Chapter 7: Exposé

That night, I checked into a luxury resort in Maui.

Parker really wanted to win me over—hotel and travel were all arranged.

The suite faced the sea, with floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides.

A bellhop in an aloha shirt handed me a keycard. Pineapple juice on ice waited in the suite.

I unpacked my clothes and toiletries, putting everything in order.

Just as I finished, my phone buzzed with a message from a colleague—no, an ex-colleague now.

[Alex, check the company Slack, quick!]

The company Slack is a verified workspace.

Vivid employees can join after verification, and contacts often recommend acquaintances.

Most company gossip surfaces in the Slack channels first.

I poured myself a martini, stood by the window, and opened the app.

I could hear the waves crashing against the rocks below, the tang of sea salt hanging in the air, but my mind was back in the office, heart pounding.

[Employee named Alex invents excuses for embezzlement, resists management when caught, and tries to frame the CEO]

Anonymous post.

The attached photo was me outside the company, slapping Derek’s belly with a mocking look on my face.

I zoomed in—my face looked like I’d just lost a bar fight—stone cold and a little pissed.

Is my face always this cold?

No wonder people are scared to talk to me.

The post listed three of my ‘crimes’:

First, pushing unnecessary tech innovations to funnel money into my own pocket.

Second, not clocking in, coming late and leaving early, failing performance reviews.

Third, disrespecting leadership and spreading rumors.

The comments section exploded:

[So the layoff rumors were fake? They just fired a bad apple?]

[Agreed—fire all the seat-warmers. That’s how the company will get better.]

[Isn’t this guy the head of tech? Looks familiar.]

[The chief engineer is Mr. Benson. There’s no tech department head.]

I scrolled through—it was all jeering from other departments.

An ex-colleague messaged me, clearly angry:

[Alex, you left so suddenly. We all think it’s unfair.]

[After you left, HR called every tech team lead in for meetings.]

[Anyone who dares speak up online will have their contract terminated without severance.]

A lump formed in my throat. Even thousands of miles away, I could feel the tension in the Slack, the fear swirling behind every emoji and DM.