Chapter 4

The next morning, the three of us left for the office together.

In the elevator, Genevieve turned to me all warmth and invitation.

"Would you like to ride in with Burton, Ursula?"

The tone of the lady of the house, as if she were the one married to Burton Sanchez.

Burton opened his mouth, then closed it, as though terrified I might actually say yes.

For five years, after all, he'd never once let me ride in his car. Avoiding the appearance of impropriety.

I shook my head and turned her down, my face blank.

He let out a breath and pressed the button for the parking level.

I ran into the two of them again outside the building.

Genevieve climbed out of the passenger seat, and Burton, carrying her bag, smiled as he closed the car door for her.

I walked straight into the lobby without so much as a glance their way.

Burton actually came after me and grabbed my shoulder.

"What's with the act? Pretending you can't see me?"

I pried his fingers off one by one.

"Avoiding the appearance of impropriety."

He froze, and let go.

Back at my desk, I submitted my resignation again.

The company's org chart on the app had already been updated.

As a rank-and-file employee, my resignation only needed sign-off from Genevieve and HR.

Genevieve called me into her office and felt me out carefully.

"You really want to leave?"

"Drag your feet on the approval and maybe I'll change my mind."

Genevieve tapped "Approve Resignation" on the spot.

"Then I'll fast-track you, Ursula. Wrap up your handover today and you're free to go."

I nodded. That suited me fine.

The morning passed without a ripple, but in the afternoon a message blew up in the company group chat.

The contract sent to Harmony International yesterday had an error in it. The loss came to three million.

Minutes later, Burton came out holding the contract and slammed it down on my desk.

"Look what you've done!"

I stared for a second, then picked it up and opened it.

"This wasn't me. I had an allergic reaction yesterday and wasn't in the office. Director Harding was the one handling this contract."

Genevieve bit her lip, and the tears came.

"I know you can't stand that I got promoted, Ursula, but you didn't have to do this..."

"Harmony International is everything Mr. Sanchez and the whole team have poured their hearts into..."

Coworkers who had no idea what was going on crowded around.

Burton looked at me, cold, nothing warm left in his eyes.

"Something goes wrong and all you do is dodge the blame and talk your way out of it. Are you using your seniority to bully the new girl?"

That one line all but settled the matter. He'd handed down my death sentence.

My head snapped up. So he was dead set on making me take the fall.

Still unwilling to let it go, I looked at Burton and said it slowly, one word at a time.

"Five years here and I've never made a mistake like this. I didn't do it, and I won't own it."

His voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear it.

"You're suspended as of now. Wait for further notice."

The whispers came from every direction.

"Does it matter who did it? Mr. Sanchez is set on protecting his girlfriend."

"Mr. Sanchez really doesn't care about keeping up appearances, does he."

I kept packing my things, face blank, but something clamped down hard in my chest.

Three years of a secret marriage, five years of a hidden romance, number one in performance every year since he poached me into this company, and this was how it ended, suspended. How absurd.

Once HR signed off, I didn't waste a moment, gathering my personal things and walking out of the building.

As I left the place I'd spent five years in, a message from Burton came through on WeChat.

"Genevieve just got promoted. She can't have a major slip-up like this on her record."

"Take one for the team this time and keep the peace. The next promotion is yours."

Burton's smug, self-satisfied face flashed in front of me.

I laughed.

I didn't bother typing a reply. I just opened his profile and tapped the corner.

Block.

Then I pulled the old SIM card out of my phone and tossed it into the trash can beside me.

......