Chapter 6
When Gisselle heard her name called, she panicked; they were clearly up to something mischievous.
“Don’t talk nonsense; do you have any evidence?” she stubbornly insisted, demanding proof.
Leonard pushed his glasses up. “Yeah, I forgot to back up and share the files, but what does that have to do with Gisselle?” It seemed he wanted to protect her, unfortunately overlooking a crucial detail.
I approached Gisselle, who cowered behind Leonard, seeking his help. “Your permission level was insufficient to view that document. How could you be the first to know it was missing?”
Everyone began to reconsider the events. She had been the first to report the missing files—almost irrefutable evidence. Gisselle's face paled; she'd forgotten this detail and eagerly anticipated exposing my supposed mistake. How could I defend myself?
She tugged Leonard's sleeve, but to her surprise, he shrugged her off. Without giving anyone else a chance, I plugged a USB drive into the computer and played its contents at maximum volume. It was Gisselle, spreading rumors in the restroom: that I was financially supported by a wealthy man and that others had inappropriate relationships. It took fifteen minutes; she’d gossiped about almost everyone in the department.
Faces paled; hearing their own names discussed, colleagues rolled their eyes at Gisselle. This woman was truly a gossip.
Gisselle nearly went mad, screaming for someone to stop the recording, but she was restrained. She grew increasingly frustrated, unable to bear the disdainful stares.
After the recording finished, I stood up. “You’ve been spreading rumors about me, and I’ve known all along. I used a hidden recorder to gather evidence.”
She lunged at me, but the manager intervened. “When did I have another woman? None of us have offended you, yet you gossip like this!”
The recording revealed Gisselle’s claim that the manager and his ex-wife divorced because of another woman—a woman she claimed to have seen.
Gisselle defensively called the recording fake and synthesized. No one believed her; even close colleagues spoke out against her. Seeing disbelief, she pointed at me angrily. “She’s the real one! She climbed the ladder with a man’s help. I saw her get into an old man’s car in the parking lot!”
All eyes turned to me. “Adults are legally responsible for their words. Are you sure you saw that?”
With a malicious smile, she showed a photo on her phone: me in the passenger seat of a car next to a bald man.
Gisselle showed the photo to Leonard, who examined it carefully. It was me. He looked at me with a complex expression. If I’d used that man to get promoted, it would explain everything. He wouldn’t be able to keep her.
He said gravely, “The photo is real, Audrey. How do you explain this?”
I smiled, saying nothing. Leonard, once again, was using Gisselle to attack me. The manager knew the truth—it was Leonard and Gisselle against me, letting me handle it myself. Everyone was watching; almost everyone knew about Leonard and my seemingly ended relationship. If we hadn't broken up, wouldn't this be a live scene of being cuckolded?
It had been a tumultuous day in Purchasing. The morning's missing documents, the relief, then Gisselle's outburst, and finally, the rumors about the new supervisor. One wave after another.
“If it’s fake, Gisselle, what will you do?” I asked, without guilt.