Chapter 4

At 3:00 PM the next day, my assistant sent over HR's supplementary findings.

On Project Oceanic, Jason had only handled data maintenance and entry for a minor module. He hadn't even touched the core code. His "team leadership" was just babysitting two fresh-out-of-college interns, and he had a documented history of pushing the blame onto others.

His onboarding documents contained material misrepresentations regarding his degree status and credentials. The employee referral provided by a relative also lacked the required COI disclosure.

HR was finalizing the verification and legal review. The company was only acting on facts confirmed through original hiring records, degree checks, and project leads.

I curled my lip into a smile and dialed Emily.

"Free for lunch tomorrow? I have some business near Pike Street. Let's grab a bite."

Emily sounded cheerful. "Sure! Jason said he's meeting a friend to discuss something important tomorrow at noon, so I was going to eat alone anyway."

"A friend?" I smiled faintly, not breaking the illusion just yet.

"Yeah. He said they need to talk about something big." Emily's voice was full of absolute trust.

Oh, sweetheart, I thought. The "friend" he's meeting is a headhunter.

And tomorrow, I was going to take her there myself so she could see exactly how much of a fraud the man she loved really was.

Chapter 4

At 3:00 PM the next day, my assistant sent over HR's supplementary findings.

His onboarding documents contained material misrepresentations regarding his degree status and credentials. The employee referral provided by a relative also lacked the required COI disclosure.

HR was finalizing the verification and legal review. The company was only acting on facts confirmed through original hiring records, degree checks, and project leads.

I curled my lip into a smile and dialed Emily.

"Free for lunch tomorrow? I have some business near Pike Street. Let's grab a bite."

Emily sounded cheerful. "Sure! Jason said he's meeting a friend to discuss something important tomorrow at noon, so I was going to eat alone anyway."

"A friend?" I smiled faintly, not breaking the illusion just yet.

"Yeah. He said they need to talk about something big." Emily's voice was full of absolute trust.

Oh, sweetheart, I thought. The "friend" he's meeting is a headhunter.

And tomorrow, I was going to take her there myself so she could see exactly how much of a fraud the man she loved really was.