Chapter 78 The Purge
Briar's POV
Five days later, I walked into my office with a cup of coffee in hand, and Lily was already waiting for me at my desk. She didn't say anything at first, just pushed her phone across the surface toward me with a serious look.
I picked up the phone and stared at the screen. It was a surveillance screenshot, grainy but clear enough to make out the face in the frame. I recognized him immediately, one of those people who always kept their head down and moved through the hallways like a shadow, someone I had passed a hundred times without ever really seeing. He was the kind of person who blended into the background so completely that you forgot he was there, and that was exactly what made him dangerous.
Lily's voice was tight with worry. "What do we do?"
I took a long breath and handed the phone back to her, keeping my expression neutral. "Nothing. Act like we never saw it."
"But... everyone's talking about it," Lily said, her voice rising slightly with panic. "The rumors are spreading fast. People are saying the company's falling apart."
"I know," I said, setting my coffee down on the desk and letting my voice stay calm and level. "The people who are already filing resignation letters? Let them go. Don't try to stop them. Devon did us a favor by forcing them to show their true colors."
Lily hesitated, her fingers tightening around her phone, but she nodded slowly and left the office without another word.
I picked up my coffee and took a slow sip, letting the bitterness settle on my tongue. The Apex bid was in two days, and we were hemorrhaging staff right when we needed them most. But panic wouldn't help anyone, least of all me.
---
I was in the product center later that morning, working with Eric to pack up the samples for the Apex bid. We moved in silence, our hands working efficiently as we sealed each box and labeled them with precise care.
The door suddenly slammed open, and Owen burst into the room, his voice shrill and panicked.
"It's over! We're finished!" he shrieked, his eyes wide and wild, his hands gesturing frantically like he was trying to physically push the panic out of his body.
Owen rushed up to us, his voice sharp and panicked as he blurted out, "I don't know how the news got out, but everyone knows about the distribution contracts now! Half the office is threatening to quit!"
"What?!" Eric's hand jerked, nearly dropping the sample box he was holding, and he turned to look at me with wide eyes. "This is a disaster. Say something, Briar."
I kept my focus on the last package in front of me, pressing down the seal with deliberate care until it was perfectly smooth and secure. Only then did I look up, my expression calm and controlled.
"Let's go see what's happening," I said, my voice steady and quiet.
By the time I made it to the HR department, there was already a crowd gathered outside the door. The noise was overwhelming, a chaotic mix of angry voices and accusations that echoed down the hallway. I could hear them before I even turned the corner, and I felt my jaw tighten as I approached.
The moment they saw me, the crowd surged forward, and I felt Eric and Lily immediately step in front of me, blocking the way. Eric's arm shot out to the side, creating a barrier, and Lily positioned herself at my other shoulder, her expression fierce and protective.
I caught Owen's eye over the heads of the crowd and gave him a sharp nod, and he turned and jogged down the hallway to call security.
The security team arrived within minutes and forced the crowd back, creating a narrow path in front of me. I stayed where I was, standing perfectly still with my hands at my sides, and waited for them to finish shouting. I let the noise wash over me without reacting, without flinching, and gradually the voices began to falter and die down as people realized I wasn't going to engage.
Someone yelled that the distribution contracts falling through was proof that the company was incompetent, that I had no idea what I was doing. Someone else said we were doomed to fail, that it was only a matter of time before everything collapsed and we all lost our jobs. The voices grew louder and more vicious, feeding off each other's anger and fear.
Then a man's voice cut through the noise, sharp and deliberate, and he said something about the contract I had signed with Julian, something crude and ugly that made my stomach twist. He used the words "selling yourself" and laughed, and I heard a few other people in the crowd join in.
I heard Eric suck in a sharp breath beside me, his body going rigid.
Then I heard a dull thud.
Eric had moved before I could even process what was happening. His fist connected with the man's jaw, and the sound of impact was loud and satisfying in the sudden silence.
Lily was right behind him, her own strikes landing hard and fast on anyone who tried to grab Eric from behind. The security guards had to physically drag them apart, and it took more effort than I expected because Eric was still trying to get another hit in, his face twisted with fury.
The hallway went silent.
I took a step forward, positioning myself directly in front of the crowd, and let the quiet stretch out for a few seconds before I spoke. "What do you want from me?" I asked, my voice flat and devoid of emotion. "An apology? Or are you hoping I'll hand out severance packages so you can walk straight over to Devon's company with a nice bonus in your pocket?"
No one answered. A few people shifted uncomfortably, their eyes dropping to the floor.
"The leak about the distribution contracts came from someone in this building," I said, letting my gaze sweep slowly across the faces in front of me. "You spread the news yourselves so you'd have an excuse to leave. And now you're trying to pressure me into paying you off on your way out. That's a smart plan. I'll give you credit for that."
I turned to the HR manager standing off to the side, her face pale and her hands clutching a clipboard like it was a lifeline. "Anyone who submits a resignation today gets approved. If you want to leave, start the paperwork now."
A voice from the back of the crowd shouted, "Fine! I'm leaving!"
"Good," I said without hesitation. "Three-day processing period, effective after the Apex bid is finalized. Until then, you're still bound by your confidentiality agreements. If you take any proprietary documents or leak any details about our bid strategy, my lawyers will be very interested in discussing breach-of-contract penalties with you. And trust me, the numbers won't be pretty."
The energy in the crowd shifted immediately. The anger was still there, but it was mixed with uncertainty now, and I could see people starting to second-guess themselves. A few exchanged glances, their expressions wary.
The hallway stayed quiet for a long moment, the tension hanging thick in the air.
"If we win this bid," I said, my voice cutting through the silence, "everyone who stays and sees this through to the end gets a salary increase and double their year-end bonus. That's my promise."
Still no one spoke. The crowd seemed frozen, caught between the impulse to leave and the temptation to stay.
Owen was the first to break the silence, his voice soft and a little shaky but sincere. "Briar... I believe in you. I believe we can do this."
I looked at him but didn't say anything. His face was earnest, his eyes steady on mine, and I felt something in my chest loosen slightly.
Catherine from the marketing department spoke up next, her tone cautious but gaining confidence as she continued. "I think the livestream strategy is solid. It's the real breakthrough we've been waiting for. The engagement numbers don't lie."
Someone in the crowd scoffed and muttered that a few new influencers weren't going to save the company, that we were grasping at straws.
"Go back to work," I said, my voice low but firm enough to carry down the hallway. "Everyone back to their desks. Now."