Val hurled the bid at me. “I trusted you with this, and it’s blank!”
- 15.
I picked up the bid–every page was empty.
Val jabbed a finger at me. “I trusted her, Director. I thought she’d finish it, but she’s so lazy she turned in an empty file.”
She turned to the director, “I told her to stay late last night to finish this, but she just walked out. Clearly, she’s too arrogant to take her work seriously,
She spat her accusations with venom, as if I were some criminal.
But the director’s expression remained unreadable.
Finally, Director Collins slammed her fist on the desk. “Val, when Grace told me about your antics, I didn’t believe her. I’ve known you to be petty, but I never expected you’d stoop to framing someone.”
“Grace handed me her completed bid file last night. And she also pointed out over twenty errors in your initial draft.” She produced a second copy of the bid from her desk drawer.
The director glared at Val. “I don’t care what connections you have at HQ. Sabotaging your colleague and jeopardizing company intere won’t fly here. You’re the one who needs to leave.
Val crumbled, clutching at Director Collins’s legs. “Director, I was just… jealous of Grace. I promise I won’t do it again.”
With a sigh, the director relented. “This is your last chance. Next time, no one will save you. This project’s credit goes to Grace, and you extra work to reflect on your actions.”
- 16.
Val lost her quarterly bonus and was forced to buy everyone in the office afternoon tea for a month. She’d gone from opportunist to people–pleaser almost overnight, even handing out snacks.
One afternoon, she grinned and said, “I know I messed up before. I hope you’ll all forgive me.
She even started fetching my
