Chapter 343
Belle stammered. Her eyes swept the room in search of an ally. There were none.
“I manage people, not acronyms!”
“Then manage yourself out of this room,” Isolde said. “You are useless here.”
A low murmur of agreement moved through the engineers. They were tired of positive energy. They wanted solutions.
Belle looked at Arland. Arland looked at the ceiling.
Belle grabbed her notepad. A sob of pure humiliation escaped her throat, and she ran out of the room.
Isolde sat back down.
“Next slide,” she said.
Thursday morning, Isolde walked into the office carrying a single sheet of heavy stock paper, formal and precise.
She stopped at Belle’s desk near the bathroom.
𝗟а𝗍𝘦st c𝗁𝖺pte𝗋s оn 𝗴al𝗇𝗈𝗏𝗲𝘭𝘀.𝖼o𝗺
Belle was scrolling through a shoe sale on her phone. She didn’t look up.
“Belle,” Isolde said. “Where are the meeting minutes from yesterday?”
Belle spun her chair around. “I didn’t take them. I was too upset. You bullied me.”
“I explicitly told you to record the session,” Isolde said.
“I am not a secretary!” Belle snapped. “Taking notes is beneath me. Ask one of the nerds to do it.”
Ken and Sarah — the nerds in question — heard this. They looked up from their monitors and stared at Belle in unified contempt.
Isolde nodded slowly. “So you refused a direct order.”
She glanced at Belle’s screen. “And you have completed zero percent of the filing task.”
“So what?” Belle laughed. “Gray owns the company. You can’t touch me. I’m untouchable.”
Isolde set the document down on Belle’s desk.
It was a Termination of Employment notice.
Belle read the title and laughed harder. “You’re firing me? Good luck. Gray will rip this up.”
“Read paragraph three,” Isolde said. “‘Probationary Period.’”
Belle’s laughter faded. Her eyes dropped to the page.
“During the first ninety days,” Isolde continued, “employment is at-will. No cause needed. I could fire you for not liking your perfume.” She leaned in. “But I listed causes anyway. Insubordination. Incompetence. Hostile work environment.”
Belle shoved back from the desk, her chair rolling into the wall. “I’m calling Gray right now!”
“Call him,” Isolde said. “But hand over your badge first.”
She looked toward the lobby. Ralph, the building’s burly head of security, stepped forward. He had been waiting.
“Ralph, please escort Ms. Escobar from the building.”
Belle’s eyes went wide. “Don’t touch me! This is illegal!”
“Ma’am, please,” Ralph said, his voice deep and utterly bored. “Don’t make a scene.”
Belle snatched her phone and her bag. She fixed Isolde with a look of pure venom.
“You will regret this, Isolde!” she screamed. “When I come back, I’ll be your boss! I’ll own you!”
Isolde leaned against the desk and crossed her arms. “Unlikely.”
Belle was marched past the glass walls of the open floor plan. The entire office watched in complete silence. No one waved goodbye.
Arland emerged from his office just as the elevator doors closed on Belle’s screaming face.
“Grayson is going to explode,” he said.
Isolde checked her nails. They were perfect.
.