A Foundation of Lies

First day back in the office. I was face down at my desk during lunch when the desk next to mine started rattling under a series of hard knocks.

I looked up. It was the firm's new architect, Flora Reeves.

"Lunch time ended five minutes ago. You're still asleep at your desk? Don't bother coming in tomorrow. You're fired!"

I told her I had just come back from a client meeting. I had been pulling all-nighters on the project for a week.

She looked at me like I was something on her shoe. "All you do is take clients out, drink with them, and scribble a few sketches.

"You don't even punch in. You're barely in the office. What gives you the right to nap at your desk during work hours?"

I almost laughed in her face!

I was the firm's chief architect. The bulk of the projects on Walsh & Co.'s books had my name on them.

The firm's success was, frankly, carried by me.

She saw me out of the office most days. She did not see me in another city, on another job site, talking down another client.

And in our industry, most of those clients had hired Walsh & Co. because of my name and reputation.

I kept my composure. "You're not in HR. On what authority are you firing me?"

She said, "On the authority that my husband is the president of this company."

I went still.

When did my boyfriend get married?

"I'm giving you exactly ten minutes. Pack your things and get the hell out of here!"

Flora Reeves's voice was sharp and pleased with itself.

I remained unfazed. "If you claim to be the boss's wife, show me some proof. Empty words mean nothing."

I was sure she was bluffing.

To my surprise, she actually pulled up a few photos on her phone and shoved the screen in my face.

In the pictures, my boyfriend, Louis Walsh, had his arm wrapped intimately around her waist. He was smiling tenderly, kissing her hair, his eyes brimming with absolute adoration.

"See that? Louis is my husband. We've been married for ages. What's left not to believe? If you know what's good for you, get out!"

My breathing hitched. I stared fixedly at those sickeningly intimate photos.

"That's impossible. He's been my boyfriend for ten years."

Flora burst into a fit of mocking laughter. "Look at your pathetic, shabby self. You actually delusionally think you could be his girlfriend? Keep dreaming!"

Drawn by the commotion, colleagues gathered around, their whispers rising and falling in waves.

"Who is that? I've never even seen her before."

"I think she's the lead architect who handled a few big projects a while back. No wonder she's got the nerve to go head-to-head with Flora."

"What lead architect? She probably just drank with clients and slept her way into those contracts. How does she have the gall to call herself the boss's girlfriend?"

"The boss and Flora have been practically glued to each other lately. They officially announced their relationship to the whole company last week. Who knows where she was, and now she's trying to play the homewrecker?"

"She's probably just so used to being a side piece she's developed delusions. Hahaha!"

The whispers pierced my ears like needles. My mind went entirely blank.

While I was away working, Louis actually made it official with Flora behind my back?

Seeing the crowd taking her side, Flora's gaze grew even more triumphant.

"Hear that? If you know what's good for you, pack your trash and leave! From today onward, the design department is under my control.

"My husband would never look twice at someone like you. Stop with your wishful thinking and quit trying to ruin our relationship!"

I let out a humorless laugh, practically trembling with rage.

"Even if most of you rarely see me, you should know what I've done for this company.

"I've worked here for ten solid years. I've secured countless core projects and brought in massive results for this firm. The senior staff here know exactly what I've accomplished.

"What gives you the right to fire me with a single sentence?"

Though I kept a low profile, the veterans in the room had all heard my name. For a brief moment, the sheer force of my words stunned the room into silence.

But Flora remained unrelenting. She stepped forward and violently swept everything off my desk, sending it all crashing to the floor.

"Stop boasting! So what if you've been here ten years? Let me tell you something: if you have no value, I don't care how much seniority you have, you get tossed out!

"You only got those projects by drinking and sleeping around! If we gave those clients to anyone else here, they could close the deals just the same!"

At this, murmurs of agreement rippled through the crowd.

"Yeah, Flora is right! With the kind of client list you're hoarding, a dog could close those deals!"

"Without those contacts, you're nothing! Just get out and let the rest of us take over those clients!"

Staring at the mess on the floor, I instinctively reached down to pick up a critical project file.

Flora's heel slammed down on it. She snatched up the document without even glancing at it and ripped it to shreds.

That was the final proposal! The one I had spent an entire month negotiating, pulling all-nighters to revise dozens of times before the client finally approved it.

"You're already out the door, why do you care about this waste paper? Get lost and go process your resignation!"

The anger boiled over. I raised my hand and slapped her across the face with everything I had.

Flora clutched her cheek in utter shock. Just as she lunged to strike back, a sharp, authoritative voice barked from the office entrance.

"What the hell is going on here?"