Chapter 2: The Declined Card
262 words
The bank’s automated threat echoed in her ears as she stood in the cafeteria line, her stomach cramping with hunger. Elena gripped her tray, her knuckles white. She hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning. The smell of roasted chicken was intoxicating, almost painful.
She reached the register and swiped her card. A harsh, electronic buzz silenced the room.
"Declined," the cashier said loudly, snapping gum. "You got another one?"
Elena felt the heat rush up her neck. Behind her, a group of junior analysts snickered. The shame was physical, a heavy stone in her gut, reminding her heavily of the bad credit loans she’d researched until 3 AM last night.
"No," Elena muttered. She left the tray and bolted for the supply closet.
Sitting on a bucket of industrial solvent, she unwrapped a stale granola bar she’d found in her locker. It tasted like cardboard and defeat. As she crumpled the wrapper, her eyes landed on the trash bin. A crumpled piece of heavy, bond paper sat on top.
She fished it out. Board Memo: Accelerated Foreclosure Strategy. Her breath hitched. Marcus wasn’t waiting for the quarter to end. He was moving the date up.
If the building went into foreclosure, her father’s equity would vanish. She needed a bankruptcy lawyer, or a miracle. But she had neither.
Her eyes scanned the date. Forty-eight hours. She had forty-eight hours to upload the refinance documents. But the digital key was in the secure server room, behind a door that required an executive clearance she no longer had.
End of Chapter 2
