Chapter 4

“The cash advance?” I asked.

“I used it to buy the part that got the machine running last week. I gave you the receipt myself.”

By the time I finished the repair, Accounting had closed.

Victor happened to walk by, so I handed the receipt to him.

“You know the rules, Layla.”

“You were supposed to give it to Finance.”

“Besides, I lost it.”

I kept my voice level. “If the receipt’s gone, I’ll repay the five hundred.”

“I’ll transfer it to you right now. Will that settle it?”

“You made a mistake on the job,” he said.

“Company policy. You pay triple.”

“Fine. Then I’ll send you fifteen hundred.”

Fifteen hundred dollars was more than I could shrug off. I was still willing to pay it to close the account.

I sent the payment to the company account while he was still on the phone.

In the memo, I wrote exactly what it covered.

Victor confirmed it had gone through.

I slept straight through until my alarm.

I flew out the next morning. After I landed, I dropped my suitcase at the hotel and texted the recruiter.

She sent me the address for my afternoon interview.

The plant manager walked me through the production floor.

They had newer versions of the equipment I’d spent ten years keeping alive.

The role called for someone who could operate the machines and train the crew. I’d been doing both for Victor.

They offered me the job at the end of the interview. I accepted and signed the offer before I left.

My start date was after the holiday.

The next morning, I sat down to breakfast and pulled up a trail map.

I knew the machine at Victor’s plant was overdue for replacement.

After last week, I had a pretty good idea what Sybilla would do if it went down again.

I just hadn’t expected to hear from her before I finished my coffee.

“Layla, the machine’s down. You need to come back right now.”

In the background, someone asked how long they should tell the driver to wait.

“I don’t work there anymore, Sybilla.”

Silence on the other end. Brief, loaded.

“I know you quit.”

“But you never told me what to do if it went down. Whatever this costs us, it’s on you.”