For a few seconds, you did not remember.
Then you did.
HR.
Performance standards.
$730.
Renunciation.
Block.
You sat up slowly.
Your phone was still face down on the nightstand. It buzzed once. Then again. Then again, like an insect trapped under glass.
You picked it up.
The screen was chaos.
180 missed calls.
260 text messages.
42 emails flagged urgent.
17 voice mails.
Most were from unknown numbers.
Some from colleagues.
Some from Lucia.
But most were from Alejandro Lujan, the CEO you had blocked, now using every assistant, executive phone, conference line, and emergency contact number in the company to reach you.
You stared at the screen.
Then you laughed.
Not loudly.
Not bitterly.
Just once, soft and sleepy, like the universe had finally delivered the punchline.
The first message was from Lucia.
Sofia, there appears to have been a misunderstanding. Please contact HR immediately.
The second was from Alejandro’s assistant.
Ms. Salazar, Mr. Lujan urgently requests that you return his call. It is extremely important.
