BLACKLISTED

"I didn't do it!" Grace yelled, forgetting for a moment that it was her boss she was talking to.

"If you didn't, then who did it?" her boss asked with a sneer.

That's the same question Grace has been asking herself since this whole mess began.

She sat nervously at her desk, her hands shaking as she stared at the termination letter in front of her. Her once bustling office now felt suffocatingly quiet.

"Grace, I'm sorry, but we have to let you go," she heard her boss say and her head jerked up immediately, her eyes filled with disbelief as she stared at her boss who stood in the doorway, accompanied by the stern-faced head of HR.

"But... but why?" Grace stammered.

"You know why, Grace. You violated company policy by disclosing sensitive information to our rival company. And I'm sure you also know that the penalty for that is outright termination as stated in the contract you signed before joining the company."

"No, that's not true! I never did such a thing. And you know I could never do that. Why doesn't anybody believe me?"

"We have evidence, Grace. Emails, phone records—everything points to you," the head of HR said with a disappointed expression.

Grace's mind raced as she tried to comprehend what was happening. She knew she'd been set up, but how can she prove it?

"Please, you have to believe me. You know I would never jeopardize this company's interest," Grace grabbed her head of department who was just looking on helplessly.

Despite seeing the sincerity in Grace's eyes, her HOD still said, "I'm sorry, Grace, but there's nothing I can do. My hands are tied here."

"How can your hands be tied?" Grace screamed in dismay. She is the only person that can speak up for her in this situation. "Please do something," she pleaded.

"There's no need putting your HOD in a difficult situation, Ms Fowler. Our decision is final. You're not only being dismissed, but we're also blacklisting you from the industry," her boss announced cruelly.

A fuse seemed to go off in Grace's head and for a moment she seemed not to be aware of her environment.

Blacklisted?! Impossible! Was that not the same as giving her a death sentence? How can she achieve her dream of being the CEO of the biggest clothing line in the country if she is blacklisted even before starting?

Tears welled up in Grace's eyes as the weight of the situation hit her. Her career, her reputation—everything she's worked for was crumbling before her and there was nothing she could do to prove her innocence.

How can this be happening to her just at the verge of her promotion to be the company's top designer.

She looked across at her colleagues and they all looked away.

She understood perfectly that none of them wanted to be implicated.

She was sure they also knew that she had been set up but what can they do?

"I won't let you do this to me. I'll fight this until the end. You'll see, I'm innocent!"

But her protests fell on deaf ears as her boss and the head of HR exited the office, leaving Grace alone in her now empty world despite the colleagues that were in the office.

Grace took a deep breath, wiping away her tears as she gathered her things from her locker.

From the corner of her eyes she could see some of her colleagues gloating openly at her. Top among them was Fiona, the chairman's daughter who had always felt intimidated by Grace's exceptional talent and the speed at which she was rising in the company.

"How do you think we should send forth our dear top designer?" She heard Fiona say.

"I suggest we throw a party to send her forth. It's not easy to be so capable as to almost overthrow a company as ours, you know," another colleague taunted and the rest broke out in a mocking laugh.

Grace braced herself not to be affected by them as she continued packing and went straight to HR to complete the formalities thereafter.

Thirty minutes later, she stood outside her boyfriend's apartment, her heart heavy with the weight of her recent dismissal. She knocked on the door, seeking solace in the arms of the one person she trusts the most.

The door swung open, and Grace's boyfriend, Rufus opened the door with a warm smile that quickly faded away when he saw the person at the door.

"Grace?!" Rufus literally exclaimed in shock.

Isn't she supposed to be at work by this time of the day?

Grace, who was overcome by grief, didn't see the shock on his face as she directly threw herself into his arms.

"Grace, what's wrong?" Rufus asked.

Grace finally released her pent up emotions and sobbed; tears streamed down her cheeks as she recounted the events of the day.

"I'm so sorry for what happened, Grace. But you know I'm here for you, right? We'll get through this together," Rufus comforted as he held her tightly to himself.

Grace nodded sadly and after calming down a bit, realized they were still standing by the door.

"I want to rest," she said, pulling away from Rufus to step into the room.

"No.. em… you can't go in now."

"Why?" Grace asked, her brows coming together in a frown.

"I.. I was actually on my way out when you came," he said.

"That's not a problem. You can go on with your business. I'll just go in and rest for a while," Grace said weakly as she made to move into the room.

But as she looked up, her eyes widened in shock at the sight before her.

From the doorway, she saw a woman coming out of the bathroom with only a white towel wrapped around her chest that barely covered her hips. She seemed to have just taken a bath as water was dripping from her long black hair.

"Darling, who is that by the door?" The lady asked as she dried her hair with another white towel.

Grace could recognize that voice even in her unconscious state and her head jerked up to see the appalling expression on Rufus's face.

*******

Who do you think the lady is?