is Narelle's probation review form for next month."

"You're her mentor. Your evaluation counts for forty percent."

"You push this so far today—does that mean you don't want to mentor her, or you don't want to work in this department anymore?"

I looked at the form, and a mocking curve pulled at my mouth.

I reached back and opened the bottom drawer.

Out came a document I'd printed long ago, already stamped with my personal seal.

I pinched the edge of it, flicked my wrist, and threw it straight at Edgar's chest.

The paper drifted down and settled at his feet.

The words across the top were perfectly clear: Termination of Mentorship Confirmation.

Edgar froze, staring down at the document on the floor, taking a long moment to react.

"What is this supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it says." My voice was calm, without a ripple.

"As of now, I'm no longer Narelle's mentor."

I picked up the internal line on my desk and dialed HR.

I hit the speaker button. Two rings, then someone answered.

"April, it's Nora."

"I'm formally handing off Narelle's mentorship."

The reply came fast. "Okay."

The call ended, and Narelle came apart completely.

She dropped the black rain boots on the floor and threw herself at me, clutching my sleeve.

"Nora! Nora, I was wrong!"

"I'll never borrow anything from you again, okay?"

"Please don't drop me. If I don't have a mentor, my probation review next month is going to get blocked for sure!"

She looked utterly pitiful.

I looked down at her hand fisted in my sleeve, reached over with my other hand, and pried her fingers loose one by one.

"Don't touch me."

Edgar slammed a fist into the side of the water cooler.

"Nora! You don't have an ounce of empathy!"

"A selfish person like you doesn't deserve a place on my team!"

I grabbed my car keys and handbag off the desk and forced the computer to shut down.

"Whether I deserve it isn't up to you. It's up to my employment contract."

"There's a typhoon red alert today. Per the city emergency management office, nonessential staff can leave early."

"Goodbye."

I pushed open the glass door of the office without looking back and walked toward the elevators.

The cold wind in the corridor hit my face, and I felt clearer than I ever had.