I was let go because of my age. As a farewell, I gave all my colleagues roses, and left my boss a folder with the results of my secret audit.
Lena, well have to part ways.
Gennady said this with the same paternal softness in his voice that he used whenever he was about to pull something shady.
He leaned back in his massive chair, fingers interlaced over his stomach.
Weve decided the company needs fresh vision. New energy. You understand.
I looked at himhis well-groomed face, the expensive tie I helped him pick for last year’s corporate party.
Understand? Oh yes. I understood perfectly that investors had started talking about an independent audit, and he urgently needed to get rid of the only person who saw the full picture. Me.
I understand, I replied calmly. New energy meaning Katya from reception, who mixes up debits and credits but is twenty-two and laughs at all your jokes?
He winced.
Its not about age, Lena. Just your approach is a bit outdated. Were stagnating. We need a breakthrough.
A breakthrough. A word hed been repeating for the last six months. I built this firm with him from scratch when we squeezed into a tiny office with peeling walls. Now that the office was sleek and glossy, I no longer fit the decor.
Fine, I stood up smoothly, feeling everything inside me turn to ice. When should I clear my desk?
My calm seemed to throw him off. He expected tears, pleas, a sceneanything to make him feel like a magnanimous winner.
Today. No rush. HR will prepare the paperwork. Compensation, all proper.
I nodded and walked to the door. Hand on the knob, I turned.
You know, Gennady, youre right. The company *does* need a breakthrough. And Ill probably deliver it.
He didnt get it. Just smiled indulgently.
The main office, where about fifteen people worked, was tense. Everyone knew.
The girls guiltily avoided eye contact. I went to my deskalready topped with a cardboard box. Efficient.
Silently, I packed my things: photos of my kids, my favorite mug, a stack of professional journals. At the bottom, I placed a small bouquet of lilies of the valley from my sonhe gave them to me yesterday, just because.
Then I pulled out what Id prepared in advance. Twelve red rosesone for each colleague whod been with me all these years. And a thick black folder tied with string.
I walked around the office, handing each person a rose.
Spoke quiet, simple words of thanks. Some hugged me, some cried. It felt like saying goodbye to family.
When I returned to my desk, only the folder remained. I picked it up, walked past my bewildered coworkers, and headed back to Gennadys office.
The door was open. He was on the phone, laughing.
Yes, the old guard is stepping aside Time to move forward
I didnt knock. Just walked in, set the folder atop his papers.
He glanced up, startled, and covered the receiver.
Whats this?
A parting gift, Gennady. Instead of flowers. Every breakthrough youve made in the last two years.
With numbers, accounts, dates. Figured youd want to review it. Especially the section on flexible methodologies for siphoning funds.
I turned and left. Felt his gaze drill into my backfirst the folder, then me.
He muttered something into the phone, cutting the call short. But I didnt look back.
I walked through the office, empty box in hand. Now everyone was watching.
Their expressions mixed fear and awe. Each desk held my red roselike poppies after a battle.
Near the exit, the lead IT guy, Sergey, caught up. A quiet man Gennady treated as a function.
Last year, when Gennady tried fining him for a server crash *he* caused, I brought evidence and defended him. He hadnt forgotten.
Olena Petrovna, he said softly, if you ever need anything data cloud backups You know how to reach me.
I nodded gratefully. The first voice of defiance.
At home, my husband and college-student son waited. They saw the box in my hands and understood.
So it worked? my husband asked, taking it from me.
The first step, I replied, kicking off my heels. Now we wait.
My son, a future lawyer, hugged me.
Mom, youre incredible. I double-checked all the documents you gathered. No loopholes. No auditor could touch them.
Hed helped me systematize the years worth of double-bookkeeping chaos Id secretly compiled.
All evening, I waited for the call. It came at 11 PM. I put him on speaker.
Lena? His voice held no softness now. Just panic poorly concealed. I looked through your documents. Is this a joke? Blackmail?
No need to be crude, Gennady, I said calmly. This isnt blackmail. Its an audit. And a gift.
You realize I can destroy you? For slander! For stealing documents!
And you realize the originals are no longer with me? That if anything happens to me or my family, these files automatically go to several *very* interested parties? Like the tax office.
Or your main investors.
Silence. Then labored breathing.
What do you want? Money? Your job back?
Justice, Gennady. Return every cent you stole. Then resign. Quietly.
Youre insane! he shrieked. This is *my* company!
It was *our* company, I said firmly. Until you decided your wallet mattered more. You have until morning.
By 9 AM, I expect news of your resignation. If notthe folder goes on a journey. Goodnight.
I hung up before his sputtered curses finished.
Next morningno news. At 9:15, an email from Gennady arrived:
*Emergency all-hands meeting at 10. Note for me: Come. Well see who wins.* Hed gone all-in.
What will you do? my husband asked.
Go, of course. Cant miss the premiere of my own show.
I wore my best suit. At 9:55, I entered the office. Everyone was in the meeting room.
Gennady stood by the big screen. Seeing me, he smiled like a predator.
Ah, our star. Please, Lena, sit. Were all eager to hear how a CFO, accused of incompetence, tries blackmailing management.
He launched into his speech. Theatrically lamented the trust Id betrayed. Waved my folder like a flag.
Behold! A collection of fiction from someone who cant accept their time is up!
The team stayed silent. Eyes downcast. Ashamed, but afraid. I waited until he paused to sip waterthen texted Sergey: *Go.*
The screen behind Gennady went darkthen displayed a scanned invoice.
Payment for fake consulting services to a shell company registered to his mother-in-law.
Gennady froze. More documents flashed: receipts for his luxury trips, estimates for his dacha renovation, screenshots of kickback negotiations.
Wh what is this? he muttered.
This, Gennady, is called *data visualization*, I said clearly, standing. You wanted a breakthrough?
Here it is. A breakthrough toward cleaning out theft. Said my approach was outdated? Maybe. I *am* old-fashioned. I think stealings wrong.
I faced the team.
Im not asking you to pick sides. Just showing facts. Draw your own conclusions.
I placed my phone on the table.
By the way, Gennadythis is live-streaming to our investors inboxes. So resignations the *least* of your worries now.
He stared at the screen, then at me. His face grayed. The bravado vanished, leaving a small, terrified man.
I turned and walked out.
Sergey was the first to stand. Then Olga, our best sales manager, endlessly belittled by Gennady. Then Andriy, the analyst whose reports he stole.
Even timid Marina from accountingthe one whod cried over his nitpicking. They werent following *me*. They were leaving *him*.
Two days later, a stranger called. A crisis manager hired by investors.
Dryly: Gennady was suspended; audits were underway. Thanked me for the provided information. Offered my job back to stabilize things.
Thanks, I said. But Id rather build new than scrape up old wreckage.
The first months were hard. We worked in a cramped rented office, eerily like our startup days.
Me, my husband, son, Sergey, and Olga pulled 12-hour days. OurWith every new client who trusted us, the echoes of the past grew quieter, until one day, I realized we werent just rebuildingwed already built something better.
