Chapter 4
The memo hit everyone’s inbox thirty minutes later.
The subject line was a serrated blade:
Disciplinary Notice Regarding Misuse of Corporate Assets — Diana Mercer
It detailed my supposed crimes with surgical precision. The long-term unauthorized use of the firm’s flagship Cullinan for personal errands. Child pickup. Shopping trips. Conduct unbecoming of leadership.
I sat in my office listening to the murmurs drift over the cubicle walls.
“Unbelievable. She always acted so high and mighty.”
“A Cullinan? That’s a four-hundred-thousand-dollar car. She used it like a minivan.”
“Madison really did us a favor.”
“It’s about time someone cleaned house.”
I took a sip of my coffee. The bitterness coated my tongue, but it couldn’t touch the cold in my chest.
Then my office door swung open without a knock.
Madison marched in holding a clipboard.
“Diana, finance finished the audit. Based on the mileage logs over the last twenty-four months, you owe the company one hundred twenty-eight thousand dollars in fuel, maintenance, and depreciation.”
She slapped the paper onto my desk and loomed over me.
“Nate already signed off on it. You have three days to settle the balance or it’ll be liquidated from your year-end bonus and equity dividends.”
I picked up the sheet and scanned the numbers.
They were absurdly thorough.
They had even counted the miles I drove to the dealership for the car’s scheduled maintenance as “personal use.”
“One hundred twenty-eight thousand?” I said, amused. “You’re quite the mathematician, Madison.”
“I’m efficient,” she snapped. “I know you’re bitter, Diana, but these are the rules. You enjoyed a lifestyle you didn’t pay for. Now the bill is due.”
Enjoyed.
I leaned back in my chair and looked her dead in the eye.
“Do you have any idea what the insurance on that car costs annually?”
Madison hesitated. “The company pays it, obviously.”
“No. I do. Fifty thousand a year. And the maintenance? Also me. Over ten grand every service.”
Her confidence wavered.
“Well, that was your choice. You’re the one who drove it.”
“Do you even know who brought that car into this office two years ago?”
She waved a dismissive hand. “Who cares? It belongs to the company now. Don’t try to deflect. Pay the money.”
Belongs to the company now.
That line almost made me laugh.