Chapter 3 - SIX YEARS OF PAYCHECKS
The meeting lasted nearly two hours.
Daniel spoke with cashiers, stockroom employees, delivery drivers, sales associates, and customers.
He asked questions.
He listened.
He took notes.
And he never once mentioned Thanksgiving.
Until he reached Clare.
"You've been here six years."
Clare nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
She blinked.
"Why?"
"Most employees don't stay that long."
Clare thought about it.
"Because the job is steady."
"Only that?"
She smiled.
"Steady is underrated."
Daniel smiled back.
"Fair answer."
Then his expression became serious.
"What would you change?"
Clare hesitated.
"About the company?"
"About your store."
She looked around.
"The scheduling system."
Patricia stiffened.
Daniel noticed.
"Why?"
"Because it makes life difficult for people with children."
Silence.
Clare continued.
"Sometimes schedules change with one day's notice. Parents have to find childcare. Some employees can't."
"Have you reported this?"
"Three times."
Daniel looked at Patricia.
Patricia's face tightened.
"I wasn't aware."
Clare said nothing.
Daniel closed his notebook.
"I was."
Everyone turned toward him.
He looked at Clare.
"I read the complaint."
Her eyes widened.
"You did?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't anything happen?"
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"That's what I'm trying to determine."
The meeting ended shortly afterward.
Clare returned to the sales floor.
She thought the matter was finished.
It wasn't.
At 4:32 that afternoon, Patricia called her into the office.
Clare entered.
Daniel was standing by the window.
"We need to talk."
Her stomach tightened.
"About what?"
Daniel held a folder.
"Your employment file."
Clare's heart dropped.
"What about it?"
He opened the folder.
"There are discrepancies."
"What kind?"
"Your original salary."
Clare frowned.
"My salary?"
"Your starting salary was supposed to be significantly higher."
She stared at him.
"That's impossible."
"I thought so too."
He turned a page.
"Someone changed your compensation record six years ago."
Clare felt cold.
"Who?"
Daniel looked directly at her.
"That's what I don't know."
Then he placed another document on the desk.
Clare recognized the signature.
Her own name.
But she had never signed it.
Daniel's voice dropped.
"And whoever forged this wanted you to believe you had agreed to take less money."
Clare stared at the page.
Six years.
Six years of working.
Six years of believing she was barely getting by because life was expensive.
Six years of wondering why she could never get ahead.
Her hands began to shake.
"How much?"
Daniel didn't answer immediately.
May you like
Then he said:
"Enough to change your life."
