Page 18 of Corrupt Game

Silence filled the room. He was waiting for me to respond. When I simply sat there, he frowned.

“Back to the subject at hand, are you going to continue to stay as per your contract guidelines?” His pen pointed to the area we’d stopped on.

I had to force a deep breath into my lungs. I reminded myself this was for Andy. I would endure this for him.

His smarter than thou attitude was going to make me scream before our time together was over, though.

A boss that gave orders was one thing, but he acted like he knew what was best for me. Not even a full day and he was certain that his way was the only way.

I fumed silently as he resumed his speech.

“You will make a post to all social media outlets immediately about taking a break from any and all platforms for your mental health.”

He crossed his arms and nodded toward the phone locked by my fingerprint.

I wanted to make him wait. I really did. On the other hand, I didn’t want to alert them that anything was out of the ordinary.

Unsure of how much information I could send out quickly, I picked up the phone.

“Here is a statement that has been drafted to help you navigate your posts and updates.”

I glanced at the paper he pushed toward me.

“Due to family issues, I have decided that I need to take an extended break from social media for my own mental health. The toxic nature of the platforms is causing me distress. I’m hoping a cleanse from the negativity that surrounds us in the technology of society will help me to focus on more important matters. Thank you for understanding and respecting my need for privacy during this time.”

I lifted my brow. “That’s a pretty broad and all-encompassing statement. What makes you think people will believe it comesfrom me?” I honestly didn’t care. Nobody followed me on any of the sites anyway. I used them for research and work purposes.

I had no family to care about what was going on in my life. No friends to check up on me. In fact, I was one of those few people in life that truly had no connections to the world. Nobody would notice that I’d be gone. Nobody would file a missing persons report.

Andy had been the only person that had made it a point to check on me. He’d been there through more than half of my life.

He was gone and no one would miss me.

I checked the spiraling thoughts. Ingrid might.

The thought brought a wave of sadness, reinforcing my loss of my only family and friend.

If what I was doing could stop this man from hurting others as I’d been hurt, then I had to make my life count for something worthwhile.

It wasn't foolish heroics if something good came from something bad.

“This is for the protection of Holdt Technologies. We require all employees that work with sensitive material to have limited-to-no social media access,” he explained with controlled patience.

“Whatever.” I started typing the message out.

“There.” I turned the phone toward him so he could read and approve it. “Highly unnecessary, but I’ll do it.”

His gaze read over the words quickly.

“Nicely done. Do the same with the other media accounts and then hand Mr. Rossi the phone.” His tone brooked no arguments.

I did as he asked, but I’d also typed out a message to Ingrid.

Taken to a cabin in the woods to work for Holdt. Won’t be able to communicate.

I hit send and then posted all of the other messages.

“Done.”

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