Chapter 5

The line went quiet for two seconds.

For Frieda, those two seconds stretched out like a century.

Her heart was in her throat, her palms slick with cold sweat. She had staked her whole career and her whole reputation on this.

Then, at last, Val Lambert's voice came through the speaker, clear for everyone to hear.

"Frieda, what kind of talk is this?" There was a trace of reproach in his tone, but far more than that, a certainty that left no room for argument.

"Your ability speaks for itself. Everyone's seen it. Especially with the digital management of the warehouse. Every one of the suggestions you put forward was solid, and they saved the department a great deal of money.

Promoting you was the company's decision, and it was because you earned it. As for gifts, apart from that box of oranges you sent a few months ago, I don't recall you ever giving me anything."

He paused, and it sounded as if he'd smiled. "Besides, do you really think a box of oranges could buy a supervisor's post? Don't listen to that nonsense. Just keep up the good work. I believe in what you can do."

Val's words landed like a sedative, and in an instant the whole situation turned around.

Theo's face went completely gray. His mouth opened, but not a single word came out, and in the end he slunk out of the room.

The coworkers who'd gathered to watch scattered too.

Frieda hung up, and felt as if every last bit of strength had been drained out of her. She'd won, but the winning left her utterly exhausted.

Val's words had gotten her out of the corner, but the question that had been circling in her head for three months only grew larger.

A box of oranges...

Val actually remembered that box of oranges.

And why had he gone out of his way to add, "apart from that box of oranges"? The way it sounded, it was almost like... he was protesting too much.

In the days that followed, Frieda held her supervisor's post securely enough, but the cloud of doubt in her heart only grew heavier.

She started losing sleep, the same thing turning over and over in her mind. She even began to regret it, wondering why she'd ever gotten the itch to hand off that box of oranges in the first place.

That day, while she was checking a report at her desk, her office phone rang.

It was the front desk at corporate headquarters.

"Good afternoon, Supervisor Fox. This is the front desk. Director Lambert asked me to pass along a message. He'd like you to come to his office now."

Frieda's heart gave a hard jump.

She made her way to Val's office, uneasy the whole way. The office was large, furnished to impress. Val was gathering his things, and from the look of it he was about to leave on a business trip.

"There you are, Frieda. Sit." He gestured to the sofa across from him, a warm smile on his face.

Frieda sat down stiffly, hands on her knees, like a schoolchild waiting to be scolded by the teacher.

Val took a beautifully wrapped square box out of a drawer and slid it toward her.

"You know, you've got real ability. You just get stuck chewing on things too hard sometimes." He smiled as he said it. "The way you put me on the spot over the phone last time really left me in an awkward position."

Frieda flushed. "Director Lambert, I'm sorry. I was backed into a corner at the time..."

"I understand." Val waved it off and nodded toward the box. "You've been fretting about it ever since, haven't you? Can't figure out why you got promoted. Am I right?"

Frieda didn't answer, which was as good as admitting it.

Val's expression turned serious. He looked her in the eye and said, one word at a time:

"Honestly, Frieda, that box of oranges of yours, it did me an enormous favor!"

Frieda was completely lost, her mind gone blank.

A box of oranges... did him an enormous favor?

She stared at him, mouth slightly open, with no idea how to react.

Val pushed the box a little closer, a hint of a knowing smile in his voice.

"Consider this a gift in return. And don't bother guessing. Open it, and you'll know the whole truth."

With trembling hands, Frieda reached for the heavy box. She felt her heartbeat racing fast enough to leap out of her chest.

She took a deep breath and lifted the lid.

The instant she saw what was inside, her eyes went wide and her breath stopped cold, a chill rushing up from the soles of her feet straight to the crown of her head.

Her head snapped up toward Val, her lips trembling, barely able to get out a full sentence.

"This... how is this possible?!"