He laughed softly.
“Of course you did.”
You stood.
“I’m going home.”
“Sofia.”
You paused.
He looked like he wanted to say something personal.
Something complicated.
Something neither of you had earned the right to touch yet.
Instead, he said, “Thank you for raising the standards.”
You smiled slightly.
“Try meeting them.”
One year after HR cut your salary, you stood in the same office where Lucia had once slid the fake performance file across the desk.
The office had changed.
Lucia was gone.
The glass wall had been frosted for privacy.
Performance review appeals were now handled by an independent panel.
Salary adjustments required documented evidence, employee response windows, and executive oversight.
You stood beside the new Head of People Operations, a sharp woman named Denise Hall, reviewing the final audit report.
“Last case closed,” Denise said. “Back pay issued this morning.”
“How much total?”
“$4.6 million in compensation corrections. Another $2.1 million in contractor payments.”
