“Ethan.”
He waited.
“Can I call you?”
He looked at her.
“For what?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Then figure that out first.”
The nurse pushed her through the doors.
Ethan left.
He got halfway to the parking lot.
Then stopped.
He looked at the rain.
At the hospital.
At his car.
He sighed and went back inside.
Victoria was not surprised when he appeared forty minutes later with coffee.
“What are you doing here?”
“You said no one was coming.”
She stared.
“You remembered.”
“Yes.”
Ethan placed the coffee beside her.
“Your ankle?”
“Bad sprain.”
“No fracture.”
“Hand needs a few stitches.”
“Good.”
“You’re staying?”
“Until you can get home.”
Victoria shook her head.
“This is ridiculous.”
“Probably.”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Useful word.”
She looked at him for a long time.
Then smiled.
Small.
Exhausted.
Real.
At 2:17 in the morning, a hospital transport service took Victoria home.
Ethan refused reimbursement.
Refused cab fare.
Refused her attempt to pay for the damaged jacket.
“It’s washable.”
“You crawled through road water.”
“It’s still washable.”
“Ethan.”
He opened the hospital door.
“Good night, Ms. Hail.”
“Victoria.”
He paused.
“Good night, Victoria.”
She watched him leave.
She did not sleep.
Neither did he.
At seven thirty the next morning, Victoria entered Hail Dynamics wearing a medical boot and a bandage across her palm.
Her assistant, Leah Monroe, stared.
“What happened?”
“Car trouble.”
“That does not explain your hand.”
“I fell.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“My phone died.”
“Security?”
“Leah.”
Victoria handed her a bag.
“Please get this cleaned.”
Leah looked inside.
Ethan’s jacket.
Then back at Victoria.
“Anything else?”
“Yes.”
“Pull Ethan Carter’s full personnel file.”
Leah paused.
“The engineer terminated yesterday?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to know what I signed.”
The file arrived at 8:12.
Victoria canceled three meetings.
She read everything.
Not summaries.
Everything.
Ethan joined Hail Dynamics at twenty-three.
Junior maintenance technician.
First review:
Technically capable. Exceptional patience with troubleshooting. Should pursue additional certification.
Second:
Volunteers for off-shift repair. Strong safety judgment.
Fourth year:
Promoted.
Sixth year:
Prevented potential curing-system thermal event after noticing irregular sensor behavior during routine inspection. Estimated avoided equipment and production loss: $2.4 million.
Victoria stopped.
She searched the restructuring summary Marcus had given her.
No mention.
Year eight:
Designed preventive maintenance modification reducing unplanned downtime by eleven percent.
Not mentioned.
Year nine:
Created apprenticeship training material later adopted department-wide.
Not mentioned.
Year eleven:
Declined management track. Preferred technical mentorship role.
Year twelve:
Received safety leadership commendation.
Not mentioned.
Year thirteen:
Trained twenty-six engineers during new automated line installation.
Not mentioned.
Year fifteen: