Jada closed the door when she reached her office, sighing wearily. The door didn’t do much to add privacy, as the entire front wall of her office was again made of glass.

“What is it with tech people and glass? Stupid modern design!”

She started pacing back and forth across the floor in front of her desk. She didn’t say anything, but the volume of her thoughts was enough to keep people away from her. Seriously? The CEO?! Is that really necessary?! Ugh! Matheson, what a jerk. He just sat there. He didn’t even say anything about how rude the woman comment was. I had to jump in myself, and we see how well that went! Fuck!

Jada was sweating slightly, and her heart threatened to make a break for it. What had she done? She’d shot her career point-blank in the face—that was what. While a part of her still didn’t regret telling the president off, she was terrified she was going to lose her job. Sure, it made her feel like an insignificant cog in a giant machine, but she needed the money. And not just for herself, either.

Jada’s father was sick, and it was only getting worse. He needed treatment, and it wasn’t cheap. With both her parents retired and never having been particularly well off, Jada’s income was one of the few things standing between her father and death. She’d never forgive herself if anything happened to him because she couldn’t keep her stupid mouth shut.

“Damn it all.”

She finally gave up her pacing and sat at her desk. She had never been one to back down easily or take crap from anyone. Not more than a typical job demanded, anyway. Her parents had made sure that integrity, hard work and honestly had been drilled into her from the beginning, and it had worked. She lived her life by a pretty strict code of ethics, and upholding a sexist’s ego just to land a deal was nowhere on the list of approved activities. She’d just have to make the CEO understand that.

“CEO’s office, now.” Matheson’s head had popped into her room and left just as fast. He didn’t turn to walk toward the elevator but went to his own, much larger, office and sat down behind yet another glass door.

“Guess I’m on my own,” Jada muttered.

With her heels clacking loudly on the floor, Jada walked over to the elevator, pushing the button for the top floor once she got inside. The two minutes that passed were the longest in her life, and she spent the entire time going over fake conversations with the CEO in her head.

In order to see the CEO, who she’d never met, Jada first had to face his assistant, who sat at a gleaming metal desk just outside the elevator. As she approached, she saw that the name plaque on the desk read “Evelyn Perry.”

“Hello, Evelyn, I’m Jada Phillips. I believe Mr. Hays is expecting me.”

The woman made a scrunched-up face, probably trying to hide a smirk, and then casually smiled.

“I’ll let him know you’re here. You can have a seat.”

Jada proceeded to the small seating area and sat down in the chair set off by itself. Evelyn smiled again, but the grin hid a nasty jab at her. Jada threw back her own smile and then looked away, at the expensive, minimal decorations surround her. She hated women like Evelyn, all perfect blond hair and teeth that hid an evil desire to watch everyone around them fail miserably. Bitch.

After a few moments, the speaker on Evelyn’s desk broke the silence, the CEO’s voice booming through the small device.

“Evelyn, schedule a follow-up call with the Qaresman ambassador.”

“No luck, huh?”

“Just do it.”

“Of course. Also, Ms. Phillips is here.”

“Ah, very well. Send her in.”

The line clicked off, and Jada stood up from the uncomfortable chair. As she approached the desk, Evelyn chimed in.

“Down the hall. It’s the door at the far end.”

“Thank you.”

Jada gave a knock when she reached the first non-glass door she’d seen in the building and waited for a response.

“Come in.”

The man’s voice was equally deep when not distorted by a phone, and it made Jada tense slightly. God, I’m going in here to get fired. Jada’s steps felt heavy, and in her head, she saw herself walking to some imaginary gallows, her father in tow behind her.

Why did she have to say all that? She was such a fool. There were a million other ways she could have shown Mr. Ka that she could do an excellent job for his company, and as she entered the CEO’s office, her eyes on the floor, her brain played every one of them in a horrifying movie of woulda, coulda, shoulda.

To top it all off, Jada’s mind decided to kick up the firing stats. In the last year, seven people had been fired from JPH Tech, and apparently it would have been more if the board hadn’t managed to calm Hays down. Around the office water cooler, Hays had a reputation for being a “fire now, ask questions later” kind of guy.

Now, Jada herself was in the line of fire, and at the worst possible time in her life. God, my poor dad.

“Sit down.”

Jada had yet to really look at the CEO, and she shuffled over to the chair, nausea rising in the back of her throat.

“Thank you for coming.” A standard line. It wasn’t like she’d had a choice.

“Mr. Winters has informed me of the situation, and I have already received a call from Mr. Ka.”

Oh great, she thought as she stared at the head honcho’s hand on his desk. Hays’ voice was so cold, Jada was pretty sure her ears had frostbite. He sounded deceptively calm, an air of nonchalance masking his fury.

“As you’ve probably guessed, he is not happy. He described the meeting in intense detail, along with your conduct—”

“Did he at least admit to what he said?!” Jada’s voice was high pitched and strained as she cut off the CEO, mid-sentence. She was on a roll today.

Jada softened her expression and looked up to apologize. When her gaze reached his face, her vocal cords froze.

In all the passing comments about the ruthless boss on the top floor, no one had ever mentioned just how handsome he was. There she was trying to argue for a job she didn’t even like, and she looked up into the face of a GQ model. This would have been so much easier if he was ugly. And what is he, like, 30?

“What?” Hays’ voice was as level as ever, and it filled Jada with utter terror.

“Just that he said a rather sexist comment during the meeting, and I was really offended. I agree that I could have handled the situation better, I know I could have, but he was so rude to me. And he kept interrupting when I was trying to describe the project. And he was all like ‘that’s not how things are done in my country.’ And—”

Jada was babbling like an idiot. When had she completely lost her ability to speak? This never happened to her. Oh Lord, was she still talking?

“—I can certainly apologize, and I know I’m not on the project anymore, but I really don’t see how this is termination-worthy. I mean, I’ve never had an issue before, and…”

Now her voice was cracking, and water threatened to spill from the corners of her eyes. Her mouth continued moving after she’d told it to stop, her then hands decided to join the party. Jada was waving her arms as she spoke, a habit she had when the was excited or upset, and she scooted to the edge of her chair.

“All right, that’s enough. The problem is…” Hays’ words drifted off as he eyed Jada’s arm. “What is that on your wrist?”

“What?” Jada was taken aback by the strange question.

“On your arm there. What is that?” He pointed to her right arm and the elaborate pattern that was stained on her skin.

“Oh, it’s henna. I was at my cousin’s wedding last weekend. It’s a part of the ceremony. It’s never been a problem before.”

“No, no. I’m not mad about that.” Hays went quiet again, and Jada was forced to be alone in her head with her panic.

Time seemed to drag on forever, and Jada couldn’t help but stare expectantly at the CEO. What was he waiting for? He just kept staring at her arm and then her face and then back to her arm again. After a minute or two, he scribbled something down on a piece of paper and then finally looked back up at her face with a curious expression.

“Well, Ms. Phillips, I have heard your explanation of events, and I have spoken with the other people who were there. I will think on the situation and come back to you with a fitting course of disciplinary action. You may go.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. Thank you for coming in.” With that, he turned his attention to the computer, a silent dismissal, and Jada stood up from her chair.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, as Jada did her upmost to avoid seeing Matheson, or any of the coworkers who’d witnessed her meltdown. Hours later, as she drove back to her small apartment, she was still utterly puzzled. Why hadn’t Hays just fired her on the spot? What was he waiting for? And what had so intrigued him about her henna tattoo? Her family’s customs had always been respected at work, but when the CEO had seen the markings, it had been like he’d spotted the newest attraction at a theme park.

Jada pulled into her reserved spot and walked to her building. A couple neighbors said hi in passing, but Jada didn’t hear a word. She was like a zombie, unlocking her front door and slipping inside the dark fortress of her apartment. Everything in her life hung on this single decision. Her career, her future, her father’s health, even her continuing presence as a tenant in this building was on up for grabs. If she imagined the feeling of standing at the edge of a cliff, she was sure this would have been it.

After a scarfed dinner of leftovers, eaten standing by the fridge, Jada decided to just call it a night and headed to her bedroom to change into her pajamas. As she climbed into bed and shut off the light, she stared at the ceiling in the dark. She couldn’t see anything in the blackness, and she found it a fitting metaphor for her current situation. The evening turned to deep night, and Jada didn’t sleep at all.