Victoria had heard worse.
CHAPTER 4
What concerned her was that Sandra had said it so casually.
As if it were ordinary.
As if no one in the building would object.
Victoria opened her phone.
Sandra noticed.
“Are you recording me?”
“No.”
“Good.”
Sandra walked away.
Victoria watched her.
Then she looked at the HR office.
The door was open.
Inside were filing cabinets.
Employee records.
Complaint forms.
Performance reviews.
Potential evidence of everything Sandra had just implied.
Victoria didn't enter.
Not yet.
Instead, she walked toward the executive break room.
The conversation inside stopped as soon as she entered.
Four employees were standing around a coffee machine.
They looked at her.
Then at one another.
One whispered something.
Another laughed.
Victoria poured herself water.
Nobody spoke.
Then a young Black woman approached.
“Are you new?”
“Yes.”
“What department?”
Victoria smiled.
“I'm still figuring that out.”
The woman laughed softly.
“Good luck.”
Victoria looked at her.
“What does that mean?”
The woman glanced toward the hallway.
“You'll see.”
Then she returned to her desk.
Victoria watched her walk away.
For the first time that morning, she understood something important.
The problem at Pinnacle Solutions wasn't one rude manager.
It was a culture.
And cultures didn't change because one person was fired.
They changed when the system itself was forced to confront what it had become.
At 11:30, Victoria returned to the executive restroom.
Not because Sandra had ordered her to.
Because she wanted to understand why Sandra had been so eager to humiliate her there.
The restroom was spotless.
A cleaning employee named Denise was replacing paper towels.
Victoria greeted her.
Denise looked nervous.
“Hi.”
“What's your name?”
“Denise Carter.”
“How long have you worked here?”
“Eight years.”
“Eight?”
Denise smiled.
“I started when the old contractor had the account.”
Victoria noticed something.
Denise was avoiding eye contact.
“Are you okay?”
Denise hesitated.
“Yes.”
“You don't have to tell me anything.”
That made Denise look up.
“I know.”
Victoria waited.
Finally Denise whispered:
“People don't like talking on this floor.”
“Why?”
“Because HR hears everything.”
Victoria glanced toward the hallway.
“Is that why you're nervous?”
Denise nodded.
Then Sandra's voice echoed from outside.
“Denise!”
Denise immediately stiffened.
“Yes?”
“Conference room twelve.”
Denise looked at Victoria.
“I have to go.”
She hurried away.
Victoria followed at a distance.
Sandra entered conference room twelve.
Denise followed.