The Friend I Promoted Fired Me First

Three years ago, I championed Amelia Thorne's entry into the company. From intern to HR Director, every promotion she received, I had vouched for her. Now, there were 23 names on the redundancy list. Mine was at the top. She had submitted it. "Helen, I couldn't help it." Her eyes red-rimmed, "It was decided by management." I said nothing. Her phone vibrated. A text message. Top contact, marked with a red heart emoji. The profile picture was a man's side profile. A dark blue plaid shirt. The same one I had personally ironed for Oliver Goddard last night. Oliver Goddard is my husband. I put the list into my bag and stood up. "Amelia, the shirt the person in your top contact is wearing—" "I ironed it last night." Her face went white.