Rule One: Don't Fall

Chapter 2

THE RIGHT ONE?

Some people think that “the right one” means finding someone who’s perfect for them. But here’s the thing—it’s not really about finding the perfect person. It’s about finding someone who’s genuinely right for you.

Sounds the same, right? Perfect and right?

I don’t know either. Don’t ask me, okay?

But let’s just say perfect is about expectations, while right is about connection.

When we say 'the right one,' we’re talking about someone who sees your worth and respects it. Someone who supports your dreams, and makes you feel safe—consistently, all the way through. It’s less about fate or fairy tales, and more about mutual effort, timing, and emotional alignment.

Some people meet their right one early in life, while others find them much later. And then there are those who thought they already met theirs—only to realize that person was just the right one for a certain season. Which means, they weren’t really meant to stay until the end.

I’m not sure if I’m ready to meet the right one for me, but I believe in destiny. Even if I don’t feel ready just yet, I’m willing to welcome whatever’s truly meant for me.

After all, there’s a right time for everything, dear.

I was in front of my computer, typing for barely an hour, when someone knocked on my office door. I didn’t even look up—I just told them to come in.

It was Miller, wearing a navy blue suit, holding a clipboard and a brown envelope.

More paperwork. I muttered in my head.

That’s just how it is around here—almost everyone who walks up to me is holding a stack of papers. Honestly, I feel like burning all of them.

“Why do you look like you haven’t slept in three days?” I asked, frowning at the dark circles under his eyes.

“What do you think?” he snapped, rolling his eyes at me.

“Tsk.” I clicked my tongue and turned back to my screen. “What are you doing here?” I hope he doesn’t start acting like Jesher.

“I’m just gonna fart,” he said stupidly.

I squinted at him, giving him a sharp glare before grabbing the nearest thing I could throw at him. Good thing he caught it. I don’t have a pencil sharpener here.

“H-Hey, I’m just kidding,” he said nervously, though I could still hear the teasing in his voice.

“What do you want?” I snapped. “If you’re here to ask me to treat you to lunch, forget it—I’m broke!”

“Dramatic much?” he said, pointing his lips toward what he was holding. “Can’t you see I’m carrying stuff?” He said, and I looked at the papers in his hands.

“What is it now? Do you think I forgot the papers you gave my assistant? Didn’t I tell you to finish those?” I raised a brow at him.

He pouted even more. “Why do we have so much paperwork anyway?”

“You’re complaining?” I grabbed the pen holder again, ready to throw it.

“I’m just saying! You’re only being salty because you lost to me in BlockBlast!” He even stuck his tongue out at me. Rude!

The nerve of this guy—you’d think winning gave him a promotion. He only beat me by one point! And when he’s about to get knocked out in the game, he uses ads just to restart.

So who’s the real cheater now? I swear, I’m this close to tossing him off the rooftop!

“What do you need?” I asked. He walked over to my table and placed the clipboard down. My brow lifted when I saw the face in the photo.

“Mr. Gabriel Salazar… hmm,” I read the name under the picture.

“That's from the IT department,” he said in a low tone.

Mr. Salazar is the Finance Department Manager. He’s been acting kind of suspicious, which is why Chief asked me to have his account history checked.

I leaned back in my chair and started reading through the file.

We’ve been eyeing the Finance department for weeks now because of their reports. Over the past few months, there’s been a lot of inconsistencies—missing items in the monthly reports, and more than once, line items that couldn’t be traced or verified.

“As you can see, this is Salazar’s account activity report.” He handed me the envelope. “Also from IT. Per your instruction last week—we had them trace his access history and email logs.”

I took the envelope and opened it to read the contents. I shook my head at what I saw. I didn’t wake up today planning to terminate someone. But this time, I need to do my job—before this gets to the board members. I have to make sure we recover everything before the next meeting.

“I had Mr. Ambrosio double-check it. He compiled everything himself. The logs are clean and complete. He hasn’t told anyone else—access is restricted,” he added.

I nodded and took another document from the envelope. It contained a compilation of activity logs, email summaries, file access timestamps, and even some screenshots of suspicious financial transactions.

Aish… tsk, tsk. I’m probably going to get side-eyed again later once they see me holding a letter from the President.

“How long did this take to finish?” I asked as I scanned the first few pages.

“Almost two months—on and off. But he started accessing restricted files more frequently around five weeks ago. Usually late at night or on weekends.”

“So, it's remote access?”

“Mostly via VPN, ma’am. All the devices and IP logs are listed.”

I shook my head in disappointment as I came across one of the log entries.

He wasn’t authorized to open these kinds of files without a formal request. And definitely not allowed to log in outside working hours without prior notice.

“Were you able to trace any files he downloaded or emailed to external accounts?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

He let out a deep breath before nodding. “Yes. He sent several confidential spreadsheets to a sss address—the same one that’s shown up in previous records. There was even an attachment with the subject line ‘for review,’ even though there was no internal email thread.”

I rubbed my temple. “This is…” I looked at him.

He moved over to the couch and sat like he owned the place. “I know,” he said, sighing like he totally understood what I meant.

This is a big deal.

“What’s the next step?” he asked.

“We need to show this to the Chief so he can review it before it goes to the President’s office.”

“Alright.” He nodded.

I set the papers down. This isn’t a decision I can make alone. Sure, I’m the HR Director, but this—this needs action from higher up.

“Are you okay?” he asked, frowning.

“No. I’m just thrilled,” I said sarcastically, forcing a smile.

He rolled his eyes at me. “You kinda look like a volcano about to explode,” he muttered, lips tightening.

He left my office after that, while I just stared at the documents he handed me.

Zalazar’s position isn’t something to take lightly. Finance Manager. He has access to funds, projections, and strategic planning. I’ve given him the benefit of the doubt so many times. I even defended him more than once. But now, the evidence is right in front of me.

I knew what I had to do.

I spent almost an hour going over everything in that brown envelope. There are a lot of critical points here: unauthorized access to confidential files, unusual file transfers to a personal sss account, late-night logins through VPN from unregistered IPs, and duplicate entries in the Finance books.

He’s really messed up. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up behind bars after this.

“COME IN,” Chief said, and I stepped into his office.

Classic old-school executive space—mahogany desk, leather chairs, and framed certificates on the wall. His office gave off full dark academia vibes.

“What is it?” he asked.

I let out a sigh and walked toward his desk. “It’s Gabriel Salazar, Chief. He’s ready for termination,” I said in a low voice.

He grabbed his reading glasses from the side of the desk as I handed him the envelope. “Finance?”

I nodded. “Here’s the compiled data we got from IT. We asked them to trace it last week after noticing gaps in the monthly reconciliations and delays in the reports. Everything here’s been verified by our internal IT.”

He quietly took the folder, opened it, and started reading. I sat down on the couch, waiting silently for his reaction.

The VPN logs and file names were highlighted, so I knew he’d notice them. I even saw him shake his head in frustration.

“Confidential files accessed from home?” he asked, looking up at me.

I crossed my arms. “Yes, sir. No formal request. And it happened mostly at night, post office hours. Some even on weekends.”

“Any external transfers?”

“Yes, sir. Several spreadsheets were sent to his sss. The files include budget breakdowns, supplier quotes, and internal cost projections.”

Chief fell silent again. He closed his eyes for a moment and pinched the bridge of his nose. “How long has he been with the company?”

“Almost five years, sir,” I replied. “Three years as Finance Manager.”

“And now this,” he muttered.

“Chief,” I added, my tone heavier. “We have enough grounds to escalate this. This isn’t just a policy violation—it’s a serious breach of confidentiality. A potential data leak that could compromise our financial integrity.”

He stared at me for a while. That kind of stare that weighs your confidence, like he's trying to figure out if you’re sure about what you’re saying. And yes, I was sure.

Of course, this is me we’re talking about.

“What do you want to do?” he asked straight out.

“I want him out. But we’ll follow protocol. First, we need Ms. Monville’s approval for termination. We’ll brief her with the evidence. I’ve already grouped the key items for the presentation.”

“Alright,” Chief nodded. “You’re the Director, Leiria. I want you to be the one to bring this up—”

“Chief, come on!” I cut in immediately.

His brow furrowed. “Why not?”

“Chief… you know the President is scary—”

“Tsk!” He shot me a sharp look that instantly shut me up. “That’s an order, Ms. Cortes.” His brow arched.

I ended up pouting.

Jesher’s cousin is terrifying—the President looks like she could eat someone alive just with her stare.

“And please, I want this handled cleanly—no leaks, no gossip, no drama.”

I took a deep breath. “But Chief… that might be impossible,” I said. “Still, I’ll do my best to keep this a clean-cut termination,” I assured him.

After a few seconds, he stood up from his desk and went to the cabinet on the side, unlocking one of the drawers. He pulled out the company stamp pad.

“I’ll mark this for elevation,” he said, pressing a red stamp on the front page of the folder.

For Executive Review – URGENT

When he returned, he handed it back to me. “Take this to the President. Explain everything. Just the facts—no guesses. If she agrees with your recommendation, proceed with the termination protocol.”

“Understood, sir.”

“And call Miller to come in here.”

I left the office to carry out his orders. I also told my assistant to call Miller and send him to the Chief's office.

I was already on the executive floor, and I couldn’t help but feel nervous. Seriously, Chief could’ve just done this himself—why did he have to send me? He’s the Chief, I’m the Director—I only hand out termination letters to stubborn junior staff, not to people at this level.

I was biting the tip of my finger as I stood in front of the President’s door. Her secretary wasn’t at the desk outside, so I was free to pace back and forth, debating whether I should knock or not.

I froze mid-step when an idea popped into my head. I’ll just call Jesher—she is her cousin, after all. I mentally grinned.

“Hey, b***h!” I greeted the moment she picked up.

“I’m not! Who are you!” I could already picture her rolling her eyes at me.

I scratched my head awkwardly. “U-Um, Jesh, so…” I didn’t even know what to say. She might just laugh at me. She’s insane like that.

“What?”

“C-Can you, um… it’s just that…” I bit my finger again as I tucked the envelope under my arm.

“What is it?” Her tone suddenly turned serious.

“Jesh, can you—OUCH!” I yelped when I accidentally bit down on my finger too hard.

God, I’m such a dumbass sometimes.

Hahaha. Good thing I’m cute.

“Hey, are you okay?” she asked, clearly concerned.

I laughed—awkwardly. “Sorry. But like I was saying… can you come with me?” I asked hesitantly.

“Where?”

“To your cousin’s office.”

“Huh? Which one?”

Right. She has a ton of cousins here.

“Oh, Victoria?” she asked.

I nodded to myself. “Yeah. I—uh, I just need to hand something over.”

“Where are you?” she asked right away.

“Uhh… right outside her office,” I said, glancing at the door in front of me.

“Gosh. You’re already there, why do you still need me—”

I rolled my eyes. “Just come with me!” I insisted.

“I’m busy, girl,” she said flatly, and I pouted. “Also, are you still scared of my cousin?” she asked, clearly trying not to laugh.

I froze and quickly shook my head. “No! Of course not,” I denied. “Come on, please! This’ll only take a second!” I begged, but she just clicked her tongue.

“Sorry, girl. I’m really busy. Don’t worry, I’ll just call her—”

“No—!””

“Yes. Bye!”

I shut my eyes tight as she ended the call. What a traitor! I tried calling her again, but her phone was suddenly busy. You’ve got to be kidding me!

I immediately texted her not to do it!

“Come in!”

I almost jumped out of my skin when a voice called out from inside. I shut my eyes, mortified. Jesher really called her cousin! Gosh! This is so embarrassing!

I closed my eyes and made the sign of the cross before stepping into the President’s perfectly tidy office.