Page 79 of A Lot to Unpack

---

My heart sinks.

‘What do you mean?’ I reply.

‘You left both contracts in Jordan’s room,’ she says – she sounds so angry she might explode regardless. ‘The one he was supposed to sign, and the one we were trying to swap out. He’s seen them both. He called me – he’s furious. He knows exactly what we were trying to pull.’

Oh, fuck. It must have fallen out of my bag, or maybe I didn’t stuff it back in properly, but it doesn’t matter, does it? The point is he’s seen it. Shit. I wasn’t going to do it – I couldn’t do it. God knows what he thinks of me now.

‘I didn’t… I…’

My mouth is almost too dry to form words.

‘Liberty,’ she snaps. ‘You didn’t think. You fumbled it. You messed everything up.’

‘Did you try to explain?’ I ask desperately. ‘Does he not understand that we were only fixing a mistake?’

Paige laughs. It’s not a nice laugh. It’s spiky and cold and cuts right through me.

‘My God, you’re naïve,’ she says. ‘This was a business play, and you’ve just tanked your career. Well done.’ She sighs. ‘You’re fired, by the way.’

‘I’m…’

‘The rest of the team are staying in the US,’ she talks over me. ‘I heard you were flying back with Jordan. You’re not. I’ve booked you a hotel room at the airport for tonight. You’re flying in the morning. Alone. And I don’t ever want to hear from you again – don’t expect a reference.’

She hangs up.

For a moment I stand on the spot, staring straight ahead at nothing in particular.

My phone buzzes again.

It’s MrLoveByte – or Pete, as I know him now.

MrLoveByte

Is it true you tried to scam Jordan out of the company?

I think I’m going to be sick.

NewGirl

No! What are you talking about?

MrLoveByte

He’s here now, trying to sort out the mess. We’ve seen the contract you were trying to switch in. It would’ve ousted Jordan completely. Gave Paige the US too.

I reply quickly, my hands shaking as I type.

NewGirl

She told me it was fixing a typo. I didn’t know she was planning that.

I stare at the screen, willing a reply. Nothing.

Then I type:

NewGirl

Did Jordan sign it before he realised?

---