Ethan felt a deep, profound wave of shame wash over him. Not because of how he had been treated that night, but because the enterprise he prided himself on building—a company whose core mission statement was rooted in respect—had forced a dedicated, hardworking woman to defend her own truth as if honesty were a liability.
“Forward everything in that folder to my personal email address,” Ethan said.
“Yes, Mr. Vance.”
“And please, stop calling me Mr. Vance tonight. My name is Ethan.”
Lupita hesitated for a fraction of a second before nodding. “Alright… Ethan.”
Robert looked as though he wanted to physically disappear into his designer suit. “I will fully cooperate with an executive compliance review, sir,” he muttered.
“No, you won’t,” Ethan replied coldly. “You are going to hand over your master keycard, your corporate laptop, and your office keys immediately. You are suspended effective immediately, pending a forensic digital audit of that server.”
