The partnership fell through.
The official reason was that headquarters had parachuted in a new VP, and the slot was taken.
I swallowed it. Told myself that as long as my numbers held, the position would come around eventually.
So I kept swallowing. All the way until today. Until a P1 newbie who'd barely cleared probation, who couldn't even pick a color palette for a slide deck without me walking her through it, got promoted over my head and became my boss.
"Max." I drew a long breath and pulled the lanyard over my head, lifting the badge free. "We both came up through sales. Let's skip the corporate runaround. I only want one thing."
"Sign my resignation. I'm leaving today."
The color drained from Max's face, replaced by something hard and ugly.
"Edwina, think very carefully about what you're doing. This industry is a small world. If you walk out that door today, that's a serious breach of professional conduct. The company spent five years developing you. Gave you resources. Gave you a platform. Now your wings are strong enough and you want to fly? Without the Grandmark name behind you, what are you? Who out there even knows your name?"
I dropped my badge onto his mahogany desk with a sharp crack.
"And don't you forget, Max. The three biggest clients in the East Region only deal with me. When they sign, it's because they trust me to have their backs. Not because the Grandmark logo looks pretty on a letterhead."
Max's eyes narrowed, something vicious surfacing behind them.
"Are you threatening the company?"
"I'm stating a fact."
"Edwina!" He slammed his palm on the desk. "If you walk out that door, I will personally make sure you never work in this industry again! The non-compete alone gives me a hundred ways to bury you!"
I didn't turn around.
"Then try."
I walked straight to my desk and started packing.
"Wait."
Max followed me out, stopping in his office doorway. His voice was loud, pitched to carry across the entire floor.
"Edwina, given your attitude, the company reserves the right to initiate an emergency audit. Until you've completed a full client handover, your salary and commissions are frozen. Furthermore, for any project losses resulting from your departure, the company retains the right to pursue legal action."
Cut off my income and pin the blame on me.
Ruthless.
I raised my voice to match his. "Audit whatever you want. Every single transaction I've handled is clean. As for client files, they're all in the system. But whether those clients accept whoever you put in my place? That's your problem."
I shoved my personal things into a cardboard box, picked it up, and walked into the elevator without looking back.
The doors slid shut. The last thing I saw was Max's ashen face and Narelle's smug little grin.
My stomach turned.
Five years. I'd fed five years of my life to people who didn't deserve a single day of it.
I sat in the café on the ground floor for half an hour, waiting for my pulse to slow.
After a while I got up to splash some water on my face. I'd barely rounded the corner toward the restroom when I heard a voice I recognized.
It was the company's chairman. Mr. Finch.
The man was practically a ghost around the office, almost never seen in person. And here he was, in a coffee shop.
"Uncle Darrell Finch, that was brilliant."
Narelle's voice.
"That Edwina woman acted like she owned the place. Never gave anyone an ounce of respect. At least we finally pushed her out. But… those big clients she was handling. What if they actually follow her?"
Every muscle in my body locked. My feet might as well have been nailed to the floor.
"Why worry? Clients follow money. We bump the rebate another point, and those executives won't care who's sitting across the table. As for Edwina…"
Mr. Finch let out a low, contemptuous laugh. The kind that came from somewhere deep, from a man who'd never considered her worth a second thought.
