Frank's blind spot for Amber made no sense at all. How could he be so willing to throw me under the bus when I'd brought in more business than ten Ambers put together? The mentor I'd always looked up to was now twisting the truth right in front of everyone.
"Frank!" I called out, rushing after him into the hall, desperate to make him understand.
But Tommy stepped in my path. "Come on, Sue. Frank taught you everything you know. Are you really going to throw all that away over something so small?" He shook his head. "He's just giving you constructive criticism. You should own up to your mistakes."
I didn't care what Tommy or Dave thought. But Frank—he was the one who'd built my career, who taught me to fight for what's right. And now he was betraying his own lessons.
My hands were shaking, but I kept my voice steady. "I disagree," I said firmly. "I don't accept your version of what happened in that courtroom. I stand by every move I made."
Frank's expression turned cold. The friendly demeanor was gone. "I always knew you were ambitious, Sue. But I never thought you'd be this petty." He crossed his arms. "Amber has real talent. She deserves a chance to prove herself—if you can't handle that, maybe you should just quit."
The office was watching now. They'd only heard Frank's polished, casual version of events—they had no idea what really went down in court. The whispers started rolling through the room like quiet thunder. He was good, I'll give him that. He knew exactly how to make me look small.
I clenched my jaw, ready to fire back—but just then, the door swung open. A familiar voice cut through the tension, laced with sarcasm:
"Maybe instead of gossiping, you should take a look at the evidence. Isn't 'evidence over hearsay' supposed to be, you know, kind of a big deal around here?"