Chapter 1 · Three Months A Ghost

For three months, I'd been a ghost in this company. No one had spoken a word to me.

The break room cleared when I walked in.

They'd rather wait for the next elevator than share one with me.

And my desk? It was moved next to the printer and a stack of outdated calendars in the supply closet.

My desk had been shoved into the supply closet, squeezed in between the printer, a broom, and a pile of leftover calendars from last year.

Today was the Holiday Party.

I woke up at 5 a.m., not from nerves, but from anticipation.

For three months, I've been waiting for this moment.

*****

The Holiday Party invites went out yesterday.

Company-wide blast to all 128 employees.

I counted them. 127 emails.

Mine wasn't there.

I didn't ask.

Asking would just be embarrassing myself. I learned that lesson three months ago.

At 8:30 AM, I walked into the office on time.

The time clock read: Victoria Knight, 08:27.

The storage room light's been broken for two weeks. I put in three maintenance requests. Nobody came.

I turned on my phone's flashlight and found my desk.

A thin layer of dust covered it.

Not because cleaning didn't happen. The janitor just stopped at the doorway every time.

"Don't bother with Victoria's room." I overheard her telling another cleaner. "Nobody goes in there anyway."

I pulled out a wet wipe and cleaned it myself.

At 8:45 AM, the office started buzzing.

"Hannah, what are you wearing to the party?"

"Not sure yet. Emilia said red's good, so I bought a red dress."

"Emilia's so good to you."

"Well, she's my mentor."

Their laughter faded down the hall.

I turned on my computer and started working.

Yeah, right.

After three months of being ghosted, I still showed up.

Not because I was some saint. It was because I had something to do.

9:00 AM sharp, a new email popped up.

From: Lincoln Reed, HR

Subject: Holiday Party Seating

[Victoria, due to limited seating, you won't be needed at this year's Holiday Party. A livestream will be available if you're interested.]

I stared at it for thirty seconds.

Then, I smiled.

I hit reply and typed three words.

[Got it, thanks.]

At 2:00 PM, I ate lunch alone in the storage room.

That was 12 dollars.

The cafeteria charged 15, but I didn't go there anymore.

Three months ago, I walked in with my tray. Everyone at one table stood up and left.

All eight of them. Gone.

I stood there while the whole cafeteria watched.

Someone laughed.

That was the last time I stepped in there.

After lunch, I tossed the container in the trash.

Then I opened a folder.

Filename: 2024 Work Records.

There were 387 files inside.

Meeting notes, email screenshots, recorded client calls... everything, including the $2 million deal from three months ago.

I looked through the files and took a deep breath.

It ended tonight.

Three months ago, I wasn't alone.

Back then, my desk was by the window, right next to Hannah.

Hannah was Emilia's person, but she was still decent to me.

"Victoria, wanna grab lunch together?" she asked.

"Sure, where to?" I said.

"Cafeteria."

At the time, I thought I was pretty lucky.

I'd only been at the company a year, but I got assigned to Emilia's project team. Emilia Smith was the sales manager. She'd been here eight years, had top connections and resources.

I learned a lot from her.

How to handle client dinners, how to put together sleek presentations, and how to present myself in front of leadership.

But there was one thing she never taught me.

Office politics.

That Monday three months ago, my phone rang.

"Hello, is this Victoria Knight?"

"Yes, who's speaking?" I asked.

"This is Sebastian Cooper's assistant from Sentinel Group. Mr. Cooper would like to meet with you tomorrow to discuss a potential partnership."

Sentinel Group?

I nearly dropped my phone.

Sentinel was a client our company had been chasing for two years.

In two years, Emilia had visited them over twenty times without even getting a meeting with Sebastian.

How did I, a rookie with just one year here, get this call?

"Are you sure you're looking for me?" I asked.

"Mr. Cooper mentioned he enjoyed speaking with you at the industry forum last month and would like to continue the conversation."

Then I remembered.

A month earlier, I was assigned forum support, menial stuff like handing out water and checking people in.

Chapter 1

For three months, I'd been a ghost in this company. No one had spoken a word to me.

The break room cleared when I walked in.

They'd rather wait for the next elevator than share one with me.

And my desk? It was moved next to the printer and a stack of outdated calendars in the supply closet.

My desk had been shoved into the supply closet, squeezed in between the printer, a broom, and a pile of leftover calendars from last year.

Today was the Holiday Party.

I woke up at 5 a.m., not from nerves, but from anticipation.

For three months, I've been waiting for this moment.

*****

The Holiday Party invites went out yesterday.

Company-wide blast to all 128 employees.

I counted them. 127 emails.

Mine wasn't there.

I didn't ask.

Asking would just be embarrassing myself. I learned that lesson three months ago.

At 8:30 AM, I walked into the office on time.

The time clock read: Victoria Knight, 08:27.

The storage room light's been broken for two weeks. I put in three maintenance requests. Nobody came.

I turned on my phone's flashlight and found my desk.

A thin layer of dust covered it.

Not because cleaning didn't happen. The janitor just stopped at the doorway every time.

"Don't bother with Victoria's room." I overheard her telling another cleaner. "Nobody goes in there anyway."

I pulled out a wet wipe and cleaned it myself.

At 8:45 AM, the office started buzzing.

"Hannah, what are you wearing to the party?"

"Not sure yet. Emilia said red's good, so I bought a red dress."

"Emilia's so good to you."

"Well, she's my mentor."

Their laughter faded down the hall.

I turned on my computer and started working.

Yeah, right.

After three months of being ghosted, I still showed up.

Not because I was some saint. It was because I had something to do.

9:00 AM sharp, a new email popped up.

From: Lincoln Reed, HR

Subject: Holiday Party Seating

[Victoria, due to limited seating, you won't be needed at this year's Holiday Party. A livestream will be available if you're interested.]

I stared at it for thirty seconds.

Then, I smiled.

I hit reply and typed three words.

[Got it, thanks.]

At 2:00 PM, I ate lunch alone in the storage room.

That was 12 dollars.

The cafeteria charged 15, but I didn't go there anymore.

Three months ago, I walked in with my tray. Everyone at one table stood up and left.

All eight of them. Gone.

I stood there while the whole cafeteria watched.

Someone laughed.

That was the last time I stepped in there.

After lunch, I tossed the container in the trash.

Then I opened a folder.

Filename: 2024 Work Records.

There were 387 files inside.

Meeting notes, email screenshots, recorded client calls... everything, including the $2 million deal from three months ago.

I looked through the files and took a deep breath.

It ended tonight.

Three months ago, I wasn't alone.

Back then, my desk was by the window, right next to Hannah.

Hannah was Emilia's person, but she was still decent to me.

"Victoria, wanna grab lunch together?" she asked.

"Sure, where to?" I said.

"Cafeteria."

At the time, I thought I was pretty lucky.

I'd only been at the company a year, but I got assigned to Emilia's project team. Emilia Smith was the sales manager. She'd been here eight years, had top connections and resources.

I learned a lot from her.

How to handle client dinners, how to put together sleek presentations, and how to present myself in front of leadership.

But there was one thing she never taught me.

Office politics.

That Monday three months ago, my phone rang.

"Hello, is this Victoria Knight?"

"Yes, who's speaking?" I asked.

"This is Sebastian Cooper's assistant from Sentinel Group. Mr. Cooper would like to meet with you tomorrow to discuss a potential partnership."

Sentinel Group?

I nearly dropped my phone.

Sentinel was a client our company had been chasing for two years.

In two years, Emilia had visited them over twenty times without even getting a meeting with Sebastian.

How did I, a rookie with just one year here, get this call?

"Are you sure you're looking for me?" I asked.

"Mr. Cooper mentioned he enjoyed speaking with you at the industry forum last month and would like to continue the conversation."

Then I remembered.

A month earlier, I was assigned forum support, menial stuff like handing out water and checking people in.