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Slandered With Disease Over Lent Underwear, Reborn I Broadcast Revenge
On the bus back from the company's island team-building trip. My coworker Jessica tugged at her dress and leaned in close, whispering a plea. She said she'd gotten her underwear soaked playing in the ...
章節(4)
第1章
We were on the company bus, riding back from the island team-building trip.
Jessica Swanson slid over to me, tugging at her skirt, and whispered a plea. She said she'd gotten her underwear soaked playing in the water, and asked to borrow one of my disposable pairs.
I gave a cold laugh. Not only did I refuse her, I grabbed the tour guide's bullhorn and shouted to the whole bus full of executives:
"Everyone! Jessica says she's soaked through down there and has nothing to change into! Does anyone have a clean pair in their bag she can borrow in a pinch?"
The words had barely left my mouth before several male executives up front went white.
Because at that exact moment, a company team-building live stream was running from the front of the bus, and tens of thousands of viewers, plus the executives' wives, were watching!
In my last life, I'd worried about sparing her dignity and quietly slipped her a pair.
But a month later, right in the middle of the crucial sales director selection, she was diagnosed with a serious infectious disease.
To bury the scandal and steal my director position, she wept in front of everyone that the underwear I'd given her had come in torn packaging and carried the virus.
The company executives went along with it and branded me the "source of infection," then fired me.
My fiancé called off our engagement. Funeral wreaths showed up at my door every day. In the end I couldn't take the online abuse, and I jumped off a rooftop.
It was only after I died that I learned the truth. She'd been sleeping with several of the bosses up front all along, and she wanted me as her scapegoat!
This life, in front of tens of thousands of viewers and the wives of the men in charge, I ripped her cover story wide open.
Let's see. Without me as her shield, exactly who was she going to pin it on now!
......
The bus erupted.
The bullhorn had amplified my voice tenfold, and it bounced back and forth inside the sealed cabin.
Several male executives up front turned around at the same time.
Their faces were greener than the water outside the window.
Because they'd just remembered something.
Beside the windshield at the front of the bus, a phone was propped up, streaming live.
The company's official account. A team-building outdoor special.
The viewer count in the top left corner: 47,832.
Jessica froze where she stood, her skirt still hiked up on one side.
"P-Pamela Fox!"
Her lips had gone pale.
"Are you insane?"
I handed the bullhorn back to the tour guide.
He was stunned too, nearly fumbling it as he took it.
The comments were already scrolling like mad.
【Hahahaha soaked through?】
【What kind of variety show is this?】
【The faces on those guys up front are priceless.】
【Wait, is this a company team-building stream?】
Jessica rushed up to me and dropped her voice as low as it would go.
"Are you sick in the head? I just asked to borrow a pair of underwear. Was that really necessary?"
I looked at her.
"I didn't say anything out of line. Getting your clothes wet playing in the water is totally normal."
"The whole bus is coworkers. I asked around for you. What's the problem?"
That shut her up.
Up front, marketing director Victor Whitney was the first to react.
He snatched the streaming phone and jammed the screen dark.
"Who started this stream? Kill it!"
Roger Coleman from admin raised his hand weakly.
"Mr. Whitney, you're the one who told us to... you said it would grow followers for the company account."
Victor's hand twitched.
He shot one last glance at the live chat and saw a comment.
【Victor Whitney? Isn't that my husband? His company runs this kind of program on team-building trips?】
He slapped the phone face-down on the seat.
The bus went silent all at once.
Forty-some people, and no one said a word.
Jessica stood in the middle of the aisle, red to the base of her neck.
She took a deep breath and suddenly burst into tears.
"Pamela, I know you can't stand the sight of me, but you didn't have to humiliate me in front of this many people."
"Do you have any idea how many people are in that stream?"
She covered her face and shrank down into her seat.
The coworkers beside her rushed to hand her tissues.
"Don't cry, Jessie. She went way too far."
"Right, whether you lend it or not is one thing, but shouting it out like that? What was that?"
I didn't explain.
I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes.
The memories of my last life came flooding in like a floodgate had opened.
On the bus, I'd quietly slipped her a disposable pair.
A month later, she was diagnosed with a serious infection and cried that the underwear I'd given her had come in torn packaging.
The executives she'd been sleeping with were all too glad to find a scapegoat and bury the whole thing.
HR made me hand in my resignation that same day.
My fiancé said on the phone, "Don't contact me again."
Funeral wreaths piled up outside my rented apartment.
The online abuse lasted thirty-seven days.
On the thirty-eighth day, I jumped from the rooftop.
It was only afterward that I learned the whole truth.
Jessica's disease hadn't come from me at all.
She'd been involved with Victor Whitney, with the vice president Anthony, and with old Merlin over in HR, all at the same time.
After it blew up, afraid of being dragged into it, the several of them put their heads together and shoved me out front as their shield.
And Jessica, riding that whole scheme, took the director position that should have been mine.
She climbed up over my corpse.
This life.
I tore the opening wide in front of tens of thousands of people in that stream.
Let's see.
Victor Whitney's wife was already blowing up in the live chat.
Jessica, who else can you throw the dirty water on now?
My phone buzzed.
A message popped up in the team-building group chat.
It was from Victor.
【Pamela, write up a formal apology when you're back.】
I typed back three words.
【For what?】
He didn't reply.
But I knew the real show was only just beginning.
第2章
By the time the bus pulled up outside the office, the sky had already gone dark.
Everyone got off. No one said a word to me.
Jessica was propped up between two female coworkers, head down the whole way, her shoulders jerking with each sob.
Victor got off and made three phone calls.
Every one of them in a lowered voice.
I caught his last line:
"It's not what you think... The stream's already off... Don't make trouble."
Monday morning.
I'd just badged in when the girl at the front desk looked at me all wrong.
"Pamela, HR wants you."
Merlin James sat at the head of the table in the HR office.
He was the VP over HR.
Early fifties, thinning hair, a kindly smile.
In my past life, he was the one who'd signed off on my resignation.
"Pamela, have a seat."
He pushed a cup of water toward me.
"The team-building thing blew up a little."
I didn't touch the water.
"Blew up how?"
Merlin sighed.
"That livestream got shut down, but somebody screen-recorded it. Over the weekend it spread across a few platforms."
"The company's image took a hit. A few clients called to ask about it."
He looked at me.
"Why did you do what you did back there?"
"She wanted to borrow something from me. I just asked around for her."
Merlin shook his head.
"Pamela, you're a smart woman. Don't play dumb when you know exactly what's going on."
"You yelled it through a bullhorn, and it happened to land right on a livestream. You tell me it wasn't on purpose. Who's going to believe that?"
He opened the folder in front of him.
"The company has decided to issue you a written warning. On top of that, your performance rating for this quarter is being dropped to a C."
"On what grounds?"
"On the grounds that you publicly humiliated a colleague and caused serious fallout."
I asked, "And Jessica? Is she getting any discipline?"
Merlin blinked.
"She's the victim."
"Victim of what? Did I make her pants wet?"
The kindliness on Merlin's face faded.
"Pamela, just sign it. Don't make this complicated."
I didn't sign.
At noon, the mood around my desk was ice cold.
No one asked me to lunch.
Passing the break room, I caught two women talking.
"I heard Pamela did it on purpose. She's had it out for Jessica for a while."
"Why?"
"Because Jessica came in first for the quarterly bonus last time. She's got a real shot at director, and Pamela can't stand it."
"Wow. Petty."
"And don't you think that line of hers was so vicious? All that 'it's all wet in there' stuff. She was clearly hinting at something."
"God, that's disgusting."
I walked in holding my cup.
Both of them shut up instantly.
I filled it with hot water and turned to leave.
The whispering started up again behind me at once.
At three in the afternoon, Jessica came in to work.
She'd changed into a plain long dress, no makeup, eyes faintly red.
The second she walked in, several people stood up.
"Jessie! Are you okay?"
"You didn't feel sick over the weekend, did you?"
"Don't pay any attention to someone like that."
Jessica shook her head, her voice very soft.
"I'm fine. I just feel... so humiliated."
She sat down at her desk, opened her computer, and suddenly covered her face.
"All I did was get my clothes wet... Why would she say something like that..."
The coworker beside her handed over a tissue.
"Stop crying. Everyone knows she went too far."
Someone shot me a look.
Sharp as a knife.
At four thirty, an announcement popped up in the company-wide group.
【Notice Regarding the Handling of the Recent Team-Building Incident】
【Following an investigation, employee Pamela Fox, during the team-building livestream, used public equipment to openly spread a colleague's private information, causing emotional harm to the party involved and damage to the company's reputation. She is hereby issued a written warning, and her entire performance bonus for this quarter is revoked.】
Below the announcement, nothing but a row of "Received."
My phone buzzed at the same moment.
A message from my fiancé, Anthony Dickerson.
【What are you doing at that company? Your coworkers sent me a video.】
【Have you lost your mind?】
【My mom saw it.】
I hadn't even had time to reply.
A second message popped up.
【She says I should think it over.】
第3章
I messaged Anthony back.
【Reconsider what?】
He didn't reply.
Wednesday afternoon, Jessica took a half day off.
She came back with a slip of paper pinched between her fingers, her face drained white.
She walked up to Victor's office door and knocked twice.
The door closed.
Fifteen minutes later, Victor came out, his face like iron.
He headed straight for my desk.
"Pamela Fox, come with me."
Merlin was already in the meeting room.
Jessica sat in the corner, tears dripping down one after another.
Victor shut the door and locked it.
"Pamela, this is worse than we thought."
He slapped the slip of paper from Jessica's hand down on the table.
A test report.
I glanced at the diagnosis line.
Infection, positive.
"Jessica got her results back from the hospital. There's a problem."
Victor's throat bobbed as he said it.
Merlin picked up where he left off.
"You didn't lend her anything on the bus, that's true. But she says the night before the trip, in the hotel room, you already gave her a pair of underwear."
"She was wearing that pair during the day. On the bus she got them wet playing in the water and wanted to change, that's why she asked to borrow from you again."
Jessica lifted her head.
"Pamela, I don't want to accuse you unfairly."
Her voice was hoarse.
"But the packaging on that pair really had been opened. I was in a rush and didn't notice at the time."
"Other than those, I haven't used anything of anyone else's lately."
I looked at her.
"I never gave you anything."
Jessica cried harder.
"Why won't you admit it? That night you clearly took them out of your suitcase and handed them to me..."
Merlin rapped on the table.
"Pamela, this isn't something you settle with your mouth. The company will arrange for you to get tested at a hospital."
"I refuse."
Victor slammed the table.
"Refuse what? Do you have any idea how much liability the company takes on if this gets out?"
"That's your problem."
I looked at him.
"It has nothing to do with me."
Victor pointed at me, his finger trembling.
"Pamela, if you won't cooperate, the company has the right to terminate you."
"On what grounds?"
"Serious violation of company policy, endangering the health and safety of a coworker."
I stood up.
"My lawyer will be very interested."
I walked out of the meeting room.
In the hallway, a few coworkers pretended to be passing by.
Their eyes had already changed.
That afternoon, the company intranet forum blew up.
An anonymous post, titled: 【Shocking! A female employee suspected of maliciously spreading a disease】
The post was written in detail.
Borrowed underwear, damaged packaging, test results.
No name, but every detail pointed at me.
The comments:
【Why keep someone like this around? Fire her.】
【So disgusting. I wouldn't dare touch anything she's touched.】
【Poor Jessica, so pretty, her life is ruined.】
【Suggest calling the police.】
Five o'clock, end of the day.
I walked to the elevator, and the three coworkers beside me took a step back the moment they saw me, all at once.
One of them held the door.
"You... you take the next one."
I looked at them.
"It's not like a contagious disease spreads through an elevator."
Nobody moved.
I stepped in and pressed the lobby.
Before the doors closed, I heard one of them say:
"Why hasn't she quit already?"
Eight in the evening.
Anthony finally replied.
It was a screenshot.
That post from the company intranet.
Below it, one line:
【My mom says we should put the wedding on hold.】
I stared at the screen and didn't reply.
The phone buzzed again.
It was a post Jessica had put up on social media.
A photo of a hospital wristband.
The caption: 【Some wounds never heal.】
Below it, a row of broken-heart emojis.
Victor's wife had liked it.
第4章
The next morning, first thing, I was called up to the general manager's office.
Stewart Lawrence had come in to handle it personally.
Besides Merlin and Victor on the couch, there was a woman in her forties.
Dark circles under her eyes, a phone clenched in her hand, lips pressed into a hard line.
Victor's wife, Alison Perry.
Beside her sat someone younger, in a beige trench coat and thin-framed glasses.
Merlin's wife, Irene Donaldson.
Stewart cleared his throat.
"Pamela, you've seen the talk going around the company lately.
I've brought everyone together today so we can settle this once and for all."
Alison spoke first.
"Mr. Lawrence, I don't care about the rest. I just want one question answered."
She pointed at Victor.
"My husband went on a team-building trip. How did it turn into something like this? What exactly happened on that live stream?"
Victor's face went gray.
"Don't listen to whatever people are saying online..."
"I heard it with my own ears." Alison's voice shook.
"Everyone soaking wet with nothing to change into, tens of thousands of people watching. My classmates and friends asked me about it a hundred times over the weekend."
Irene said nothing.
But the way she looked at Merlin was the way you'd look at a stranger.
Stewart raised a hand.
"Everyone, the point today isn't the live stream. It's Jessica's test results."
He turned to me.
"Pamela, Jessica and her family have filed a formal complaint.
Her mother flew in last night. She's extremely upset, and she's threatening to go to the police."
He pushed a document across to me.
【Negotiated Resignation Agreement】
"What the company is proposing is that you resign voluntarily. We'll list personal reasons as the cause, so it won't affect your next job."
"Both sides sign, and this ends here."
I glanced at the agreement.
"And the severance?"
"What severance?"
"I'm being let go through no fault of my own, and the company pays nothing?"
Stewart frowned.
"Pamela, the company is already going out of its way to save your dignity."
Merlin added, "You should count yourself lucky you weren't fired outright."
Victor sneered. "You're still talking severance? Do you not understand that Jessica's family wants to press charges, that you could be looking at criminal liability?"
The door swung open.
Jessica stood in the doorway.
Behind her was a woman in her fifties.
Jessica's mother.
Her eyes were red to the point of purple, and she came charging in with her finger jabbed at me.
"It's you? You're the one who did this to my daughter?"
"Ma'am..."
"You've still got the nerve to call me that?" Her voice went shrill.
"My daughter is only twenty-six! How is she ever supposed to get married now? You have no conscience!"
Jessica caught her mother's arm.
"Mom, don't..."
She turned her head to look at me.
Tears slid down.
"Pamela, even now I don't want to believe you did it on purpose."
"But other than that pair of underwear you gave me, I honestly can't think of any other reason."
"Can't you just admit it? Say it wasn't on purpose, and I'll believe you."
Alison's expression loosened.
Irene let out a sigh.
Everyone was watching me.
Waiting for me to bow my head, waiting for me to confess.
Waiting for me to sign that paper and get out of this building.
Scenes from my last life flashed in front of me.
I signed.
Anthony called off the engagement.
Funeral wreaths piled up at my door.
The wind on the rooftop poured down my collar, so cold.
This life.
I pulled out my phone.
"Mr. Lawrence, you said you wanted to settle this once and for all. I agree."
I handed the phone over.
"Look at this first, then decide who should be signing."
Stewart took the phone.
The instant the screen lit up.
His face went from impatience to shock.
Victor leaned in on reflex.
Once he saw what was on it, his face went white in a flash.
And when Jessica saw the screen, her crying cut off all at once.