The air in the office was thick and motionless, almost tangible, as if you could reach out and touch it. The air conditioner was humming strainedly, but it couldn’t cope with the tension hanging in the space between the desks. For the rest of the world it was just an ordinary Thursday, a day like any other. But for Anna, this day felt like her last. She sat at her computer, her fingers, icy at the tips, tapping on the keyboard, and every keystroke echoed inside her own chest. She knew what was about to happen. She felt it with every cell of her being.
Vera Sergeyevna, the head of the department where Anna worked, was slowly pacing between the rows. Her heels beat out a measured, commanding rhythm on the white floor. Her gaze, heavy and appraising, slid over the employees’ backs, and Anna constantly felt that it stopped on her. That look was like a sight aimed at a target. The last few months had been a test of endurance for Anna. It had all started with small, almost imperceptible things. Files “accidentally” deleted, important emails that somehow disappeared from the inbox, small remarks spoken with a smile but edged as sharply as a blade.
Then it all became more obvious. Whispering behind her back that no one even bothered to hush anymore. Snide jokes that were immediately picked up by others. Maxim, the most talkative employee in the department, was constantly spreading rumors that Anna couldn’t handle her responsibilities. Dmitry, who always tried to curry favor with the bosses, eagerly supported any barbed comment from Vera Sergeyevna about Anna. Even quiet Elena, with whom they had once shared morning coffee, now looked away and stayed silent whenever Anna was discussed in front of everyone.
Anna was the perfect target for this team. She was calm, focused on her work, didn’t take part in endless discussions about other people’s private lives, and didn’t go to the parties where everything revolved around gossip and flattery. She just wanted to do her job well. Her projects delivered results, the numbers in the reports spoke for themselves. And perhaps that was exactly what irritated Vera Sergeyevna the most. She could not stand anyone in her domain being in any way better than her, anyone who might even slightly overshadow her own shine.
Today’s blow was especially harsh. The presentation for an important partner, which Anna had been working on for several weeks, was completely ruined. Someone had gone into the system at night and replaced all the final slides with old drafts full of mistakes. Anna discovered this only a few minutes before the crucial meeting was to begin. She had no way to fix anything or restore the original version.
“Anna, can you explain what this is supposed to be?” came Vera Sergeyevna’s icy voice. She was standing over her with her arms crossed over her chest. “This is a disgrace to our entire department.”
“I don’t understand, Vera Sergeyevna. Yesterday everything was ready and checked. Someone clearly…” Anna began, but was immediately interrupted.
“Someone?” Vera Sergeyevna laughed falsely. “Stop shifting the blame, Anna. This is the height of unprofessionalism. You’ve let the whole team down at the most critical moment.”
Maxim stifled a chuckle behind his monitor. Dmitry nodded importantly, staring at their boss. Anna stood there, feeling her face burn. She felt utterly helpless. She knew that any word she said would be used against her.
At the end of the day she was invited into the office. Vera Sergeyevna sat behind her large desk, her face radiating complete satisfaction. Next to her was an HR employee with an absolutely blank expression.
“Anna, we’re forced to say goodbye to you,” said Vera Sergeyevna without any preamble. “Your latest mistake has become decisive for us. The company cannot afford to keep employees who do not meet our high standards.”
She spoke in memorized, impersonal phrases, but in her eyes there was undisguised joy at what was happening. She had achieved her goal. She had driven Anna out. Anna silently signed all the documents. The humiliation was so deep that she couldn’t even cry. She walked out of the office and passed through the department, past her colleagues, who pretended to be absorbed in their work, but she could feel their triumphant gazes on her back.
As she packed her things into a cardboard box – her favorite mug, the small cactus on the windowsill, a few books – she heard, from behind Vera Sergeyevna’s door, the familiar pop of a bottle being opened. Then came loud, cheerful laughter. They were celebrating. Celebrating her departure.
Leaving the building, she stopped in the parking lot and lifted her head to look at the lit windows of her former office. They were enjoying themselves up there, convinced of their victory and their impunity. None of them – neither the imperious Vera Sergeyevna nor her loyal helpers – had the slightest idea about one very important detail.
None of them knew that the controlling stake in their successful company, Future Technologies, had been acquired just a few days earlier by her father, Sergei Alexandrovich Orlov. And her “dismissal” today was the best possible gift they could have given him.
Back home, in the silence of her apartment, Anna finally allowed herself to cry. These were not tears of weakness, but tears of anger and hurt that had been building up over all these months. She let them pour out, to cleanse herself, to leave behind everything unpleasant that had happened to her. When the first storm of emotions subsided, she dialed her father’s number.
“Well, sunshine? How was your last day?” his voice on the line was calm, but she could hear the familiar firm notes in it.
“They fired me, Dad. With laughter and champagne. Vera Sergeyevna made sure everything looked as humiliating as possible.”
“I see,” he replied shortly. “That means everything has been confirmed. You did wonderfully to endure it to the end. Your fieldwork is complete. And you’ve gathered very valuable information.”
A year earlier, when her father had first started considering the possibility of buying Future Technologies, he had suggested this unusual plan to her. “I need to understand what the company really breathes,” he had said. “Not what they show me in pretty presentations. I need what happens inside, among ordinary employees. Go there, work, see everything with your own eyes. You’re my most reliable advisor.”
Anna agreed. She was curious to test herself, to prove that she could achieve something without the help of her loud surname. She had no idea what kind of world she was about to dive into.
“They’re not just unpleasant people, Dad,” she said, looking out the window at the city lights. “They’re causing real damage to the company. I’m almost sure that Vera Sergeyevna is pocketing part of our department’s budget. Her reports were always perfect on paper, but the actual expenses never matched. She always blamed ‘circumstances’ or ‘incompetent staff’—meaning me. She built a system where all her mistakes and failures were shifted onto others.”
“Now that is serious,” her father’s voice became focused and businesslike. “That’s more than office drama, that’s a criminal matter. Then our plan changes. A simple dismissal won’t be enough. We’ll conduct a full, in-depth audit. Starting Monday.”
“What should I do?” Anna asked.
“Rest. Spend these days in peace. And Monday morning you’ll come to the office with me. But not as a former employee – as my personal representative and the new Vice President for Development.”
He was silent for a few seconds.
“Anna,” he added gently. “I’m proud of you. You’ve shown real resilience. Now it’s time to set everything right.”
On Friday morning, a brief message appeared in Future Technologies’ corporate email: “Dear colleagues, we inform you that the company’s main shareholder has changed. On Monday at 10:00 a.m. a general meeting will be held in the main conference hall, where the new owner, Sergei Alexandrovich Orlov, will be introduced to the staff. Attendance is mandatory.”
Anna could easily imagine the commotion that began in the office. Vera Sergeyevna was probably panicking. A change in ownership always meant risks for those who had clung to old connections. All day she was most likely trying to find something out, to learn about the new owner. But information about her father was well hidden. He had always preferred to work in the shadows.
Anna spent Friday exactly as her father had advised. She rested, walked, read. She washed off the heavy residue left by her time at that job and prepared for her new role. By evening she no longer felt like a victim. She felt like someone ready to restore justice.
On Monday, at five minutes to ten, a dark car pulled up to the main entrance of the business center. Her father stepped out – a tall, confident man in an impeccable suit. His face was calm and unreadable. Then Anna got out of the car. She was wearing an elegant suit, her hair styled in a strict updo. There was no trace of uncertainty or fear in her eyes.
They entered the building. The security guard who, on Thursday, had looked at her with pity, now almost snapped to attention. They headed for the executive elevator.
All the managers and department heads had already gathered in the conference hall. Anxious voices filled the room. Anna spotted Vera Sergeyevna. She was standing among the other supervisors, nervously straightening her jacket. A strained, artificial smile was fixed on her face.
Exactly at ten, the current CEO – whom her father had decided to keep in his position for the time being – walked into the hall.
“Colleagues, may I have your attention, please!” he said, and there was a tremor in his voice. “Allow me to introduce the new owner and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Future Technologies – Sergei Alexandrovich Orlov!”
Her father stepped to the center. Every eye in the room was on him. He slowly surveyed the hall, and for a moment his gaze lingered on Vera Sergeyevna. She tried to smile even more broadly.
“Good morning,” he began in his calm, authoritative voice. “I’ll be brief. I am here to take this company to a new level. And for that we need the best professionals and absolutely honest and transparent processes. Any intrigue, unprofessional behavior, and especially illegal actions will be stopped in the strictest way. To oversee these matters I am introducing a new position – Vice President for Development. This person will be my chief assistant, my eyes and ears here. And their word will carry the same weight as mine.”
A complete silence fell over the room. Everyone froze, waiting. Vera Sergeyevna straightened up, hope flaring in her eyes that her many years of experience would finally be properly rewarded.
“Please welcome,” her father continued, after a dramatic pause, “my representative and the new Vice President of the company – Anna Sergeyevna Orlova.”
He gestured toward her. Anna stepped out of the shadows and stood beside her father.
You would have had to see the look on Vera Sergeyevna’s face in that moment. Her smile froze and then slowly melted away, replaced by a mask of absolute shock and horror. Her eyes widened, her lips parted. She turned pale as if she had seen something impossible. Her gaze darted from Anna to her father and back again, and in it was the panicked realization of complete ruin. Maxim and Dmitry, sitting in the hall, looked no better. They stared at Anna as if she were a ghost that had come for retribution.
And in that very instant they all understood everything. The very same fired employee. The daughter of the company’s new owner. Their grand triumph last Thursday, their laughter and celebration now seemed to them the worst and most unforgivable mistake of their lives.
“The first thing we will begin with,” said Anna, and her clear, firm voice rang through the silent hall, “is a full and comprehensive audit of the marketing department’s activities over the past year. Every financial operation, every contract signed, every report submitted will be examined.”
She looked straight at Vera Sergeyevna. The latter was unable to utter a single word.
The meeting ended quickly. People left in complete confusion, throwing Anna surprised and frightened glances. Vera Sergeyevna remained standing in place. When the hall had almost emptied, she slowly walked over to them.
“Sergei Alexandrovich… Anna Sergeyevna…” her voice shook and broke. “This is some terrible misunderstanding… I… I didn’t know…”
“You didn’t know you’re not supposed to humiliate people?” her father interrupted calmly. “Or you didn’t know you’re not allowed to take what doesn’t belong to you?”
“I never took anything!” she almost squealed. “And Anna… she was a bad employee! She ruined an important project!”
“The project you yourself destroyed by deleting all the files?” Anna asked in the same calm tone. “The IT security service has already provided all the data. The login into the system under my account was made from your workstation on Wednesday evening. That’s more than enough.”
Vera Sergeyevna recoiled as if struck. She realized she was caught.
“You are fired,” Sergei Alexandrovich said clearly. “For cause, for violation of your duties and causing damage to the company. Our lawyers are already preparing all the necessary documents. You may leave the building.”
She looked at Anna with hatred and despair. “You… you orchestrated all of this!”
“No,” Anna replied quietly, looking her straight in the eyes. “I just did my job. You chose this path yourself. You could have been a good manager. But you preferred to become what you are. Now you’ll have to live with the consequences of that choice.”
She turned and almost ran for the exit. Her career here was over.
Maxim and Dmitry were next. Anna invited them into her new, spacious office – the very one that had belonged to Vera Sergeyevna that same morning. They came in hunched, without lifting their eyes.
“I’m not going to fire you,” Anna began, and they looked up at her in surprise. “That would be too easy.”
Dmitry immediately tried to justify himself. “Anna Sergeyevna, I was always on your side! I tried to speak up, but Vera Sergeyevna never listened…”
“That’s enough, Dmitry,” Anna cut him off. “I know your behavior all too well. You both will stay with the company. But in different positions. Maxim, you like talking about other people so much? Excellent. You’ll be working with archive documentation. It needs to be sorted and systematized. Dmitry, you like being close to the bosses? Perfect. You’ll be in charge of office maintenance and logistics. And both of you will be moved to a lower pay grade. If something about that doesn’t suit you, HR’s doors are open.”
They stared at her in horror. For people like them, such work was worse than being fired. It was a constant reminder of their fall. They nodded silently and left.
With Elena, the very quiet employee who had silently watched everything unfold, Anna acted differently. Elena came into the office in tears.
“I know I behaved badly,” she whispered. “I was so scared. I was afraid they’d do the same to me.”
“Fear is no excuse, Elena,” Anna said. “But I saw how uncomfortable you were. I’ll give you one chance. Show that you can work well. I’m appointing you senior specialist on a probationary period. If you manage, you’ll have the opportunity to grow further. If not, we’ll part ways.”
Fresh tears welled up in Elena’s eyes, but now they held hope and gratitude. Anna understood that she was giving a chance not only to Elena, but also to herself – a chance to build a new team based not on fear, but on mutual respect and trust.
At the end of the day, Anna sat in her new office, looking at the city lights coming on in the evening. She did not feel the thrill of revenge. She felt a quiet confidence that everything had fallen into place. She took no joy in their downfall. She was simply restoring justice.
There was a knock at the door. It was her father.
“Well, Madam Vice President? Do you like the view from the window?” he asked with a smile.
“The view is wonderful,” she answered. “But there’s a lot of work ahead. We need to find new people. Talented, honest ones who want to work and grow instead of scheming.”
“You’ll handle everything,” he said, placing his hand on her shoulder. “You’ve already proved that. Welcome to real life, daughter.”
She looked at the city lights and realized that this was only the beginning. The beginning of her own path. A path on which she would never again allow anyone to break her faith in herself and in justice.
And then Anna understood a simple but important truth: the strongest bridges are built not out of fear and submission, but out of respect and honesty. Every sunset she now watched from her office window was not just the end of a day, but a reminder that even the darkest shadows retreat before a bright light. And her life, like the city beyond the glass, was beginning to shine with thousands of new lights, each one promising a new beginning, a new opportunity, and a renewed faith in tomorrow.