The company director fired me in front of everyone. Two hours later, he called and said, \u201cDress nicely and meet me by the<\/p>\n
lake. Don\u2019t tell anyone we\u2019re meeting.\u201d When I arrived, he asked me to take a photo with him\u2026 and the next morning, that<\/p>\n
photo was hanging on the door of his office\u00a0\ud83d\ude31\ud83d\udc94<\/p>\n
When Mr. Wilson said in front of everyone,<\/p>\n
\u201cEmily, pack your things. As of today, you no longer work here,\u201d<\/p>\n
I just stood there for a few seconds.<\/p>\n
The office became so quiet that I could hear the sound of the keyboard from the desk beside me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026 may I ask why?\u201d I finally managed to say.<\/p>\n
Our director didn\u2019t even look me in the eyes.<\/p>\n
He was seventy-eight years old, strict, cold, and extremely private. He had been with the company since before I was even old<\/p>\n
enough to go to school.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll understand the reason later,\u201d he said. \u201cFor now, go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those words hurt more than if he had simply told me I was a terrible employee.<\/p>\n
Everyone was staring at me.<\/p>\n
My direct supervisor, Mark, lowered his head.<\/p>\n
Karen, who had been trying to get my position for years, couldn\u2019t even hide her smile.<\/p>\n
I packed my bag, my notebooks, and the small framed photo from my desk, then walked out of the building.<\/p>\n
The moment the elevator doors closed, I started crying.<\/p>\n
I had worked for that company for almost five years.<\/p>\n
For the past two years, I had stayed late week after week. When the company was going through financial difficulties, I had barely even taken vacation days.<\/p>\n
And now they had simply thrown me out.<\/p>\n
Without an explanation.<\/p>\n
About two hours after I got home, my phone rang.<\/p>\n
The screen showed:<\/p>\n
Mr. Wilson.<\/p>\n
For a moment, I thought about ignoring it.<\/p>\n
But I answered.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmily.\u201d<\/p>\n
His voice sounded different.<\/p>\n
Softer.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCome to the east dock at Hart Lake tonight at seven.\u201d<\/p>\n
I froze.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy?\u201d<\/p>\n
He stayed silent for a few seconds.<\/p>\n
Then he said,<\/p>\n
\u201cDress nicely. And don\u2019t tell anyone we\u2019re meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n
I literally pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at the screen.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Wilson\u2026 I don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know. Trust me for a few more hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he hung up.At that moment, every terrible possibility crossed my mind.<\/p>\n
Why had he fired me in front of everyone, only to ask me to meet him secretly afterward?<\/p>\n
Why by a lake?<\/p>\n
Why after working hours?<\/p>\n
And strangest of all\u2026<\/p>\n
Why did I need to dress nicely?<\/p>\n
I was almost certain I wasn\u2019t going.<\/p>\n
But then I remembered his final words.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrust me for a few more hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
A little before seven, I arrived at the lake.<\/p>\n
Mr. Wilson was already there.<\/p>\n
He was wearing a red polo shirt, light-colored shorts, and looked nothing like the stern director I saw every day at work.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou came,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. Are you finally going to tell me what\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n
He glanced around.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, we need to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he handed his phone to a woman walking nearby.<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you mind taking a photo of us?\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him in confusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cA photo?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. Just stand next to me and smile.\u201d<\/p>\n
At that point, I was becoming uncomfortable.<\/p>\n
If someone from the company saw us there, what would they think?<\/p>\n
Worse\u2014what if the photo ended up somewhere?<\/p>\n
But he stood beside me, placed his hand casually around my back, and we took one picture.<\/p>\n
Then he took his phone back, looked at the photo, and said,<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd now?\u201d<\/p>\n
His only response was:<\/p>\n
\u201cCome to the office tomorrow at nine.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you fired me.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the first time, he smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I barely slept that night.<\/p>\n
I felt as if I had somehow become part of a bizarre game.The next morning, the moment I walked into the company building, I could tell something was wrong.<\/p>\n
People were staring at me.<\/p>\n
Some were whispering.<\/p>\n
Karen even walked up to me with a cold smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, now it makes sense why he always treated you differently.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
She simply pointed toward the director\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
When I walked closer, my heart dropped.<\/p>\n
The photo from the lake had been printed in a large size and hung directly on his office door. The continuation read in the<\/p>\n
comments\u00a0\ud83d\udc47\u203c\ufe0f\ud83d\udc47\u203c\ufe0f<\/p>\n
There was no explanation beneath it.<\/p>\n
Only the date.<\/p>\n
My face started burning.<\/p>\n
People had already made up all kinds of stories.<\/p>\n
Some probably believed there was some kind of secret relationship between us.<\/p>\n
And at that exact moment, Mr. Wilson opened the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmily, come in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside the office were five members of the company board, the chief financial officer, the company lawyer, and Mark.<\/p>\n
I immediately realized this was much more serious than I had thought.<\/p>\n
Mr. Wilson closed the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cSit down.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then he placed a folder on the table.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree months ago, I noticed money disappearing from the company\u2019s accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mark went pale.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt first, we thought it was an accounting error,\u201d Mr. Wilson continued. \u201cBut then we realized someone inside the company had been creating fake contracts.\u201d<\/p>\n
I still didn\u2019t understand what any of this had to do with me.<\/p>\n
He turned toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo weeks ago, you accidentally sent me a report that contained three numbers no one else had noticed.\u201d<\/p>\n
I remembered.<\/p>\n
It had seemed like an ordinary Excel spreadsheet.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose three numbers led us to start an internal investigation,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd yesterday, we needed one final piece of evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why you fired me?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The room fell silent.<\/p>\n
He opened the folder.\u201cIf the person stealing the money believed Emily was no longer working here\u2014and believed she had some kind of personal connection to me\u2014they might panic and assume I had told her something. We wanted to see who would be the first person to try to wipe the system or remove documents.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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