A ball

Her heels clicked against the floor with irritation.

"I'm waiting." No one dared to move.

"Miss..." Her eyes flicked to the name tag, as if she didn't already know the name of her Head of Sales. "Kim, right?"

Miss Kim nodded frantically.

"Don't all humans have rights?"

Another frantic nod.

"Does Layla not have the right to focus on her own tasks rather than be burdened by her colleagues?"

Kim nodded again, but Elizabeth suddenly bolted upright from her chair, startling her.

"Then tell me... why are you overloading her with so much work? Imagine if the media found out that an intern is being bullied in our office?"

She twirled, then clapped her hands together. "That would be fun to see on the tabloids, wouldn't it? I'm sure they'd exaggerate it—'CEO Elizabeth of Elizabeth Cosmetics abuses her staff!'"

Miss Kim adjusted her glasses nervously. Elizabeth ignored her and leaned back in her chair. "Now, a general question for the Head of Sales, the Assistant Sales Manager, and the Finance Representative."

She let the silence stretch before speaking again.

"If a ball was placed on a court, and you knew that ball did not belong to you, but the owner left it there expecting it to score goals without moving, would you take it upon yourself to move the ball?"

Silence.

Elizabeth's gaze darkened. "You have five seconds to answer, or you're suspended."

"I would move the ball because it can't score goals just lying there," the Head of Sales suddenly blurted out.

Elizabeth's rage ignited instantly. "So you tampered with the sales report?"

Miss Kim's eyes widened, hands waving frantically. "I knew you'd be angry if we didn't meet the sales threshold! I wasn't trying to deceive you-I just... wanted to try to meet the target without you knowing."

Elizabeth exhaled, rubbing her temples before turning to Layla. "Congratulations. You are now the Acting Head of Sales."

Layla's eyes widened in shock as Miss Kim collapsed to her knees. "But-I just moved the ball, too!"

Elizabeth's expression remained unreadable. "Miss Kim, you will now serve as Assistant Head of Sales alongside your current counterpart. I trust you'll work diligently to make up for your mistake."

Kim was stunned, she had expected to be fired.

Elizabeth turned to leave but paused mid-stride. "Ah, Layla and Kim, if you ever tamper with my reports again, I won't just fire you. I'll blacklist you. Understood?"

Her heels echoed as she exited the sales department. She needed a break. Taking a deep breath, she allowed a rare, bright smile to surface. "Let's go see my husband."