Mark stared at his phone as if it had suddenly burst into flames.
“What is it?” Martha demanded.
He swallowed hard. “Nothing.”
“It doesn’t look like nothing,” I said, crossing my arms.
For a moment, nobody spoke. Then Melanie stepped closer.
“Mark,” she whispered, “tell them.”
His face turned pale.
The phone rang again.
This time, I could hear the voice on the other end.
“Mr. Reynolds, this is Human Resources. We need you to return all company equipment immediately. Your employment has been terminated effective today.”
The entire driveway went silent.
“Terminated?” Melanie asked.
Mark quickly ended the call.
“They made a mistake.”
But nobody believed him.
Especially not me.
The truth came out only minutes later.
The company training trip to Miami had never existed.
Mark had used vacation time.
He had lied to his employer.
He had submitted fake expense reports.
And worst of all, he had been carrying on an affair with Melanie during work hours for months.
Someone in the office had discovered everything.
The investigation had finished that morning.
His job was gone.
His salary was gone.
His health insurance was gone.
And now his house was gone too.
Martha looked as though she might faint.
“You lost your job?”
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