Aurora walked into Rhett’s office expecting him to reprimand her.
She had even spent the last hour preparing her defense, which included a detailed explanation of how Zachary had provoked her, her professionalism, and the fact that she had not done anything to warrant disciplinary action.
She rehearsed the words in her head, steadying her breath and expecting the worst.
But instead, Rhett looked up from his desk and gestured toward the chair across from him.
“Sit down, Ms. Bennett.”
She sat down, her back ramrod straight.
“You’re not in trouble,” he said as if reading her mind.
“Quite the opposite, actually.”
“I don’t understand,” Aurora blurted.
“The performance on Saturday, the discrepancy that you identified in the proposal,” Rhett leaned back in his chair.
“Mr. Black was impressed.”
“We need to revise the proposal before sending it to the New York clients, and he wants you to help prepare the updated financial reports.”
“Me?” Aurora stared at him blankly.
“Yes, you.”
She didn’t know what to say.
Just a week ago, she had been folding shirts at a retail store, wondering how she would pay for her grandmother’s medication, and now she was being asked to work on a major corporate project.
“I know it’s a lot to take on,” Rhett continued.
“The revised acquisition cost needs to be extremely precise and accurate. Several senior executives will review the proposal before it reaches our client. And if there’s any mistake—”
“There won’t be any mistakes; I’ll make sure of it,” Aurora said firmly.
Rhett studied her for a moment before he muttered, “I thought you’d say that. The files are on your desk. You can take your time to double-check everything.”
“Thank you, I won’t let you down,” Aurora said as she stood up.
She walked out of the office with the files she had found on his desk and back at her desk.
Aurora spread all the project documents across her workspace.
The New York acquisition was a complex merger with a mid-sized tech company that would expand Black Corp’s reach into the East Coast market.
The financial reports were very detailed, and the figures were intricate.
While the previous estimate had several gaps that needed more clarification, she worked through them carefully, comparing all the numbers, cross-referencing the data, and then flagging areas that required additional review.
Time kept slipping past her without her noticing.
She was completely submerged in her work when the door to her office was pushed open.
Zachary stood in the doorway with a sour expression on his face.
“I heard you’re getting the New York project.”
“I’m busy,” Aurora said without looking up.
“Is that it?” He stepped inside, his eyes on the papers she was reviewing.
“Why you? You’ve been here less than a month, and I’ve been a Black my whole life.”
“Well, maybe that’s the problem.”
“What was that supposed to mean?” Zachary retorted.
Aurora finally looked up.
“It means that I’m capable.”
“You should try it sometimes. Did you even finish the report I assigned to you this morning?”
“I told you I’m not doing your paperwork.” Zachary’s face flushed red.
“Then we have nothing to discuss.” She turned back to her reports.
“Close the door on your way out.”
Zachary just stood there for a moment, fuming, before he turned and left, slamming the door behind him.
Aurora didn’t flinch.
She just continued working.
Zachary found Savannah in her office, already pacing.
“She’s working on the New York project,” he announced.
“Rhett gave it to her directly, and Dad approved it.”
Savannah stopped pacing, her expression flickering with sharp concern.
“The New York project?” she repeated.
“Yes, the financial report. She’s revising the acquisition cost.” Zachary dropped onto the couch.
Savannah didn’t respond immediately.
She just continued thinking.
Aurora Bennett was starting to gain Silas’s confidence faster than Savannah had anticipated, and this was dangerous because Silas had a history of promoting people that he trusted, and once someone had his trust, they were difficult to be removed.
“I think you should familiarize yourself with the New York project,” Savannah said finally.
“Why?” Zachary frowned.
“Because it will eventually fall under your responsibilities. If Aurora fails, someone will need to take over.”
Savannah walked to her desk.
“I’ll arrange for you to have broader access to the relevant files. I want you to study them, understand them, and if the opportunity presents itself…”
“What kind of opportunity?”
Savannah smiled, and it was sinister.
“The kind that makes Aurora look incompetent.”
Aurora spent the rest of her day working on the proposal, with every small detail that she could count.
She prepared a revised spreadsheet and created a summary of all the changes she had made.
By the time most of the building was empty, she was nearly finished.
Her phone buzzed with a text.
Amber: “Hey, quick question about Astrid, did she ever pay you back that money?”
Aurora typed back, “No, why?”
Amber: “Just curious, because I ran into her at the courthouse today and she looked terrible.”
Aurora stared at the message for a long moment.
Then she shook her head and returned to her work.
She drafted an email to Amber, attaching a copy of her schedule for the week, which was a habit she had developed so Amber could know when she was available.
She then hit send.
Then she saved the final proposal in the company’s project folder and made a note to review it once more in the morning before she began gathering her things.
She did not notice that she had attached the wrong file in the email.
The executive floor was completely quiet after hours because most of the employees had left, the lights were mostly turned off, and the corridors were empty.
A security guard nodded at Zachary as he stepped out of the elevator, instantly recognizing him as a Black.
Zachary walked straight to Aurora’s office, where the door was locked, but he had the access card his mother had given him.
He swiped it, and the door clicked open.
He stepped inside the tidy office.
The desk was now organized, and when he tapped on the keyboard, the computer screen flashed on.
It was still logged in, and the New York project folder was displayed.
Zachary sat down and opened it.
The complete financial proposal was there, with all the projections and revisions Aurora had spent hours preparing.
Then he smiled before he pulled out his phone and sent a confirmation message to Savannah.
Zachary then sat at Aurora’s desk.
The glow of the screen illuminated his face.
He didn’t really care about the New York project or the acquisition cost or all the financial details that Aurora had spent hours working on.
All he cared about was one thing: making her look incompetent.
His fingers tapped across the keyboard until he found her spreadsheets.
He selected her spreadsheets that contained her acquisition figures.
He glanced across the perfectly arranged figures and all the calculated numbers.
He then selected a few key cells and began typing in new values.
These new figures would make the acquisition appear substantially more expensive than the company had originally estimated.
It was nothing too obvious, nothing that would raise immediate suspicion, but it would be enough to cause problems for Aurora.
Then he found the documents that contained the revised acquisition cost, and he deleted it.
A small smile spread across his face.
He then saved the altered files and leaned back in the chair.
Any investigation would focus on Aurora because she was the one who prepared the proposal and the one whose name was on the documents.
He didn’t consider that the company might keep a record of his access.
In fact, he didn’t consider much of anything.
He already knew that his mom would take care of that.
He then stood up, pushing the chair back in place, and walked out.
The next morning, Aurora arrived earlier than usual.
She had slept poorly because her mind kept coming back to the proposal and going over her recalculations and even doubting herself.
But by the time she arrived at her desk, she convinced herself that everything was fine.
She opened the file and reviewed her presentation notes.
The figures looked right, but she didn’t touch the spreadsheet.
She had already double-checked everything the night before, so she didn’t feel the need to check it again.
Rhett was in his office when she arrived.
“Good morning, Ms. Bennett.”
“Good morning,” she said as she handed him the documents.
“This is the revised proposal. Everything should be perfect.”
Rhett flipped through the pages with a neutral expression.
“Okay, I will forward this to the executive team. Good work. Thank you.”
Aurora smiled, relieved.
She then returned to her desk and began preparing for her next assignment.
The hardest part was already over.
The proposal had been submitted.
All she had to do now was wait for feedback.
Hardly 30 minutes later
“Ms. Bennett,”
Rhett’s voice was sharp through the intercom.
“My office now.”
She walked into his office.
He was standing behind his desk.
The proposal reports that contained the spreadsheets were sitting in front of him.
“Explain these figures.”
Aurora frowned and stepped closer.
Her eyes went to the spreadsheet, and her stomach dropped.
The acquisition cost was wrong, completely wrong.
The numbers had been inflated, and the totals didn’t match.
And the supporting document she had attached was also missing.
“That’s not…” She shook her head.
“That’s not what I prepared. These aren’t my calculations.”
“Then whose are they?”
“I don’t know.” Aurora pulled the spreadsheet toward her, her eyes counting the numbers frantically.
“I’m sure I saved the correct version last night when I reviewed everything. The figures were accurate when I left.”
“Ms. Bennett,” Rhett began with an unreadable expression.
“We can’t rely on your memory when millions of dollars are involved. These documents were submitted under your name.”
“I know, I know, but…” She stopped to catch her breath.
“Something must have happened. Someone changed the file.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Rhett studied her for a long moment before he picked up his phone.
“I think Mr. Black needs to see this.”