“I reported Sam for being abusive and trying to attack people,” he announced proudly. “Management saw everything on the CCTV. They’ve decided to fire him.”
Sam’s face drained of color.
“What?” he breathed.
Before he could react, two security guards walked up to him and grabbed his arms.
“Let’s go, sir,” the guard said firmly. “You’re not allowed to create a disturbance in the office.”
“I wasn’t fighting!” Sam cried out desperately, his voice breaking as panic took over. “I wasn’t!”
But the security guards had already grabbed him by the shoulders and started dragging him toward the exit.
“This is ridiculous—” he kept shouting, struggling against their grip. “I can’t be fired!”
The entire office watched.
Celia remained standing in the center. Silent.
Sam’s eyes searched wildly, and then locked onto Celia.
“Celia, I have two kids.” His voice cracked, his face pale. “I can’t afford to lose my job. Please… help me!”
Celia covered her mouth with her hand as she watched him being dragged away. The office was silent except for Sam’s fading protests.
Then she slowly turned to the people around her.
“Is… is it too much to fire him?” she asked in a small, distressed voice.
Her fingers twisted together as she lowered her gaze, appearing shaken.
“Maybe I’m the one who was wrong. Maybe I should have just let it go and not argued with him.”
Her lips trembled.
The people around her immediately reacted.
“That’s not true, Celia!”
“You did nothing wrong.”
“This is Sam’s problem, not yours.”
“He’s the one who lost control.”
Celia lowered her head. Her fingers moved to her hair, brushing it away from her face.
“It’s my fault,” she whispered. “If it weren’t for me, he wouldn’t have acted like that. I should have been more patient.”
Her voice became smaller.
“Maybe I shouldn’t try to help so many people… but I just can’t ignore it when I see others struggling. I always want to help as much as possible.”
She looked down.
“But Sam didn’t seem happy with the decision. Perhaps I shouldn’t have acted without his approval.”
The employees exchanged looks, then several of them stepped forward and placed comforting hands on her shoulders.
