16 Bankruptcy
It's been a week since the photoshoot. Kareem has sent me the photos, and I like all of them. He has promised to send me the first magazine, and I can't wait to see it. I remember Zoey's warning and skip my morning coffee. The day has already started poorly because of the caffeine lack.
As I enter Whoosh, the gathering of the workers in the middle catches my attention. I approach them and notice they're watching some men moving furniture around. I follow them and see they're all headed to Smith's office.
"What is happening?" I ask someone close to me.
"Smith got fired," she says.
My heart skips a beat, and blood escapes my veins. "Wh-What?" I say, barely able to make my voice clear.
She says nothing. I push through people and enter Smith's office only to notice James with a big smile, sitting in a new chair that has replaced the old one. The men are still moving the old furniture out of the room and the new ones inside. After James sees me, his smile widens.
"Mia! My favorite!" He says.
"Where's Smith?" I manage to say, ignoring his sentence.
"Come now. We'll have so much more than what you had with Smith."
"I said, where's Smith?" I repeat louder, feeling anger in my whole body. My aggressive tone shocks him.
"I'm afraid he'll no longer work with us."
"Why?"
"I don't have to explain," he says calmly.
I approach his desk and put my hands on it. My stare doesn't make him uncomfortable. He knows I demand the truth.
"I hope you understand your position when you talk to me," Williams says. "I'm your boss now."
I shake my head. "You were never my boss."
He clenches his jaw and takes his time to process my words. "I thought I had made a mistake by choosing Sara as the new manager, but now you proved I did the right thing."
"What?!"
He gets up from his chair and comes close to me. "If you're smart, then you can try to get that position back," he says, putting a hand under my chin. "We go way back."
I slap his hand away and then shove him back to his desk. He looks at me with round eyes. I can't talk. My body is shaking.
"You're fired as well," he says, his gaze piercing mine. His words shock me. "Just like the rest of the YouTubers and TikTokers," he continues, and I gasp.
I knew he was going to screw Smith over. But the YouTubers? It was his idea the whole time. Isla is one of them, too.
My heart races as I feel the words forming in my mouth to say, "Fuck you." His smirk turns into a scowl. "From now on, sleep with one eye open, Williams." I grab the paperknife from his desk, and he follows my movements.
"What are you doing?" he asks, trying not to look scared. "I will call security."
I grab the new wooden name tag on his desk and stab the paper knife into it. "Get a bodyguard if you have to. Or double your security; whatever works for you." My words surprise both of us. I throw the name tag with the paperknife stabbed into it on his desk and slam the door on my way out.
I tremble with anxiety, not able to believe what I just did. It's okay, I repeat in my mind. I don't have to survive anymore. Everything will be fine.
Jess is standing in a corner, watching the chaos. His presence makes my blood run through my veins even faster. The flash drive. Oh, my God! I let this happen! I should have done something about it.
Jess and I were the only people who knew about the flash drive's exposure to someone other than Smith. But only I knew it was James Williams.
Jess looks at me with a calm expression. It's a sustained look on his face because he somehow always survives. That's what I learned from him when we were teenagers and lived at my hometown. Can he notice the rage in me? Can he see what I am turning into?
I walk away to find Isla. She's sitting in her spot at the YouTubers department.
"Isla?" I call for her, and she smiles as she notices me running toward her. "Are you alright?"
She nods. "I'm fine."
"I heard he fired you all. What happened?"
"Our videos made zero benefits for the company. They already had a lot of loans because of the new department. So before getting bankrupt, he fired us to prevent further loss. Also, Smith, who was responsible for the new project."
My gasp fades in the crowded room as James's plan makes sense now. James wanted Smith to take responsibility for the new department. If one day it failed, as it did, Smith would be the one to go down.
"What will you do?" I ask Isla as she fills a box on her desk with her stuff.
"I'm not entirely fired. I'll work with the filmers."
"Oh!" I rub my forehead. "What will I do, is the better question."
"What?"
I shrug. "He fired me too."
"What?! Why?! Did you try to reason with him?"
"I did. I threatened the bastard."
"What?!"
"I threatened the father of my child for firing everyone. It all feels like a nightmare. I have to find Smith."
"What did you threaten him with?"
"I'll talk to you later," I say and leave.
Smith is standing in the middle of his yard, his hands in his pockets. It's strange to see him like this. His chin is up after everything he has been through in the past few days. That's why he didn't show up at work. He was dealing with all of this. And I thought he was ignoring me because he hated me.
Some workers are moving his stuff outside of the house as he watches. I approach him and clear my throat so he can notice my presence. He turns around and faces me. I wait for him to scowl at me for invading his privacy, but he doesn't.
"I'm sorry to bother you at your place," I say, standing beside him.
"It's not my place anymore," he says, his voice getting softer. "Why are you here?" He asks calmly.
I lift a shoulder. "I wanted to check if you're okay." He raises his brows, not believing me. "Today is the shittiest day for you. You shouldn't be alone."
"You should be at work right now," he says and turns his face to stare at the house again.
"Yeah. About that. I got fired too. So..."
He faces me again. "What? Why? You're not the reason for the bankruptcy."
"Yeah, well, I am the one who told James fuck you and..."
"And? There's more?"
"I stabbed his name tag with his paperknife."
He looks shocked. "Why would you do that? Did he do something to you?"
"He fired you and the YouTubers. Isn't it enough?"
"But you lost your job."
"It wasn't my job without you being my annoying boss, anyway."
He smiles and shakes his head. "You don't know how to treat your superiors, do you?"
"No. I might need a session with HR."
His smile fades away as he looks at his belongings. The workers are quick at taking them out.
"I lost everything," Smith says, his chin down now. "My job... my house... and my reputation."
I dare to pat his arm softly as I get closer to him. "I'm sorry... It's all too much to process. Listen, I know it's not much to offer, but you can stay with me." He glances up at me with a raised brow. "I don't know if you have another place to go to. But you can count on me, too." He stares at me, and I add, "Come on. Now that I don't have a job, I can have a roommate to help me with the rent, and you need a place, so why not?"
He swallows hard and starts considering my proposal. In a normal situation, he wouldn't even think about it. But it isn't a normal situation. He has lost everything.
"You shouldn't stay here and watch this," I say. "I'm not gonna leave you alone. Let's go. We'll help each other through this. Just—"
"Thank you, Mia," he says, pulling me into a soft hug and holding me longer than I anticipated. I feel his warm tears dropping on my back. It's heartbreaking to see him like this. I forget my own problems. He has lost something more important than everything else; his love and trust. I pat his back, and we stand here for a couple more minutes.