Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Liam

T he noise of the city swirled around us as I stared at the ground, shuffling my feet. Jack was looking right at me, his hand still on my shoulder. “Is everything okay?” he asked, his voice quiet, steady. I wanted to tell him, to just come out and say everything that had been gnawing at me since yesterday. But the words wouldn’t come. Instead, I mumbled, “Yeah, just… work stuff. It’ll be fine.”

Jack’s gaze searched my face, probably knowing I was lying, but I couldn’t bear to look at him. Not now. “I’ll see you after work,” I said, barely meeting his eyes before I turned and headed down the street, putting as much distance as I could between us.

My building loomed up ahead, gray and imposing, blending into the dull morning sky. I pulled open the heavy glass doors and froze. Just inside, by the security desk, were the same SEC agents I’d seen yesterday, their dark suits and sharp gazes impossible to ignore. My stomach twisted, a deep unease settling in. I forced myself to walk past them and pressed the button for the elevator, feeling their eyes on my back as I waited.

When the elevator finally opened, I stepped in and rode up to my floor in silence, my reflection staring back at me from the polished metal doors, tight-lipped and tense. I wished I could vanish into the walls.

The elevator doors slid open, and I stepped out onto the quiet, open floor. At the reception desk, Marissa sat stiffly, her eyes wide and anxious as she looked up. Her hand hovered over the phone, like she’d just been trying to call someone.

“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice coming out rougher than I meant.

Her face crumpled, and she shook her head, looking away for a second before meeting my eyes. “They—they said we need to go to Conference Room F. Someone’s… they’re going to explain what’s happening.” Her hand reached out, clutching my shoulder like it was the only thing keeping her from breaking down completely. I saw the tremor in her lip, the sheen of a tear slipping down her cheek. “I can’t lose this job, Liam. My little girl just turned one, and my husband… he’s still out of work.”

My chest tightened. Marissa was one of the kindest people here, always bringing in leftover birthday cake for the office or making coffee runs when no one else would. “It’ll be okay,” I said, the lie coming easier than I expected. I forced a smile, the kind that felt more like a mask than anything, and put my hand over hers for a second. “We’ll figure this out.”

She nodded, blinking away a tear, and together we walked down the long hallway to the conference room. The open door revealed a packed room, where people leaned against the walls, filling every inch of space. The usual hum of casual chatter was gone, replaced by a tense, anxious silence broken only by the occasional whispered question. Everyone was afraid, everyone on edge.

I leaned against the wall with Marissa beside me, scanning the room. My heart pounded as I picked up on snippets of conversation—the word “investigation” echoing again and again.

Then, a sharp sound cut through the whispers, and everyone turned. A woman stepped forward—someone I’d never seen before, but who looked like she was exactly where she belonged. She was in her forties, her dark hair pulled back into a no-nonsense bun, with an expression that could freeze water. Obviously, a person who didn’t bother with small talk or sugarcoating.

The woman cleared her throat, and the whispers in the room faded to a quiet murmur. Her eyes were hard, her mouth a tight line that only seemed to make the wrinkles around it sharper. “Good morning,” she said, though there was nothing good about it, her tone clipped and businesslike. “I’m Karen Bridges, Vice-President of Human Resources.”

Marissa beside me sucked in a shaky breath, and I felt her shoulder tense against mine.

Karen’s gaze drifted across the room, locking in on a few people here and there, like she wanted to make sure every single one of us knew what was coming.

“As you may have noticed,” she continued, her voice cool and deliberate, “there have been some... investigations involving senior leadership here.” She pressed her lips together, hesitating for the briefest second. “The Securities and Exchange Commission recently discovered that our CEO, Mr. James Reynolds, allegedly,”—she put a pointed emphasis on the word, almost like it hurt her to say it—“engaged in a series of illegal practices that have forced us to make immediate and drastic changes.”

A flurry of whispers erupted, swirling through the room like a wave. I caught the words Ponzi scheme in a dozen different voices, followed by gasps and murmurs. Some people turned to each other, disbelief and shock on their faces. Marissa’s fingers were digging into my arm, her mouth ajar.

Karen didn’t try to quiet the room; instead, she just waited, her eyes sharp, her face rigid. When the noise died down, she cleared her throat again. “We… all of us are being laid off, effective immediately.” Her voice softened for just a second, a brief crack in her icy facade. “I know this is a shock, and you will all be receiving an email within 48 hours with information on severance packages.”

Before we could fully process the news, Karen gestured toward the doorway, and a figure stepped into the room. Mr. Reynolds, the CEO, strolled in, chin held high, an air of arrogance radiating from him like a shield. He looked down at us, a smug expression plastered across his face as if he were addressing his employees at a company retreat, not telling them their lives were about to be upended.

He smiled that fake, practiced smile of his and cleared his throat. “I want to personally address all of you and assure you that these accusations against me are completely unfounded.” He waved a hand, as if dismissing a minor inconvenience, like the SEC was just a pesky fly buzzing around his head. “I have done nothing wrong. I’ve run this company with integrity—”

“You’re a crook!” a woman shouted from the back, her voice slicing through the air like a knife. All eyes turned toward her, and her face was red, her hands balled into fists at her sides.

“Liar!” someone else yelled, their voice trembling with rage. Another voice joined in, then another, until the room became a chorus of angry shouts.

Mr. Reynolds’ face reddened, his eyes narrowing as he took a step back. He muttered something under his breath, turned on his heel, and stormed out of the room, his shoulders stiff with indignation. As he disappeared down the hall, the shouting faded, replaced by a heavy, tense silence.

Karen took a shaky breath and looked down, her hand trembling as she gripped the edge of the podium. “Everyone needs to collect their belongings and leave the building immediately. As I mentioned, you’ll receive an email in the next 48 hours with details about severance.” Her voice softened, almost as if she were speaking to herself. “Please also visit the New York State Department of Labor website to file for unemployment benefits.”

Then, just for a second, the stern mask she wore slipped, and her face crumpled, a tear sliding down her cheek. “I… I’ll be filing too,” she choked out, her voice catching in her throat. She pressed her lips together, but it was too late. The tears spilled down her face as her shoulders shook. Her sobs echoed through the room, raw and full of the same grief and helplessness everyone was feeling but trying so hard to hold back.

No one spoke. No one dared to. We just stood there, watching her, absorbing her pain like it was our own. I felt Marissa’s hand tighten on my arm as I stood there, trying to process it all, trying to tell myself that this couldn’t be real, that it was all just a nightmare I’d wake up from any second.

But it wasn’t.

Outside, the sunlight seemed brighter, harsher, like it was exposing everything that was wrong with the world. I clutched my bag tightly, my knuckles white, as I trudged toward the subway, trying to keep myself together. My heart was still racing from what happened in the conference room, the whispers, the shouting, the terrible look on Karen’s face when she finally cracked. And Mr. Reynolds… his smug, arrogant expression as he brushed off everyone’s lives like they meant nothing.

I kept my head down, jaw clenched, but tears pricked my eyes, slipping out no matter how hard I tried to stop them. A mess of emotions churned inside me—anger, embarrassment, panic—and with every step, it felt like the weight of it was pressing down harder. I was just a cog in the wheel, after all. It was so damn obvious now.

Without even thinking, I headed for the subway, moving on autopilot, like I could just pretend it was a normal day and I was heading back to Jack. And then reality hit. I stopped dead in my tracks as the thought of him waiting at the station sank in. He’d wonder why I wasn’t there this afternoon, so I decided to stay in Manhattan until it was time to meet him after work.

I veered off the sidewalk, ducking into a coffee shop called The Grindery. The place was half-full, a place where everyone’s eyes were glued to a laptop or buried in a book, barely acknowledging each other’s presence. Perfect.

I ordered a coffee, took it to a table in the corner, and pulled out my laptop. My hands were shaking, but I managed to type in the New York State Department of Labor website, pulling up the forms for unemployment. I stared at the first line—Reason for unemployment—and felt a surge of anger rush up again. I didn’t even know how to answer that honestly without just typing “CEO’s illegal Ponzi scheme,” and even that didn’t seem to cover it.

As I typed in my information, my mind felt like it was spiraling. A girl at the next table glanced over, her eyes lingering on me a bit too long. I ignored her, but after a minute, she leaned over, her voice soft. “Hey, um… are you okay?”

My head snapped up. I was too tired, too done, to hide how I felt. “No,” I muttered, too sharply. “I just got laid off, so maybe… mind your own business?”

Her face dropped, and her mouth opened like she was about to say something. But she hesitated, her eyes shifting downward, and then, without another word, she pushed back her chair and hurried out; the bells jingling as the door slammed shut behind her.

I let out a long breath. That was brilliant, just brilliant. My head dropped to my hands. I’d been rude, but I didn’t even have the energy to feel bad about it.

I finished filling out the forms, hit “submit,” and shut my laptop. I wanted to close my eyes, just for a second, but the noise of the café was all around me, buzzing, somehow making me feel even more alone. What the hell I was supposed to do now?

I sat there, staring at the bottom of my now empty coffee cup. But the reality of it all was sinking in, deeper and sharper with every second, and the emotions were pressing down, one after another—panic, anger, embarrassment—until they mixed together into something shapeless and heavy. I felt… ashamed, somehow, which was ridiculous. None of this was my fault. The SEC and that self-serving CEO were the culprits, not me. But the shame was there, sinking its teeth in like I’d personally failed.

My first job out of college. It was supposed to be the start of something real, a future I could be proud of. And yet, here I was, unemployed and drinking bitter coffee in a corner of a pretentious café. This feeling of shame wasn’t just about me. How would Bradley see this? He was already a junior partner at a major law firm, already leagues ahead of where I thought I’d be. And Jack…

God, Jack. He was more than just my best friend; he was the one who’d always believed in me, even when I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. Jack was the one who’d listened to all my stupid ideas, kept me going with every little pep talk when I felt like I was in over my head. And the thought of him knowing, of him looking at me with that sad, understanding look… it was too much. I couldn’t bear it.

Maybe I didn’t have to tell them. Yeah, maybe I could just suit up every morning, pretend like everything was fine, and head into Manhattan with them. I’d come here to job hunt anyway, so it wasn’t even a lie. I’d ride the train with them, get off at the same station, and just… figure things out on my own. They didn’t need to know. I could handle this myself.

I took a long breath, and a plan formed. I’d keep my head down, spend my days looking for a new job, and by the time anyone noticed, I’d already have something else lined up. That’s all I had to do—hold it together, get through this, and make sure Jack and Bradley never found out.