Chapter 3 - The Threat
Down on thirty-three, Brenda was grinning, hands planted on her hips as she watched Elena lower the phone.
"Oh, precious," Brenda sneered, tilting her head back to let out a theatrical snort of ridicule. "Calling mommy? Really? Did you tell her that mean old Brenda made you work for a living? Are you going to ask her to write an angry email to human resources?"
The onlookers chuckled nervously, desperate to stay on Brenda’s good side. Carter, the senior VP of risk assessment, leaned against a partition and crossed his arms. "Just grab the broom, kid. Save yourself the humiliation. Brenda’s been running this division since you were in grade school."
"You have no idea what you just did," Elena said quietly, wiping a streak of mascara from beneath her left eye. Her knuckles were white against her sides.
Brenda took another step forward, tapping her sharp acrylic nail hard against the bridge of Elena’s nose. "Let me tell you what I did, you arrogant little parasite. I saved this company three weeks of wasted payroll on your worthless ass. You’re fired. As of right now. Pack your cheap plastic tote bag and crawl back to whatever low-income suburb you crawled out of, because if you aren't off this property in five minutes, I'll have the cops drag you out in zip ties."
A low chime reverberated through the vast hallway.
May you like
It wasn't the regular employee elevators. It was the private, heavy brass cage of the Executive Car—the one reserved exclusively for the Board of Directors, which hadn't descended below thirty-four in nearly five years.
The heavy brushed-steel doors parted with a pressurized hiss.
