The stack of documents was critical. Calista had spent her entire morning compiling that data. If it really was gone, she would be held fully responsible.
Time was ticking. She searched her desk, the drawers, and even beneath the furniture.
Her movements grew increasingly frantic as she combed through every possible space. A growing sense of panic made her chest tighten.
Her mind raced until one possibility stood out. Just minutes ago, the janitor had passed through.
Without wasting another second, Calista rushed out of the office like an arrow. She tracked down
the woman and asked about the missing documents on her desk.
But the moment she got the answer, her heart dropped.
The janitor, Nina Bishop, hadn’t been told a new hire had been assigned to that workstation. She had assumed the pile was trash and had thrown it all into the dumpster behind the building.
Calista spun on her heel and took off running, panic tightening her chest.
Nina reached out and caught her by the arm. “Miss, by this time of day, the truck might’ve already hauled it all off. You might be better off reprinting it.”
“I…” Calista couldn’t find the words.
If the electronic files were still saved, she could reprint them. But the flash drive was gone, just like the hard copies were.
She was down to one option–dig through the dumpster behind the building.
Her heels pounded against the pavement as she raced outside. When she reached the dumpster,
her heart sank.
The massive container was nearly full. It reeked.
But then, she spotted it. There were several small yellow trash bags, the same kind Nina had been holding earlier. Hope wasn’t entirely lost.
Without thinking, Calista lunged for the bag and started digging.
All she found were stacks upon stacks of shredded paper. Most of it had gone through an industrial shredder, leaving only thin, crumpled strips.
She picked up piece after piece, her hope dwindling with each passing second. Still, she didn’t stop.
By the time she lifted her head again, the world was spinning. Her vision blurred from exhaustion. She had found nothing.
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