“No,” he said coldly. “They cannot.”
For a moment neither of them spoke.
Then Alexander asked quietly,
“You resigned immediately?”
“Yes.”
“Did you sign anything?”
“No.”
Another pause.
Then suddenly Alexander laughed.
A sharp, dangerous laugh.
“Good.”
Sophia raised an eyebrow.
“Good?”
“You just saved us from a legal disaster.”
She frowned.
“What are you talking about?”
“Sophia,” he said slowly, “your contract includes a clause. If the company intentionally reduces your salary without executive approval, it counts as constructive termination.”
Sophia’s eyes narrowed.
“And?”
“And it activates a compensation penalty.”
“How big?”
Alexander hesitated.
“Three years of salary.”
Sophia blinked.
“Twenty-seven thousand dollars?”
“No.”
His voice dropped.
“Three years of total compensation.”
Sophia did the math in her head.
Salary.
Bonuses.
Equity.
Her eyes widened.
“…That’s over two million dollars.”
“Correct,” Alexander said quietly.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Sophia asked calmly,
“So what happens now?”
Alexander’s tone hardened.
“Now I find out why HR thought they could override my authority.”
Sophia already knew the answer.
“Lauren Hayes.”
“Yes.”
He paused.
Then added quietly,
“She’s already been suspended.”
Sophia stood up and walked toward the window.
Down below, the city moved like nothing had changed.
But somewhere inside that glass tower in Midtown…
Everything was collapsing.
