Chapter 5

She looked at the screen and sneered.

"Your file formats are a mess. I don't understand them."

"And you only have digital copies. What if the server crashes? I need you to handwrite the project sources and client contact details for every single account."

After two weeks of her constant rejection and nitpicking, I finally lost my patience and slammed my hand on the desk.

Ethan, who had been playing deaf and dumb for days, immediately summoned us to his office.

"Harper, what is your problem?"

"Chloe is the Design Director now. You do what she says. I won't sign your resignation until Director Chloe is completely satisfied!"

Chloe gave me a smug look. Before leaving, she turned to me and said, "Oh, and bring a vanilla latte to my office, will you?"

I crossed my arms and looked at Ethan.

"Ethan, is this what you call keeping business and personal life separate?"

"Harper, whether you like it or not, she is the Director now. If you embarrass her in public, how is she supposed to lead the team?"

"If you're done venting, get out. It doesn't look good for us to be alone in here."

For the first time in five years of marriage, I felt suffocated standing in the same room with him.

"According to labor laws, I am leaving in exactly thirty days. She can deal with it."

Before starting at my new job, I needed to pack, move, and sell the condo.

I didn't have time to play games with them.

On my last day, my desk was completely cleared except for a coffee mug and my personal laptop.

Since Ethan had to attend a conference at the headquarters today, he had signed my release forms yesterday. My offboarding was officially complete.

After saying goodbye to some colleagues, I picked up my box, ready to walk out.

But Chloe and a couple of security guards blocked the exit.

"Harper, we suspect you have confidential company data on your personal laptop. We need to seize it for our IT department to inspect."

That laptop contained all my hard work from the past few years. I took it home with me every single day. There was no way I was letting them touch it.

"I can show you the files here, but you are not taking my property."

Chloe let out a cold laugh. "You have a lot of new design templates and custom fonts on there, don't you?"

I froze. Those were the templates I created after deciding to resign, meant for my upcoming portfolio. I hadn't told a soul.

The only person who had access to my laptop password was Ethan.

Chloe raised her voice, making sure the entire office could hear.

"Some people have zero professional ethics. The company spent so much money training her, yet she refuses to hand over core materials."

"If everyone acted like this, how is our department supposed to function?"

I had tried to leave peacefully, but that didn't mean she could walk all over me.

"This is my personal laptop. The templates and fonts are my original creations, developed in my own time. They have nothing to do with this company."

"You have no legal right to confiscate my work!"

A few colleagues nearby started whispering in my defense.

"Yeah, everyone knows Harper did most of the work here. Her drafts are always original. Why would she need to steal anything?"

"Exactly. Someone's just throwing their weight around."

Chloe's face flushed with anger. She snapped at the guards, "What are you waiting for? Grab the laptop!"

"If the company loses precious data, can you guys afford the damages?"

She pointed a finger at the whispering staff. "Anyone who wants to follow her out the door is welcome to help her!"

Everyone quickly looked down, pretending to be busy.

Two guards grabbed my arms. Chloe easily unlocked my laptop using Ethan's birthday.

She clicked through a few folders, smirked, and said, "Well, nothing special anyway."

She held the laptop out to me.

But my arms were pinned back by the guards. I couldn't reach it.

She smiled, opened her hand, and let the laptop drop.

Crash.

Then, she stepped on the screen with her sharp stiletto heel.

The LCD screen shattered into webbed cracks.