billion book
Chapter 763
Dorothy heaved a sigh of relief and set her phone down on the kitchen counter next to a half-eaten apple pie.
Jeffrey and Karen getting back together was a small comfort, a tiny slice of good news in what had been a roller coaster of a month.
She booted up her laptop and logged into the backend of Lopez Corporation's network. Her role as a supervisor was still listed there.
When her old gig at East Star Enterprises got absorbed into the parent company, her contract mandated she couldn't leave for at least six months. But with one thing and another, her planned resignation had been put on the back burner.
Chewing on her lip, Dorothy opened a new document and typed out the words "Resignation Letter". The six-month mark was just around the corner. She figured she could still lend a hand to Everett when needed. The lawsuit certainly wasn't going to wrap up quickly; having a verdict after just the first hearing within six months would be nothing short of miraculous. By the time the dust settled, she'd be ready to cut ties with Lopez Corporation for good.
It took Dorothy an hour to write her resignation letter, which she promptly emailed to HR.
Not long after, a notification popped up on her screen. It was a message from Kevin.
[Ms. Sanchez, are you there?]
[Right here! What's up, Kevin?]
[Um... I just got wind from HR. Did you hand in your resignation?]
Dorothy had expected word of her departure to reach Everett eventually, but she hadn't anticipated it being quite so swift. No matter.
The decision to quit was genuine.
[Yep, I'm aware of the six-month clause. I won't jump ship immediately. You can assign me tasks as usual until then.]
[You're really set on leaving, huh? Mr. Lopez is in a meeting right now, clueless about this. If you retract now, I won't breathe a word to him.]
Dorothy cracked a wry smile, appreciating Kevin's concern. But once the court's decision came down, if she was still at Lopez Corporation, the media frenzy would be unpredictable, to say the least. She had to make a clean break.
[No turning back, Kevin. As of tomorrow, the countdown begins.]
Kevin didn't reply, and his status soon turned to offline.
Dorothy's mind wandered back to Kevin's mention of Everett being in a meeting. If it was an internal Lopez Corporation meeting, she might have access to listen in. Sure enough, when she navigated to the meeting channel, she saw the "Presidential New Project Brainstorm Session" scheduled in Conference Room One.
Curiosity piqued, she attempted to join, only to be halted by a prompt for a password or an invite.
On a hunch, she typed in "0825", not really expecting entry—after all, the meeting might have been initiated by Kevin, and the password set by him too. But to her surprise, the channel opened up, and a message appeared:
[Project Team Four Supervisor—Dorothy Sanchez, has joined Conference Room One.]
Dorothy instinctively clicked to leave, but another message blocked her attempt.
[Exit unavailable under five minutes of joining.]
Fantastic. Who had programmed this feature?
On the video feed, she noticed Everett squinting at his screen—no doubt spotting her unexpected presence. This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .
She clicked the exit button repeatedly, only to be reminded she hadn't been in the meeting long enough.
Resigned to her fate, Dorothy took a deep breath. It was just a video conference; she might as well treat it as an educational experience.
As Everett returned his focus to the documents in his hands, Dorothy kept a close eye on the time. Just short of the five-minute mark, Everett's voice unexpectedly filled the room.
"Ms. Sanchez, did you need something?"