The Promotion

Melissa closed the office door, her colleagues’ applause ringing in her ears. 

Vice President. The position she’d sought for years.

Her phone buzzed.

“Proud of you!” texted David, her mentor. 

She hesitated, then deleted it. 

The board offered her the position on one condition: classify David’s accounting mistake as deliberate misconduct. They wanted a younger leader without the scandal of firing a respected veteran.

Melissa signed the report.

David packed his desk across the hall, pausing only to send a final text. 

“Lead with integrity. You’ll need it more than talent.”

David lost his job.

But Melissa lost much more.

*****

A Drabble (100-word micro-fiction)