Chapter 3

The director continued, "If you can pull off a 30% profit tonight and make up for last night's losses, we'll let this go. But if you mess up again, go jump off the roof."

I agreed. This was my only shot.

To make sure Grace didn't pull any more tricks, I took advantage of my lunch break to buy a whole box of high-strength coffee shots from the convenience store downstairs.

I didn't even need to mix it. I could tear open the packet and down it straight. It was so bitter it could make my soul leave my body, but it was the ultimate pick-me-up.

I hid the box in the bottom drawer of my desk, burying it under a stack of thick industry reports.

At three in the afternoon, Fiona handed me the credentials for the VIP account.

She stared me down, her voice laced with an unmistakable threat. "This account is crucial to the company.

"The client's got a nasty temper. If you lose even a cent, he'll come after you for your life. You'd better stay sharp."

I didn't say a word. I just took the credentials and logged into the system.

The account had five million dollars in available funds, with ten times leverage. That meant even a one percent move could result in massive profits or losses.

The pressure felt like a mountain on my shoulders.

It was ten at night, just two hours left before the big jobs report dropped.

Feeling dead tired, I reached for the bottom drawer, hoping to grab a coffee shot to keep myself awake.

But as soon as my hand went in, it came out covered in sticky gunk.

I jerked the drawer open all the way.

The thick industry reports had been shoved aside.

The entire box of coffee shots had burst open.

Black, bitter-smelling liquid flooded the bottom of the drawer, soaking through all my important documents.

Grace strolled over with a rag, wearing that fake innocent look that always made me want to puke.

She said, "Oh, you found out. I saw it when I was tidying up your drawer this afternoon.

"I checked the label. Those things have five times the normal caffeine! That's not a pick-me-up, that's straight-up poison!

"I dumped them all in the trash for you and wiped your drawer clean. No need to thank me, we're all just coworkers."

That was it. My last shred of sanity snapped.

I grabbed the heavy metal stapler from my desk and launched it right at Grace's face.

Grace let out a scream and ducked at the last second, and the stapler slammed into the glass wall with a deafening crash.

I shouted at her, "What the hell is wrong with you?

"Who gave you permission to mess with my drawer? Who said you could touch my stuff?"

I charged at Grace, yanked her hair, and smashed her head down onto the desk.

Grace shrieked, sounding like she was being butchered.

Fiona burst out of the office next door, grabbed me by the back of my collar, and threw me aside with a forceful yank.

Fiona backhanded me, landing a hard slap right across my face.

"Kelsey, are you out of your mind?" Fiona snapped.

Fiona pulled Grace behind her, pointing right at my nose.

Fiona barked, "You seriously went off on someone at work over a couple shots of that crap you call poison?

"Grace was just trying to clean up your mess, and you're acting like you want to murder her!"

I clutched my burning cheek, glaring daggers at Fiona.

"She trashed my stash of coffee shots! Tonight's the big jobs report! If I can't stay awake, who's going to be responsible?" I snapped.

Fiona's face was stone cold, her eyes cold and vicious.

She said, "I don't care how you keep yourself awake. Even if you have to stab your thigh with an ice pick, you'd better keep your eyes glued to that VIP account tonight!

"If anything goes wrong, you'll be in debt for the rest of your damn life!"

The trading floor fell silent again.

There was only an hour left before the big jobs report dropped.

All my coffee shots were completely ruined, and there was no way any delivery would make it in time now.

I ended up rummaging through other departments, and after a frantic search, finally scored three cans of Red Bull from under a programmer's desk.

I hauled the Red Bulls back to my desk and dropped them onto the table with a satisfying thud.

Fiona and Grace were lounging on the couch not far away, picking at a fruit platter and chatting quietly.

Every so often, Grace would throw me one of those pitying looks.

I walked over and stood right in front of them.

I said, "Fiona, Grace. Tonight's trades could make or break this multi-million VIP account.

"When the data drops, the market's going to go wild for a few minutes.

"Let me say this again. If I get drowsy, zone out, or make a mistake, we could be looking at losses in the millions of dollars.

"And when the shit hits the fan, it won't just be on me. The whole department, including you two, will be on the hook for it."