Wait — it's the day my technical co-founder says he'll 'handle the equity split'

By 10:00 a.m., the fallout from David Vance’s arrest had sent an absolute, seismic shockwave through the corporate hierarchy of Apex Global Logistics.

The regional vice president of supply chain operations—David’s direct superior and accomplice in several off-the-books inventory schemes—had hastily submitted his "early retirement" letter via email the moment he learned the security footage had been reviewed by federal investigators.

I sat back at my desk in Sector Four, reviewing the morning shipping manifests on my terminal, when my desk phone rang with a sharp, institutional chime.

I picked up the receiver.

"Marcus Vance?" the crisp, authoritative voice of corporate CEO Robert Sterling came through the speaker. "This is Robert Sterling. I'm calling from the executive suite."

"Good morning, Mr. Sterling," I said, keeping my voice neutral and professional.

"Marcus, I've just been briefed by Director Jenkins regarding the incident in Sector Four this morning," Sterling said, his tone heavy with corporate gravity. "What David Vance attempted to pull is an unmitigated catastrophe for this company. We are initiating a forensic audit of every inventory movement he oversaw for the last three years. And quite frankly, we need someone with your technical precision and absolute integrity to lead it."

I leaned back in my ergonomic chair, spinning my pen between my fingers.

"Lead the forensic audit, Mr. Sterling?" I asked.

"Yes," the CEO replied firmly. "We are creating a new position: Director of Supply Chain Security and Regional Compliance. It comes with a fifty percent salary bump, full executive equity vesting, and direct reporting lines to the board of directors. We need someone who can't be fooled by manipulated audit trails."

In my first life, this was the morning I was handed a cardboard box and escorted off the property by armed guards.

In this life, I was being handed the keys to the entire corporate vault.