Chapter 3

3.

The next morning, I went straight to HR and handed in my resignation.

The HR director saw my form and smiled. "Claire, finally decided to leave and pursue your art?"

I managed a weak smile. The moment she signed the papers, a huge weight lifted from my shoulders.

When I went back to my desk to pack my things, I saw Jessica furtively doing something at my computer.

When she noticed me, she didn't panic. Instead, she gave me a defiant smirk.

"What are you doing?" A terrible feeling washed over me as I rushed toward her.

On my computer screen, a progress bar showed my hard drive being formatted―98%... 99%... 100%.

Gone. An entire month's worth of key data and original design files for the Sterling Group project.

"You need to explain yourself. Now." I was shaking with rage.

But Jessica suddenly clutched her chest, leaning against the desk and gasping for air. "Claire, I was just trying to help you clear your desktop cache… Oh my god, my anxiety… it's flaring up… Please don't talk to me in that tone. You're going to trigger a panic attack…"

She gasped dramatically, looking around at our concerned coworkers with a helpless, innocent expression.

Then, her tone shifted, expertly casting herself as the victim. "You are creating a hostile work environment, Claire. I'm reporting this to HR!"

Before I could even respond, a strong force shoved me from behind. My lower back slammed into the corner of a desk, and I sucked in a sharp breath of pain.

Alex was holding a swaying Jessica, his face contorted with rage as he yelled at me. "What the fuck is wrong with you, Claire?! Can't you see she's not well? Do you want to get the company sued because of you?!"

He pointed at me as if I were the one who had attacked her. "If you have a problem with me, take it up with me! What kind of person uses their position to bully a subordinate!"

Staring at this man who condemned me without even asking what happened, I pointed at the wiped hard drive. "That data took me a month to compile. I hadn't backed it up to the cloud yet. She just destroyed it all. Don't I have a right to an explanation?!"

Jessica curled into Alex's arms, her voice a fragile whisper. "Alex, I really didn't mean to… I was just trying to help… My heart is racing, I think I need to go to urgent care…"

"Don't worry, I believe you," Alex soothed her, patting her back. He turned to me, his voice instantly turning to ice. "It's just some data. Do you really need to make such an ugly scene? You did it once, how hard can it be to do it again?"

"Instead of wasting time blaming a sick person, you should be figuring out how to recover the data."

The casual way he dismissed my work was so laughable it was almost painful.

Just then, my phone rang, breaking the suffocating tension.

It was an unfamiliar D.C. area code.

A deep, magnetic male voice came through the line. "Ms. Anderson? This is Elliot Hayes. Professor Albright asked me to pick you up from the airport tomorrow at ten a.m. Does that time work for you?"

I remembered the professor mentioning someone would meet me and quickly agreed.

After I hung up, Alex’s jaw was tight. "Who was that? Sounded like a man."

I rolled my eyes, rubbing my bruised back. "None of your business."

Alex reached for me, but Jessica let out a perfectly timed moan. "Alex, I think I'm almost out of my anxiety medication..."

He immediately pulled his hand back and turned to me with an even harsher command. "Claire, don't forget what I said last night. I want every single file you have on the Sterling project handed over to Jessica by the end of the day."

I gave him a cool glance. "I'm your Partner, not her personal assistant. Besides, I've already resigned."

My unprecedented coldness seemed to stun him. For the past four years, I had been completely obedient, even giving up a spot at a top design institute to help him build his company from the ground up.

My refusal to comply made him visibly uncomfortable.

To save face in front of me, Alex pulled Jessica into a dramatic embrace. "Let's go, Jess. I'll take you out for a nice meal. Don't let this nonsense ruin your mood."

I watched, expressionless, as a triumphant smile spread across Jessica’s face.

Alex clenched his fists and threw one last, classic asshole line over his shoulder. "Stop being so dramatic, Claire. Nobody else would put up with your ambition like I do."

As they walked away, with all our coworkers staring, I calmly started packing my personal belongings.

Just as I walked out of the office building with a box in my arms, a notification from the airline popped up on my phone.

It was followed by a text from Elliot Hayes.

"Tomorrow then. Looking forward to it, Ms. Anderson."