My Bonus for Her Ring? Watch Me Board This Flight.

The conference room smelled like new carpet and stale ambition. Every seat was taken. I sat in the third row, near the aisle, my notebook open to a blank page.

Elliott stood at the front, one hand on the podium, the other holding a single sheet of paper he didn't need. He'd memorized whatever was on it. I could tell by the way his eyes stayed above the text, scanning the room the way a lighthouse sweeps water.

"Before Q3 projections," he said, "I want to recognize someone who's been instrumental this year."

He paused. The room leaned in.

"Jade Wren has been promoted to Project Director, effective immediately."

Applause. Jade stood, turned, pressed one hand to her chest like the news surprised her. Cream blazer, perfectly tailored. She mouthed *thank you* to no one and sat back down.

Elliott waited for the clapping to thin. Then his posture shifted. Shoulders squared. Chin dropped half an inch. I recognized the stance — the one he used when he was about to say something he'd rehearsed.

"On a related note, we've restructured several roles to align with our new leadership pipeline."

His eyes found me. Not a sweep this time. A lock.

"Nora Voss's position has been adjusted to reflect current operational needs. Effective today, her role has been reclassified from Senior Analyst to Administrative Support."

The room didn't gasp. Nobody whispered. It was the silence where people hold very still because they don't want to be the one who reacts.

Tara from HR — the same Tara who'd liked Jade's steakhouse photo last night — was sitting two rows behind me. I heard her inhale.

Elliott watched me. Waiting for the flinch. The wet eyes. The tight swallow.

I closed my notebook. The soft clap of the cover was the only sound in the room.

"Understood," I said.

His mouth stayed open for a beat. One second. Two. Three. His fingers tightened on the podium, then released.

He moved on to Q3 projections. I didn't write anything down.

***

The tea room was empty except for Clara Tong, standing by the water dispenser with a manila envelope pressed flat against her ribs.

She waited until the door swung shut.

"Everything's inside. Exit clearance, final pay stub, benefits termination letter." Her voice barely carried past the hum of the refrigerator. "I processed it myself so it wouldn't sit in the queue."

I took the envelope. Lighter than I expected.

"Today's the last day," Clara said. "Officially."

I reached behind my neck and unclipped my lanyard. My badge swung free — three-year-old photo, hair longer, eyes wider, smiling like I meant it.

I placed it in Clara's palm. Her fingers closed around it.

"Nora —"

"Thank you, Clara."

She pressed her lips together and nodded once. I tucked the envelope under my arm and walked out.

***

I made it twelve steps down the corridor before his voice caught me.

"Nora."

Elliott was leaning against the wall outside the side conference room, arms folded, ankle crossed. Casual. Calculated. He pushed off the wall and held the door open with one hand.

"A minute."

It wasn't a question.

The room was small. Four chairs. A round table. He closed the door and stayed standing.

"Jade's taking over your office. IT's already moving her equipment in."

"Okay."

"It's not personal. It's logistics."

"I didn't say it was personal."

He studied me. Brow creased.

"Look." His voice shifted into something smoother. The investor register. "I know the restructuring feels abrupt. But I want you to see the bigger picture."

He stepped closer. One hand found the back of a chair.

"The company's going public. We're on track. And when that happens, you — as my fiancée — get priority dividend access. That's not nothing, Nora. That's real money. Long-term security."

He said it like he was offering me a seat at a table I should be grateful to sit at.

"How long until the IPO?"

"What?"

"How long, Elliott?"

"If everything stays on track — two years. Maybe eighteen months."

Two years.

I did the math without meaning to. Two years ago, Beaumont's first email had landed in my inbox. *Research Fellowship — Invitation to Apply.* I'd read it twice, drafted a response, deleted it. Elliott had a product launch that week. He needed his pitch deck reformatted. I told myself the timing was wrong.

Two years of wrong timing.

"That's generous," I said.

His eyes narrowed. He was searching — for the gratitude, the relief, the small softening that would confirm he'd solved the problem.

"It is."

"Out of curiosity," I said. "If I'd said no to the demotion — what would you have done?"

He blinked. "What?"

"If I'd refused the reclassification this morning. What was the next move?"

He didn't answer. Which was the answer.

"Right," I said. "I'll see you at the apartment."

I opened the door.

"Nora."

I stopped but didn't turn.

"We'll talk more tonight."

I walked out.

***

My desk was already bare.

Five days of lunch breaks. That was how long it had taken to erase myself from this desk — one tote bag at a time, carried to the elevator while everyone else argued about salad options.

A woman from accounting walked past. Her eyes touched the empty desk, then jumped away. Two more people passed. Same reflex. Quick glance, sharp correction, eyes forward.

Nobody stopped. Nobody asked.

In my bag, the manila envelope. In my pocket, my phone, holding a boarding pass for tomorrow morning. 6:15 a.m. Gate B12. Seat 22A. Window.

I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. As the doors closed, I caught a sliver of the open floor — Jade's cream blazer moving toward my old office with a box of her things balanced on one hip.

The doors met. The car dropped.