Chapter 6
It read: [Attention all colleagues, please be mindful of your personal belongings. Earlier today, an intern was found going through my personal items without permission. [After a conversation, everything was returned. Please stay alert, especially if you keep valuable items at work] Bethany didn’t mention any names, but everyone knew she meant me.
Because the whole 24th floor had already heard about me asking for my handbag back yesterday.
I turned off my phone and took a deep breath. “Elena, can you do me a favor?” I said.
“What is it?” Elena replied.
“Could you go get Mr. Gregory for me? Just tell him Katherine Ochoa needs to speak with him,” I said.
“Mr. Gregory?” Elena’s eyes widened. “What do you need him for? He’d never just come over-”
“Just tell him that. He’ll come,” I said.
Elena hesitated for a moment, but she went anyway. Five minutes later, Floyd showed up on the 24th floor.
He was in his fifties, with streaks of gray in his hair and gold–rimmed glasses. He was a founding member of Averon Group.
Floyd walked straight through the office and came right up to me.
“Kathy, what’s going on?” he asked.
He called me Kathy.
Everyone in the office heard it. Floyd knew me?
He had called me by my nickname?
The whole office went quiet.
Bethany stepped out of her office, grinning from ear to ear when she saw Floyd. “Mr. Gregory, what brings you here? You could have just called if you needed anything.“
Floyd didn’t even look at her. He stared at me and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Floyd,” I said, deliberately using the more familiar name, “someone’s been spreading rumors in the company group chat, saying I stole something. I was hoping you could help me set this right.”
“Who’s been spreading these rumors?” he asked.
I looked straight at Bethany.
Everyone else turned to look at her too.
Bethany’s face went ashen.
“Mr. Gregory, I wasn’t spreading rumors. It’s that she really–Bethany said.
“Really what?” Floyd interrupted her. “Do you have any proof she stole anything?”
“I… she was snooping in my stuff-” Bethany stammered.
“Your stuff?” Floyd frowned. “What do you even have that’s worth someone going through?”
Bethany opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
Floyd’s voice was calm, but every word carried weight. “Ms. Weber, you know exactly what it means to publicly
imply in the company group chat that a colleague is a thief without any proof.”
“Mr. Gregory, I was reminding everyone to be careful,” Bethany tried to defend herself.
“A reminder to be careful does not require mentioning an intern. Your message was clearly targeted. Now, send a clarification in the group chat and apologize to Katherine,” Floyd said.
Bethany’s face flushed red, then turned ashen. “Mr. Gregory, isn’t this a bit much?” she protested. “A bit much?” Floyd took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on. “Ms. Weber, let me be honest with you. “If Katherine decides to pursue this, you’re not just facing an apology. You’re looking at a formal complaint and disciplinary action. Do you understand?”
Bethany fell silent.
She turned to look at me.
For the first time, uncertainty flickered in her eyes. It was the kind of look that said, ‘Did I get something wrong?‘
“I…” Bethany hesitated, then said, “Alright, I’ll send a message to clear things up.”
She pulled out her phone and sent a message in the company group chat: [Just to clarify, after checking, Katherine did nothing wrong. Sorry for the confusion.]
After sending it, she looked at Floyd. “Mr. Gregory, is this
okay?”
Floyd didn’t answer her. Instead, he turned to me and said, “Kathy, I haven’t forgotten about this afternoon.”
This afternoon?
He was talking about the thing about my brother coming to the office later.
Because he knew Ralph was coming to the office that afternoon.
“Thanks, Floyd,” I said.
Floyd left.
Bethany stood frozen, as if she had been slapped across the face.
She shot me a glare.
Her eyes flashed with anger, confusion, and a hint of
unease.
But she quickly pulled herself together, spun around, and marched back into her office.
As soon as the door closed, I heard something crash inside.
The colleagues around me began to whisper.
“How does Mr. Gregory even know her?” someone whispered.
“He called her Kathy. He sounded really close to her,” another person said.
“Does she actually have some powerful backing?” someone else muttered.
“Backing? Come on, she’s just an intern,” another person
said.
“Have you ever seen an intern dare to talk back to a manager like that?” someone else chimed in.
I didn’t bother with their gossip. I sat back down at my desk and got back to work.
But I knew exactly that Bethany wasn’t going to let this slide.
People like her couldn’t stand being publicly humiliated.
And that was exactly what had happened to her today. She would be determined to get her revenge.
Sure enough, at 1:30 PM, Bethany called an emergency department meeting.