Just One Mistake
I shut the door behind me and exhaled so quietly it hurt.
Nice going, Mara.
One mistake. One misfiled document. That's all it took for my name to be tainted in this place.
Kargan wasn't just any file. It was the file.
I leaned against the wall outside Malik's office, trying to make sense of it. The flagged folder had been open. I didn't unlock anything. I didn't even touch the admin system. But I printed that version. My name was on it. The damage was done.
I should've double-checked. Triple-checked.
But I was in a rush.
He needed it urgently.
And I didn't want to give him another reason to question me.
Guess I failed at that anyway.
I headed back to my desk, the stares already grazing my skin like needles. News traveled fast in this building, especially when your boss was Malik Zayn; the man who didn't tolerate errors and definitely didn't forget them.
I sat, staring at my screen, fingers hovering.
I couldn't shake the feeling. The folder had been deliberately left open. It wasn't just some accident.
hoever placed the wrong Kargan draft there… wanted me to take the fall.
But why?
I hadn't been here that long. Just under two weeks. Who would care enough to set me up?
"You okay?"
Layla's voice broke through my thoughts. She stood by my desk, holding a coffee she probably didn't buy for me; but her concern felt real.
I nodded. "Fine."
She glanced at my screen, then leaned in. "Stay sharp, Mara. Not everyone here plays fair."
I blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
She gave me a small smile and walked off.
What did she know?
I turned back to my screen. My heart was still beating too fast.
This wasn't just about a file anymore.
Someone wanted me out.
And I wasn't going without a fight.