Chapter 3

The manager with the clipboard was a man named Darren Cole, and he walked with the grim purpose of a man who had done this before. He was not a senior executive, not a member of the board, but he was the person who handled the paperwork when an employee's career ended in a public, spectacular fashion. He had been called away from a meeting about catering contracts, and he was not happy about it.

Maren saw him coming. Her eyes tracked him across the terminal like a cornered animal watching a hunter approach. She knew who he was. Everyone in the airline knew who Darren Cole was. He was the man who appeared at your desk, or your gate, or your break room, and when he appeared, your career was over. He carried a clipboard because it gave his hands something to do, but the termination notice was always pre-filled, always waiting.

"No," Maren said, her voice cracking. "No, you can't do this. I have twenty years. Twenty years with this airline."

Darren stopped in front of the podium. He looked at her with the flat, patient expression of a man who had heard this exact speech a hundred times. "Maren Voss," he said, reading from the notice. "Termination for gross misconduct, effective immediately. Your final check will be mailed to your address on file. Your benefits will continue for thirty days. You are required to surrender your badge and your name tag."