Chapter 2
Big, fluffy snowflakes drifted down onto the cobblestones of Central Street, quickly piling up into a thick layer.
I was wrapped up in a heavy, rented down jacket, and every step I took in the snow made a satisfying crunch-crunch sound.
It was so relaxing.
For the past few days, I didn't bother with my phone or thought about work at all.
I watched the sunset by the Lucent River and slid down the ice slides at the Ice and Snow World.
Just like a kid, I tossed all my troubles into the minus four degree Fahrenheit air.
On the fifth day, the holiday finally came to an end. I was getting ready to leave.
But I wasn't going back to that city I couldn't stand. I was heading home.
At the airport, I turned on my personal phone, which had been off for five days.
In an instant, a flood of calls and texts came pouring in. My phone froze for a full minute.
There were over three hundred missed calls.
Most of them were from Randy, with a bunch of unknown numbers mixed in.
My messaging app showed over 999 unread messages.
The company group chat was blowing up.
I tapped on Randy's messages, and a bunch of voice notes started playing one after another.
Day one. [Diana, where the hell are you? Turn your phone on and call me back!]
His tone was all bossy, like he was giving me orders.
Day two. [Diana, I can't reach Mr. Dalton. Hurry up and fill me in. What's happening?]
Randy's voice was clearly tense.
Day three. [Diana, where the hell are you? Mr. Dalton's secretary says he's out of town and won't see anyone!]
Randy sounded downright frantic.
Day four. [Diana, Diana! I'm begging you, please, come back! Mr. Dalton says he'll only talk to you!]
He sounded like he was about to cry.
Day five, which was today. [Diana! If you don't show up now, the company's finished! And don't think you'll get off easy either!]
It was a frantic, furious threat.
I snorted and deleted all the voice messages.
Then I opened up Barbara's messages.
She'd only sent texts, each one more pleading than the last.
[Diana, I was wrong before. Please be the bigger person and come back.]
[The company can't go on without you.]
[Just come back, and you can name your terms!]
I even spotted a friend request from the big boss himself, Melvin Fischer.
He was the elusive boss, the stuff of company legend, the man nobody ever actually saw in person.
His verification message read: [Ms. Clayton, please accept. This is urgent!]
Reading all these messages was like watching a clown show.
Back when they threw me out like garbage, did they ever imagine they'd be groveling like this now?
I didn't reply to a single one.
The plane touched down.
I didn't go back to the office, and I didn't return to my old rental either.
I just grabbed a cab and headed straight for Summit Group's headquarters.
The place I'd devoted three years of my life to.
Before I even reached the front doors, the whole place was a mess.
Several police cars marked with "Economic Crime Investigation" were parked out front, their red and blue lights flashing nonstop.
A massive notice was slapped right across the company's glass doors, sealing the entrance.
The date on it? Today.
A crowd of employees had gathered downstairs, everyone visibly nervous and unsettled.
"What the hell happened? Why's the company locked up?"
"Heard the cash dried up. That 1.5-billion-dollar project collapsed, and now the banks are swarming in for their money!"
"Where's Mr. Fischer? And Mr. Hartley?"
"No clue. Word is, the cops are all over the place!"
I tugged my hood down over my face, about to slip away.
Out of nowhere, someone tore through the crowd, charging at me like he'd completely lost it.
It was Randy. He looked like he'd aged ten years in just a few days.
His hair was greasy, his suit a wrinkled disaster, and his eyes were bloodshot.
"Diana! You're finally back!" Randy shouted.
He seized my arm, his grip so fierce it sent a jolt of alarm through me.
"Quick! You have to come with me to see Mr. Dalton. You're the only one who can save us!" Randy pleaded. His voice was hoarse, raw with despair.
The coworkers around us all turned to look, their gazes full of complicated emotions.
There was surprise, confusion, and even a hint of schadenfreude in their eyes.
I brushed his hand off my arm.
I said, "Mr. Hartley, you're mistaken. I've already been fired. Why should I care what happens to Summit Group?"
I said it all with a calm voice.
Randy was left speechless, completely caught off guard.
He never expected that the same subordinate who always used to be so respectful would ever speak to him this way.
"Diana, you can't just walk away! The company invested in you..." Randy stammered.
"Invested in me?" I laughed.
I said, "You mean you had me slaving away for you, then kicked me out as soon as the project succeeded?
"Or was it when you tossed me out at the company entrance like garbage, so everyone could have a good laugh at my expense?"
My voice wasn't loud, but everyone nearby heard it all.
Randy's face went red.
Just then, someone looking even worse than Randy got dragged out of the building.
It was Melvin, the big boss.
He spotted me and looked like he'd just found his last hope.
He tore himself away from the people holding him and scrambled over to me, practically on his hands and knees.
Right in front of everyone, all eyes wide with shock, Melvin fell to his knees before me.
He pleaded, "Ms. Clayton! Diana! I was wrong! Please forgive me! I was being ignorant. I let those snakes fool me!"
Melvin clung to my leg, bawling his eyes out, snot and tears streaming everywhere.
"I'm begging you, please, just go see Mr. Dalton!" he pleaded.