Chapter 4 - FORTY-SEVEN NAMES
Emily refused to become another person protected by decisions made behind closed doors.
“If someone wants me gone,” she told Roman, “I deserve to know why.”
They met in a conference room with an independent labor attorney and a forensic accountant.
Roman had suspended the workforce reduction plan.
But Emily wanted more.
“What happens to the forty-seven employees?”
“The layoffs are canceled pending review.”
“Pending?”
Roman looked at her.
“I can't promise no position will ever change.”
“I'm not asking for that.”
“Then what?”
“Tell them the truth. Give them a chance to understand what happened.”
Roman studied her.
“You want me to announce an investigation before we know the full extent?”
“I want you to stop treating employees like liabilities on a spreadsheet.”
The attorney looked down to hide a smile.
Roman noticed.
He almost smiled too.
***
The next morning, Roman addressed the hotel staff.
He stood in the employee cafeteria.
No stage.
No cameras.
No public relations team.
“I approved a workforce reduction proposal without reviewing its individual impact,” he said.
The room remained silent.
“That was a failure of leadership.”
Samuel Price stared.
Walter Green folded his arms.
Luis Ortega looked toward Emily.
Roman continued.
“The terminations are canceled. An independent audit has identified possible wage and benefits discrepancies. Employees will be given confidential ways to review their records.”
A woman near the back raised her hand.
Roman nodded.
“Yes?”
“Are we going to be punished for complaining?”
“No.”
“How do we know?”
Roman hesitated.
It was a fair question.
“Because complaints will be handled by independent counsel, not hotel management. And retaliation will be investigated.”
Emily watched him.
He was learning.
Not quickly.
Not comfortably.
But genuinely.
***
By the end of the week, employees had submitted more than one hundred complaints.
Missing overtime.
Incorrect pension contributions.
Unauthorized deductions.
Some went back more than a decade.
The forensic accountants estimated the losses could exceed eighteen million dollars.
But Emily found something more troubling.
The forty-seven names on the termination list were not random.
Every employee had either questioned payroll or worked in a department where fraudulent transactions were recorded.
The layoffs had been designed to remove witnesses.
She spread the list across Roman's desk.
“Look.”
Roman leaned forward.
Walter had reported missing uniforms charged against his wages.
Luis had received a medical insurance denial despite deductions appearing on his paychecks.
Henry had questioned his pension balance.
Samuel had asked why his retirement adjustment never arrived.
Roman stared.
“They weren't selected because they were expensive.”
“No.”
Emily looked at him.
“They were selected because they noticed.”
***
That evening, Emily received a message from an unknown number.
YOU SHOULD HAVE TAKEN THE TERMINATION.
Attached was a photograph.
Her apartment building.
Taken less than an hour earlier.
Emily's hands shook.
She called Gabriel.
Then Roman.
He answered immediately.
“Emily?”
“Someone knows where I live.”
Roman went silent.
Then said:
“Are you somewhere safe?”
“I'm at the hotel.”
“Stay with Gabriel until you decide where you want to go.”
She swallowed.
“You're not going to order me into one of your houses?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Roman's voice softened.
“Because I listened.”
May you like
For the first time, Emily smiled despite her fear.
---
