Chapter 1
On my last day, I dropped three years of accumulated handover paperwork right in front of the nepotism hire, Grace Hawkins.
I noted: [The system password is Admin123. The loophole in the contract is on Page Seven, Clause Three.
[Right, the cleaner deserves a raise this month. After all, she's the only one who can open the safe.]
Grace Hawkins rolled her eyes and wiped out all my work logs.
Three months later, at the IPO roadshow, the big screen suddenly started playing an audio clip of the founder embezzling company funds.
While I was chilling in the VIP section of a rival company, I answered her 27th SOS call.
*****
I hit the last period on my keyboard, and the clock in the corner of my screen ticked over to 5:30 PM.
I saved the document, closed all the endless spreadsheets, and the PowerPoint I'd revised eight times.
Suddenly, my desktop looked almost unfamiliar, leaving the default blue sky and grassland wallpaper.
Three years, and I knew this virtual grass better than the real stuff in the flower beds downstairs.
The buzz from the open office behind me drifted in through the glass door, a steady hum of background noise.
My private office wasn't big, but now it felt so empty that I could hear the air conditioner sighing.
The cardboard box at my feet was already sealed, not heavy. There were a few professional books, a well-worn thermos, and a group photo from last year's team outing.
Everyone in the picture was grinning like they didn't have a care in the world.
Back then, we'd finished a tough project, got our bonuses, and everyone joked that I should treat everyone.
They used to call me Caro. But no one called me that anymore. Soon, there'd be a new Caro, or a Ms. Hawkins, or a Mr. Booth. Let them call whoever they wanted.
The door got a couple of perfunctory knocks before opening. Clara Edwards from HR poked her head in, her smile so perfect that it looked like she'd pulled it straight from a manual.
She said gently, "Caroline, all your paperwork done? Oh, this is so sudden. We're going to miss you."
I smiled but said nothing. Miss me? When they announced at yesterday's meeting that I was leaving "for personal career development" and Grace from headquarters was taking over as director, no one looked surprised.
Even Alex Baker, who'd been with me the longest and was always the most straightforward, only dared to send me a crying emoji after work.
Clara stepped aside, and in strutted Grace, heels clicking, at least four inches, probably stilettos.
Her perfume hit me before she did, and her face was flawless, almost icy.
Grace, the chairman's niece, was back from some fancy overseas university not long ago, the kind of parachute drop that made everyone nervous.
She was rocking a brand-new suit from this season, probably worth three months of my salary.
Her gaze flicked over my packed box, and her lips curled with the right amount of smugness.
"Ms. Dorsey, it must be hard for you. All packed up? Don't leave anything 'important' behind." She said 'important' with a little extra emphasis, hinting at something.
"Appreciate your concern, Ms. Hawkins. All my personal stuff's gone." My voice stayed even as I pulled a slightly worn black notebook from the drawer.
I opened a folder on my computer called "Handover Details," and hit print. The printer hummed, spitting out a decent stack of papers.
Grace folded her arms, her fingers tapping lightly on her bare forearm. She looked like she was running out of patience.
When the printing finished, I grabbed the still-warm stack of papers and the black notebook, handing them both to her.
"Ms. Hawkins, here's the rundown of all the major projects I've handled these past three years, current status, potential risks, main contacts from our partners, plus their quirks and preferences," I said calmly, like I was wrapping up one last briefing.
I added, "You'll also find a list of outstanding payments, server core passwords, backend system paths, and the universal logins.
"Oh, and the default password was way too basic, so I changed it to Admin123. You might want to update it again soon."
Grace barely twitched her brow and reached out with her flawlessly manicured hand, picking up the stack of papers between two fingers.
She flipped through them like she couldn't care less, a hint of impatience flashing in her eyes.
I pretended not to notice and kept talking. "Also, there are a few key contracts still being processed. The legal team probably didn't look too closely.
"On page seven, clause three, there's a gray area about breach of contract and compensation limits that could hurt us if we're not careful. You'll want to stay on top of that.
"Justin in the legal team is slick. If you go to him alone, he might play dumb. It's better to bring Jackson from marketing with you.
"They're on good terms, so he'll be more likely to cooperate."
The sound of pages stopped. Grace looked up at me, and for the first time, there was something besides indifference in her perfectly made-up eyes.
It was a surprise and maybe a flash of irritation at being lectured. She probably never expected someone who'd been "optimized out" to hand over this much detail.