She Framed Me at Work,So I Sent Her to Prison

The Labor Day long weekend was right around the corner, and my scheming coworker was waving the duty roster in my face.

"Hailey, I'm so sorry, but it looks like you're pulling the heavier load again this year."

Hope Fox pointed at the schedule like she was showing off a trophy. Five-day weekend, and she had two shifts while I had three.

I shrugged, completely unbothered.

"Fine by me. Triple pay means one extra day of work is one extra day of money."

Hope's eyes lit up instantly.

"Hailey, you really mean that? Then would you be a sweetheart and cover my—"

I cut her off with a sharp wave of my hand.

I knew exactly what she was scheming.

Last year she'd used a vacation as an excuse. When her shift came around, she played dead and claimed she couldn't make it back.

Mr. Greyson blew his top, and since I needed to keep my job, I gritted my teeth and covered for her.

Five straight days without a break. My body gave out completely, and I spent the next month on medical leave.

This year, I was not falling into the same trap twice.

——

I fixed Hope with a cold stare and slid the roster back across the desk.

The smile froze on her face.

"Hailey, you can't do this to me!"

She squeezed in next to my desk, her voice pitched high and wheedling, already reaching for my arm.

"Come on, have a heart! I already found discount flights to Miami. If I cancel now, I lose the booking fee!"

"And my mom hasn't been doing well lately. I was hoping to take her to the beach over the long weekend so she could relax..."

I lifted my gaze and cut her off.

"Save it."

My voice was ice. "Hope, you pulled the exact same routine last year. Said you were taking your mom to see a specialist. And what happened?"

"When your shift came around, your phone went straight to voicemail. You didn't even read my texts."

I stood up.

"You vanished without a trace, and I covered for you five days straight!"

"I passed out from low blood sugar in the subway station and spent over a month on medical leave."

"Forget the attendance bonus I lost. Did you reimburse me a single cent for the hospital bills?"

Hope's expression soured, her dirty laundry aired for everyone to hear.

Seeing that tactic wasn't working, she switched gears on a dime. Her eyes reddened, tears glistening on cue.

She didn't bother arguing with me. Instead, she turned toward the male coworkers, dabbing at her eyes.

Dennis Finch, the guy who orbited her like a satellite and brought her coffee every morning, jumped in immediately.

"Hailey Chavez, we're all coworkers here. Do you have to be so harsh?"

Dennis puffed up his neck. "She's got a real situation going on. You're free during the holiday anyway. What's the big deal about covering one shift? Show a little compassion, would you?"

I let out a cold laugh and locked eyes with him.

"Dennis, if you're so worried about your precious little bestie, why don't you cover her shifts yourself?"

"Two days over the long weekend, six hundred bucks a day in overtime. That's twelve hundred dollars, all yours. Go file the request with HR."

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

The second he realized it meant giving up his own holiday, Dennis's face turned the color of a bruised plum. He stammered for a while, then shrank back behind his monitor.

Nobody said a word.

With no one left to fight her battle, Hope clenched her jaw and stalked back to her seat.

As she turned, something vicious flickered behind her eyes.

If she couldn't take it by force, she'd find another way.

The first three days of the long weekend passed with eerie calm.

Then, on the afternoon of the third day, just before clocking out, I deliberately took a trip to the restroom at the far end of the hallway and lingered for a good fifteen minutes.

When I pushed open the office door and walked back to my desk, a cold smile tugged at my lips.

Sitting dead center on my desk was a heavy ring of brass-colored spare keys to the company warehouse.

Tucked beneath them was a sticky note in obnoxious pink, scrawled in Hope's signature cutesy handwriting: "Thanks for agreeing to cover my shifts after all, Hailey! You're the best! I left the keys here for you. Mwah~"