I didn't reply to Mr. James.
But Jill went ahead and booked the project meeting for me, in the client reception room at the company.
Mr. James sat in the middle of the couch.
The moment I walked in, he patted the spot beside him.
"Sit here."
I sat down across from him.
Jill pushed a chair toward me.
"How are we supposed to talk about the project sitting that far apart?"
"The proposal's on the table."
"What's the fun in just talking about a proposal?"
Mr. James stared at my clothes.
"You dressed pretty conservatively at the party."
"Did you already know what card you'd draw?"
Jill laughed.
"She just talks tough."
"In private she really knows how to sweet-talk a man."
I opened the voice recorder on my phone and slipped it into my coat pocket.
"Jill, did you see that with your own eyes?"
Her smile faded.
"It was a joke."
"Spreading filth about me in front of a client—that's a joke too?"
Stuart frowned.
"Regina, we're here today to solve a problem."
"Apologize to Mr. James first."
"I didn't do anything wrong."
Mr. James tossed the proposal onto the table.
"Then there's nothing to discuss."
"Anyone can handle an order like mine."
I pressed my hand flat on the proposal.
"The user data, the venue flow, and the ad rollout are all confirmed."
"Switch now, and your project gets delayed at least a month."
He looked at me for a moment.
"Regina really does have talent."
"Just too proud."
He stood, came around to my side.
His hand landed on my shoulder.
"Have a couple of drinks with the client, soften up a little, and everything's fine."
I stood up at once.
His hand slid down from my shoulder to my waist.
I shoved him off.
"Don't touch me."
Mr. James took two steps back.
Jill snapped her phone up fast.
A line of live chat drifted across my vision.
【Don't get physical.】
【There's another phone behind the vase.】
I turned to look.
In the corner behind the vase, a small black lens peeked out, aimed right at me.
Jill caught where my eyes went and stepped over to block it.
"What are you looking at?"
I didn't go for it.
"You set up a camera ahead of time?"
Stuart said,
"We keep footage of project meetings. Perfectly normal."
"Then why is it hidden behind the vase?"
"Someone just set the equipment down there."
Mr. James rubbed the shoulder I'd pushed.
"This woman's no good."
"A client so much as touches her and she goes off the rails. How's she supposed to run projects?"
Jill hooked her arm through his.
"Don't be angry. She's young, doesn't know how to behave."
I looked at her.
"Didn't you say you were the one handling the client?"
"Then you keep him company today."
Jill's face stiffened.
But Mr. James laughed.
"She and I know each other too well. Nothing special there."
"You're the type I like—the ones with some fire."
Still talking, he reached for my hand again.
I backed up until I was under the camera.
"Touch me again and I'm calling the police."
Stuart slammed the table.
"Enough!"
"Regina, you're suspended for today."
"Come back when you're ready to apologize to Mr. James."
I picked up the proposal.
Jill grabbed it.
"The project isn't yours anymore."
The paper tore.
She looked at the ripped proposal and smiled.
"Sorry. Slipped out of my hand."
That same night, the hidden video from behind the vase was posted to the company group chat.
The clip started from Mr. James stepping back.
No him touching me. No me warning him.
Just the few seconds of me reaching out and shoving him.
Jill's caption read:
【Wow, Manager Sullivan gets physical with a client. Again.】
Stuart followed right after with a notice:
【Tomorrow, 7 p.m. Come to the hotel and formally apologize to Mr. James.】
【Failure to show will be treated as seriously harming the project.】
I stared at the hotel address.
New live chat surfaced in front of me.
【They've got a room key ready.】
【Don't go into a room alone.】
The next day, I moved the meeting to the hotel lobby.
I sent my location to a friend.
I turned the recorder on ahead of time.
The task card went into my bag too.
Mr. James was sitting in the lounge area.
Jill Delgado and Stuart Walker were both there.
An opened bottle of red wine sat on the table.
Stuart spoke first.
"Let's clear up the misunderstanding today."
"Give Mr. James a toast and apologize."
"Then the project can go on."
I didn't sit.
"First, delete the video you filmed in secret."
Jill folded her arms.
"What secret video?"
"The phone behind the vase."
"That was the meeting record."
"Then why only post the part where I pushed him?"
She smiled.
"The video was too long. Who has time to watch the whole thing?"
Mr. James tapped the table.
"Regina, don't waste time."
He took a key card out of his suit pocket.
"Let's talk upstairs."
"We can talk right here."
"There are too many people. I don't like it."
"Then there's nothing to talk about."
I turned to leave.
Stuart blocked my way.
"Over two hundred grand in commission. You really don't want it?"
Mr. James came over and pressed the key card into my hand.
"Take it."
"The project contract is in the room."
Two lines of live chat drifted across my vision.
【Don't throw it away.】
【Hand it to the front desk. Get it on record.】
I held the key card and walked to the front desk.
Jill's phone stayed trained on me the whole way.
I set the card on the counter.
"Someone forced this key card on me and told me to entertain a client."
"Please log it and hold it for me."
The front desk clerk looked at me, then over at Mr. James.
"May I ask the room number?"
"1806."
"The room is registered under Mr. James."
Once it was logged, I photographed the record.
Jill's face darkened.
"Regina, is this really necessary?"
"Yes."
"You people like keeping video, don't you?"
"So I'll keep some too."
Stuart's face went completely cold.
"Don't bother coming in to work tomorrow."
The next morning, I was called into the HR conference room.
Two things sat on the table.
An eight-thousand-dollar entertainment expense claim form.
And the secretly filmed video of me taking the key card.
Jill sat to one side, eyes red.
"I've been trying to help Regina this whole time."
"I never imagined she'd take the money, take the card, and now turn around and bite us."
I pulled out the front desk record.
"The key card is already with the hotel."
"There's security footage in the lobby."
"You can check the whole thing, including Mr. James forcing the card on me."
HR didn't take it.
She picked up the eight-thousand-dollar claim form.
"How do you explain the signature?"
"I didn't sign it."
"The handwriting matches your onboarding paperwork."
"Then have it analyzed."
Stuart sneered.
"One card, sure, you can call it a game."
"The signature, you can call it forged."
"The video, you say it was edited."
"Regina, why is every single thing aimed at you?"
I looked at him.
"Because Jill wants my project, and you want the entertainment money."
The conference room went quiet.
Jill burst into tears at once.
"Slandering me is one thing, but why drag Manager Walker into it too?"
HR slid a suspension notice in front of me.
"Until the investigation is complete, you're suspended from work."
"The project and the commission will be handled by Jill for now."
I didn't sign.
HR took my badge anyway.
Before I left, I went back to my desk for my personal things.
My computer access was already being shut off.
A line of live chat appeared in front of me.
【Search "06" in the client management sheet.】
I opened the system right away.
I typed in the number.
A record from last year jumped out.
【Number: 06】
【Assigned to: Joan Swanson】
【Client: Mr. James】
【Special entertainment expense: $8,000】
【Status: Completed】
Below it was a resolution note.
【Employee voluntarily accompanied the client; later left the company over personal conduct issues.】
I kept scrolling down.
The seventh row was my name.
【Number: 07】
【Assigned to: Regina Sullivan】
【Status: Pending】
Jill had already come up behind me.
She reached out and shut the laptop.
"Found something you shouldn't have?"
I looked up at her.
So that task card had never been some year-end party game.
And I wasn't the first person they'd picked, either.
