Mr. Greyson stared at my name in the chat, tagged over and over, with zero response. Whatever shred of composure he had left shattered.
He issued his ultimatum:
"Hailey Chavez abandoned her post without authorization, resulting in $80,000 in company losses!"
"Finance is to freeze every payroll account and bonus under her name, effective immediately."
"I don't care if I have to lose the shirt off my back. I'm filing a police report and pressing charges!"
Six o'clock that evening.
Mr. Greyson called back every employee in the area who'd been off for the holiday. An emergency accountability meeting.
The main hall had been cleared out into an open space. Dozens of people crammed into the wrecked room, nobody daring to breathe too loud.
The projector screen on the wall flickered to life. Hope appeared on the video call, filling the display.
She'd blurred her hotel background, changed into a wrinkled gray-brown t-shirt, and deliberately mussed her hair into something that looked like exhaustion.
BANG.
Mr. Greyson slammed the damage assessment report onto the table so hard the surface shook.
"Eighty thousand, seven hundred and thirty dollars!"
His eyes were a roadmap of burst capillaries. Each word ground out from between clenched teeth.
"That is what Hailey Chavez cost this company. No-show. Kept the keys to herself."
"Firing her would be letting her off easy. She's paying back every last cent!"
On the big screen, Hope's eyes reddened on cue. She pressed a hand to her mouth and let out a fragile, trembling sob.
"Mr. Greyson... Hailey's had a hard time in the workplace too."
Hope dabbed at fake tears, her voice catching. "Even if she hid the keys and didn't come in, please don't call the police on her!"
"She's still a young woman. If she gets arrested and ends up with a record, what job would ever hire her again? Her whole life would be ruined..."
Every word, every syllable, landed like a lash on Mr. Greyson's already raw nerves.
"Don't call the police? She brought this on herself!"
The muscles in his face twitched. "She destroyed half my life's work! I'm putting her behind bars today!"
Dennis pumped his fist in the air. "Hope, you're just too kind! Why waste your sympathy on someone like that? Call the cops right now. Show up at her door with handcuffs!"
The coworkers around him nodded along, a chorus of agreement and curses filling the room.