Chapter 1
My phone rang three hours before the most important interview of my life, and by the time I hung up, I knew someone had deliberately destroyed my future.
I just didn't know how much worse the truth would get.
I stood beside the kitchen island in my navy suit, adjusting my tie while reviewing the interview notes I'd spent six weeks preparing.
This wasn't just another job.
It was the senior operations director position I'd dreamed about since I was twenty-four. The salary would nearly double my income, the benefits would finally allow me to support my mother comfortably, and the promotion would put me on the career path I'd worked toward for almost a decade.
My girlfriend, Keisha, had watched me prepare every night.
Or at least, I'd believed she had.
When my phone rang, I answered with a smile.
"Good morning, this is Andre."
The recruiter sounded confused.
"Andre, I'm calling to confirm something. Why did you cancel your interview this morning?"
My smile vanished.
"I'm sorry. What?"
"Your email came through last night. You informed us you wouldn't be attending and requested that we withdraw your application."
For several seconds, I couldn't speak.
"I never canceled that interview."
Silence.
Then the recruiter said, "We received the message from your email address."
My fingers tightened around the phone.
Behind me, Keisha stood beside the kitchen island, stirring coffee she hadn't touched.
She suddenly became very interested in the countertop.
"Can you send me the email?" I asked.
"Of course. But Andre, I need to be honest. We have other candidates waiting. If you want us to reconsider, you'll need to contact us immediately."
"I will. I promise."
When the call ended, I stared at my phone.
Keisha cleared her throat.
"Everything okay?"
I turned slowly.
"They canceled my interview."
Her eyebrows rose.
"Why?"
"They said I withdrew my application."
She blinked.
"That's strange."
"Strange?"
"Maybe they made a mistake."
I studied her face.
Keisha was twenty-eight, beautiful, confident, and usually incapable of hiding her opinions. We'd been together for almost three years, and I'd spent most of that time believing she was the person who supported me more than anyone else.
But that morning, she wouldn't look me in the eyes.
I opened my laptop.
My inbox loaded, followed by the sent folder.
There it was.
An email timestamped 11:47 p.m.
Subject: Withdrawal of Application.
I clicked it.
"Dear Hiring Team,
After careful consideration, I have decided to withdraw from the interview process. I no longer wish to pursue this position and will not be attending the scheduled interview.
Thank you for your time."
My stomach twisted.
I had never written those words.
I scrolled down.
The message had been sent from my account.
My password-protected account.
The same account I'd left open on the kitchen island the previous evening while I showered.
I remembered coming downstairs afterward and finding Keisha sitting beside my laptop.
She'd told me she was checking a recipe.
I turned the screen toward her.
"Did you send this?"
Her stirring stopped.
For one long second, neither of us moved.
Then she folded her arms.
"I needed you here with me."
The words struck harder than a slap.
"What?"
"You've been obsessed with that job for weeks. You barely sleep. Every conversation becomes about your interview."
"So you canceled it?"
"I didn't think you'd understand."
I stared at her, waiting for the explanation that would somehow make this make sense.
It never came.
"You destroyed my biggest opportunity."
"Don't exaggerate, Andre. There will be other jobs."
"This was the final interview. They flew the regional director in specifically to meet me."
"Then maybe you shouldn't have made everything about yourself."
I stepped away from the counter.
My hands were shaking.
"You knew how important this was."
"Yes, I knew."
"And you still did it?"
Her expression hardened.
"I was tired of competing with a job that doesn't even exist yet."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
This wasn't a misunderstanding.
She had made a decision about my future without asking me, then expected me to accept it because she felt neglected.
Before I could respond, my phone rang again.
The recruiter's name appeared.
I answered immediately.
"Hello?"
"Andre, thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I've spoken with our technical team, and there's something unusual about the withdrawal email."
My heart started pounding.
"What do you mean?"
"We noticed an attachment in the original message that wasn't included in the notification you received."
I glanced at Keisha.
She had gone completely still.
The recruiter continued.
"Before you decide whether you want to pursue this any further, I think you need to see what was submitted under your name."
I switched the call to speaker.
"What attachment?"
The recruiter paused.
Then she said, "Andre, the email wasn't just a withdrawal."
Keisha lunged toward my phone.
"Hang up!"
I pulled it away.
The recruiter's voice sharpened.
"Andre, do not delete anything from your account. We're forwarding the complete message to you now."
A notification appeared on my laptop.
I clicked it.
The attachment began downloading.
Keisha's face drained of color.
And for the first time since we'd met, I saw something in her eyes that frightened me more than her betrayal.
May you like
She wasn't afraid I'd leave her.
She was afraid I'd discover what she'd done next.
