PART 2
Sophia didn’t touch the phone for nearly an hour.
She showered slowly, made coffee, and stood by the window of her small East Village apartment watching the city wake up. New York was already loud — taxis honking, delivery trucks unloading, people rushing to jobs they hated.
Her phone kept vibrating on the table.
Again.
And again.
Finally, she picked it up.
198 missed calls.
312 messages.
All from Alexander Morgan.
She stared at the screen for a moment, then opened the newest message.
“Sophia, please answer. HR made a serious mistake. We need to talk immediately.”
She chuckled softly.
A mistake.
That was a polite word for what had happened.
She poured herself another cup of coffee before finally pressing the call button.
The phone rang only once.
“SOPHIA!” Alexander’s voice exploded through the speaker. “Thank God. Where are you?”
“At home,” she said calmly.
“You resigned?”
“Yes.”
There was a long pause.
Then Alexander spoke again, his voice tight.
“Why?”
Sophia leaned back in her chair.
“I assume Lauren Hayes explained it to you.”
Silence.
Then he said slowly,
“She told me there was a performance adjustment discussion.”
Sophia laughed.
“A performance adjustment? That’s a creative way to describe cutting someone’s salary from nine thousand dollars to six hundred.”
The silence on the other end became heavy.
“What?” Alexander whispered.
“She said my performance didn’t meet company standards.”
“That’s impossible,” he snapped. “You run half the recovery operations in this company.”
“Well,” Sophia replied calmly, “apparently I’m not doing it well enough to earn more than a grocery clerk.”
Alexander exhaled sharply.
“Sophia… you were never supposed to have your salary reviewed. Your contract is under executive protection status. HR cannot modify it.”
Sophia frowned slightly.
“Apparently they can.”
