When Nicole was called away, the director Lisa Adams stepped out and cleared her throat, signaling everyone to gather for the weekly meeting.

She projected some data onto the whiteboard and then turned to me.

"Hey, Victoria, did you print out the data I asked for yesterday?"

I nodded, staying calm as I picked up the damp reports from the floor and handed them out to everyone.

The reports were soaked in coffee and dripping everywhere, covered in dust and stray hairs from my female coworkers.

Lisa's expression soured instantly.

"Victoria, what's going on? Are these reports even usable?"

I glanced at Emily, who looked pale, then lowered my head as I stood up.

"They were totally fine just five minutes ago. I have no idea why Emily decided to dump coffee all over my desk.

"I must have done something to upset her. I told her the data was important, but she..."

I channeled my inner victim, letting tears well up in my eyes.

"I'm really sorry, Ms. Adams. I should have stopped Emily. It's all my fault."

Emily shot up, looking as if she'd seen a ghost.

"What are you talking about? You didn't even tell me this was the data for Ms. Adams!"

Before she could finish, she quickly shut her mouth.

Her words basically confirmed she'd intentionally spilled coffee on the reports.

Lisa shot her a cold glare for a solid half-minute.

Then, suddenly, she slammed all the wet, dirty reports down onto Emily.

With a stern look, she pointed toward the meeting room door. "Get out. We don't need you here anyway."

Emily gritted her teeth, opening her mouth to explain, but Lisa's icy gaze silenced her.

She directed all her frustration at me, glaring furiously before reluctantly leaving the room.

Lisa waved for me to sit down again.

I crossed my legs and twirled a pen, thinking my mom had been spot on.

I'd heard Lisa had been at the company for years.

Back before my mom took charge, the place was chaotic.

At that time, Lisa was just a junior designer.

She had faced harassment from superiors, dealt with workplace bullying, and even been the target of nasty rumors, which made her totally intolerant of that kind of behavior.

Emily's actions clearly pushed her buttons.

The fact that she didn't kick Emily out right away showed how professional and lenient she was with long-time employees.

Halfway through the meeting, Nicole finally strolled in.

I couldn't tell if it was deliberate, but she marched right over to me and kicked my chair.

"Stand up. I'm taking your seat."

With so many people in the room and me sitting at the corner, there was no way I believed she'd actually want my spot.