Chapter 5

"Mr. Reed, what is that supposed to mean?" I asked. "Are you planning to use this project to shame me a second time?"

Charles shook his head. "I'm offering you a chance to find out for yourself where the data was altered.

"If you can prove your innocence, the lead position is yours again.

"And more than that. The company will issue a public apology and cover any damages you've suffered."

His words landed as a stone dropped into a still pond, sending ripples through the numbness I had wrapped around my heart.

He wanted me to prove I was innocent? He knew as well as I did that I stood no chance.

Every security tape, every server log, every scrap of evidence belonged to him. If he wanted to bury the truth, I would never find it.

This was another illusion. A pretty promise dangled in front of me, close enough to see but impossible to touch.

"That won't be necessary," I said, my voice frozen. "I am done playing your puppet. Mr. Reed, please go."

My refusal seemed to catch him off guard. His expression tightened. "Anna, are you certain about this?

"Do you understand what happens in this industry to someone who leaves our firm with a black mark on their name?

"Do you truly believe you can walk into another company and start fresh?"

This was a threat. A straight-up, barefaced threat.

He was telling me without a hint of subtlety. If I walked away, he would use every resource at his disposal to make sure I never worked in this city again.

A wave of pure rage surged up from my core, hot and wild, burning through my chest.

"Charles Reed!" I shouted his full name for the first time. "What do you want from me? Will you be satisfied when there's nothing left of me?"

He saw the hatred blazing in my eyes, and for a split second, something in his gaze cracked. Then he released his hold on the door.

"I don't want to destroy you," he said, and his voice carried a strange weariness. "I simply don't want you to walk away from this.

"Eat your breakfast. Rest today. Come back to the office tomorrow, and I will make sure the tech team assists you.

"That is all I can offer."

He set the paper bag and coffee on the small bench outside my door. He gave me one long, unreadable look, then turned and walked toward the elevator.

I watched his broad back disappear behind the metal doors, my heart a tangled mess of confusion and fury.

I could not figure him out. I could not begin to guess what went on inside that man's head.

Why? Why shove me into the fire and then offer me a rope ladder? What game was he playing?

I stood in the doorway for a long time. The breakfast on the bench was still warm, the sweet scent of maple syrup drifting up.

My stomach growled, loud and traitorous. After a moment of hesitation, I grabbed the bag and brought it inside.

I told myself there was no sense in punishing my own body. I needed strength to fight back.

Whether that meant fighting to leave or fighting to clear my name.

I opened the paper box. Inside were two golden pancakes, still fluffy, a small container of butter, and a plastic cup of warm syrup. The coffee was still hot.

I took a bite. It tasted like comfort. But the tears came anyway, sliding down my cheeks and dripping onto the cardboard lid.

*****

The next morning, I walked back into the office. It was not because of Charles's promise, but because I refused to be beaten.

I was not going to take the blame for something I did not do and slink away with my tail between my legs.

If I didn't do it, no one got to stick it on me.

The moment I stepped through the glass doors, every pair of eyes in the room locked onto me. I was a spectacle.

Vivian sat in my old chair, holding court at the morning huddle like a queen on her throne.

When she spotted me, she paused mid-sentence. A slow, mocking smile spread across her lips.

"Well, look who decided to show up. Anna Grant. What happened? Demotion makes you think you can stroll in whenever you feel like it?"

Her voice carried across the entire floor. Scattered laughter rippled through the cubicles.

I ignored her and walked straight to my new desk. It was shoved in the corner beside the copy machine, the worst seat in the entire office.

I set down my bag and powered on my computer.

Annoyed that I had brushed her off, Vivian clicked her way over in her high heels. "Anna, why did you come back at all?

"Did you not get enough humiliation yesterday?"