He walked into Brogan’s office and the frosted glass door whooshed shut with finality.
A moment later, Zelda came rushing through the hallway and threw her arms around my shoulders. “I heard you were fired.”
I nodded, numb. The mountain of pending debt came tumbling down on me faster than a lost game of Jenga.
Jobless. Rent-money-less. Brogan-less. This was all too much to process.
How was this even happening? Why was I losing my job for something I hadn’t done, and yet getting none of the benefits from the act that I’d supposedly executed.
“I’m so sorry. If there’s anything I can do, I’m here for you.” She squeezed my shoulder. I couldn’t even look her in the eye—first, because my eyes were clogged with tears, and second, because I didn’t want to see any other people disappointed with me.
Again I nodded, and continued piling my pictures and stash of food, toothbrush, and other toiletries into the box.
“I’ll miss you,” she said.
“Me, too.” My pulse hammered in my temples at the thought of this being the last time in Starr Media. I’d miss everything about this job—the people, the feeling I got every time I posted something that was well-received, the way Brogan made me feel both in and out of the office. I can’t believe I trusted him.
Sorrow quickly bubbled to anger as I debated how this happened to me. How did Brogan’s dad have the power to post from my account? How did he get past our security? If he did have that power to do these things, why bribe me? It just didn’t make sense. Too many questions with zero answers.
With my box stuffed past capacity, I was almost ready to leave the building. All I needed was to clean off my runny mascara, straighten my pencil skirt, and walk out with at least part of my dignity.
I sat in the bathroom stall to collect myself, my hands still shaking and my lip in a constant state of quivering. My teeth raked over my lips and I pressed my palms to my eyes while sitting on the toilet. Just as I was about to flush, the door to the restroom opened and Zelda’s familiar voice flooded in.
“—according to plan.”
I decided to stay perched in my spot, lifting my feet so she wouldn’t know I was in the stall.
“Hold on,” she told the person on the phone, and she was silent for a moment, most likely making sure the bathroom was empty.
“I can’t talk long. I need to get back to work, but he totally bought that it was Lainey.”
What the hell? Who was she talking to? Was it Brogan’s dad? Had he decided to go to her when I wouldn’t say yes?
My anger quickly turned to rage at the fact that the one person who I hung out with at the company was the one to screw me over. She was my friend. Well, obviously not. I continued listening, stewing in the stall, wondering if I should barge out there and scream at her, or keep listening to get the whole story. Inner Nancy Drew won out, and I stayed perched on the seat.
“When do I get the cash? It was difficult to make it look like I did it under her account, that should mean I get a bonus.”
I couldn’t hear who was on the other end of the call, but I was ninety percent certain it was Brandon. How could someone want to hurt his son so much that he’d resort to destroying his business and credibility? My dad may have earned a spot on the Worst Dad List, but he’d never do anything like this to me, no matter how badly he wanted me to go the lawyer route.
“I’m not greedy. It’s not every day I commit company espionage.”
She argued a little more and then gave a clipped, “Good-bye.”
As soon as she got off the phone, I opened the stall and our eyes met in the mirror’s reflection. Her eyes widened a fraction, but she kept the rest of her expression motionless.
If anyone in the company had the capability to hack into my account, it would be the tech guru. Why hadn’t she been the first person I thought of when this happened? Oh, yeah, because friends didn’t set each other up to take the fall for espionage—obviously rule number five in the friendship manual. “How could you?”
She gave a pitying look. “Money’s money, Lainey. I couldn’t pass that up.”
All I could do was stare. How could she be so cold to a boss that gave her a job, a damn good one at that. “You could. I did.”
“Then you’re stupid. Didn’t you say your mom was sick? Why not use that for her?”