BREAK ROOM BLOOD

Greenbrier City was grimey after dark.
Streetlights flickered like they was tired of seeing struggle. Liquor stores stayed packed. Sirens stayed singing. Folks smiled in your face while plotting behind your back.
And sitting right in the middle of all that mess was Billings Inc.

A giant call center full of fake professionalism, cheap perfume, stressed-out single mothers, bitter supervisors, and thirsty managers who abused power every chance they got.
Especially Terrance Caldwell.
Terrance walked through Billings like he owned the damn building.
Tall.
Chocolate.
Sharp beard lined to perfection.
Button-up shirts stretched across his chest.
Rolex gleaming every time he pointed at somebody.
Women loved him because he knew exactly what to say.
Men respected him because his department numbers stayed high.
Upper management protected him because he made the company money.
And Terrance knew all of it.
That man moved through the office like a wolf wearing cologne.
But behind closed doors?
Terrance was messy as hell.
Sleeping with employees.
Manipulating women.
Lying smoother than gospel music on Sunday morning.
And somehow never getting caught.
Until Josie and Deja walked into Billings Inc on the same day.
That’s when everything started rotting.
“Everybody grab a seat please!”
The HR lady voice sounded dry and tired as orientation started.
New hires filled the little conference room clutching paperwork and free company pens nobody wanted.
Josie Lane slid into a chair near the back.
Dark skin glowing under fluorescent lights.
Curvy body wrapped in black leggings and a pink hoodie.
Baby hairs sharp enough to cut glass.
Her face looked sweet.
Her attitude wasn’t.
She scanned the room like she already didn’t trust nobody.
Then another girl walked in late.
Deja Brooks.
Slim waist.
Long curly bundles swinging down her back.
Lip gloss popping.
Tight gray dress showing every curve she knew she had.
Confident walk.
Pretty enough to make insecure women instantly uncomfortable.
“Damn,” one male employee whispered under his breath.
Deja ignored him and sat beside Josie.
“Girl this seat taken?”
“Nah,” Josie shrugged. “These folks look dead already.”
Deja laughed immediately.
And just like that?
They clicked.
By lunch break they was sitting together gossiping like cousins.
“These people in here miserable as hell,” Deja whispered while sipping soda.
Josie looked around the break room.
“You ain’t lying. Everybody got that ‘my life whooped my ass’ face.”
Both of them burst out laughing.
That laugh caught Terrance attention instantly.
He stood near the coffee station watching them over the rim of his cup.
And the moment he saw them together…
Something evil sparked behind his eyes.
Two pretty new girls.
Young.
Vulnerable.
Fresh inside his department.
Terrance smirked slowly.
“Oh yeah,” he muttered. “This finna be fun.”
Later that afternoon Terrance introduced himself officially.
“Welcome to Billings family,” he said smoothly.
His voice was deep.
Calm.
The type women trusted too quickly.
“My door always open if y’all need anything.”
Josie peeped the gold wedding band missing from his finger.
Deja peeped the expensive cologne.
Terrance peeped everything.
The eye contact.
The curiosity.
The attraction.
And that man loved attention like addicts loved crack.
Over the next few weeks, Terrance slowly inserted himself into both their lives.
Separately.
Strategically.
He’d stop by Josie desk pretending to “check performance.”
“You catching on fast,” he told her one evening.
Josie smiled a little. “I’m trying.”
“Nah,” Terrance leaned closer. “You smarter than most people in here.”
That compliment hit different.
Josie wasn’t used to softness.
Especially from men.
Then there was Deja.
Terrance flirted heavier with her.
Stayed lingering around her cubicle.
Stayed making slick comments.
“You got every man in this building distracted.”
Deja smirked. “That sound like a personal problem.”
Terrance laughed hard.
“Oh you dangerous.”
“Only when people play with me.”
That answer turned him on immediately.
Before long?
He had both women exactly where he wanted them.
Josie started riding with him during lunch breaks.
Deja started staying late after shifts talking in the parking lot.
Neither woman knew about the other.
And Terrance intended to keep it that way.
Because confusion gave him control.
One Friday night after work, Terrance took Josie downtown for drinks.
Dim lights.
Slow music.
Liquor flowing.
Josie finally relaxed enough to open up.
“My baby daddy locked up,” she admitted quietly. “Been doing everything alone.”
Terrance grabbed her hand gently.
“You deserve better than struggle.”
That sentence almost broke her.
Because nobody ever talked to her gently.
Not really.
And Terrance knew exactly what wounds to touch.
The very next night?
Terrance had Deja in his black Charger parked near Riverside Park.
Music low.
Windows fogging.
His hand sliding slowly across her thigh.
“You different,” he whispered.
Deja rolled her eyes playfully.
“You probably say that to everybody.”
“Nah. Just you.”
Lie.
Big lie.
But he said it so smooth it sounded real.
And that was Terrance gift.
Making women fall in love with fantasies.
Inside Billings Inc the rumors started early.
Coworkers whispered near vending machines.
“That manager messing with them new girls.”
“Which one?”
“Probably both.”
“Nah even he ain’t that reckless.”
But he was.
And worse.
Because Terrance enjoyed the danger.
Enjoyed watching women unknowingly compete for him.
That sickness fed his ego.
Then came the first sign trouble was brewing.
One Monday morning Josie walked into work smiling.
Terrance had texted her all weekend.
Called her beautiful.
Told her he wanted something real.
Meanwhile across the office…
Deja walked in smiling too.
Wearing Terrance jacket.
Josie froze instantly.
Her stomach tightened.
Terrance stepped out his office at the exact wrong moment.
And when all three locked eyes?
The entire atmosphere shifted.
Deja smiled proudly.
Josie looked confused.
Terrance looked nervous for the first time in months.
That silence felt dangerous.
Like thunder before a storm.
Then Josie asked softly:
“…Why she got your jacket?”
Nobody answered.
And that’s when the mess officially began.
COMING UP NEXT
Josie discovers Terrance spending nights with Deja
A violent argument erupts in the parking garage
HR starts hearing rumors about Terrance sleeping with employees
Deja begins secretly investigating Terrance
Somebody inside Billings Inc starts recording fights and posting them online.


Part 2 — Everybody Ain’t Playing Fair

The tension inside Billings Inc got thicker after that jacket situation.
Didn’t nobody know exactly what happened…
But everybody knew something happened.
Cause Josie stopped smiling.
And Deja started acting territorial.
Meanwhile Terrance?
That nigga kept moving through the office like nothing was wrong.
Like he wasn’t playing dangerous games with two women at the same damn time.
Monday morning started ugly.
Rain beating against the windows.
Phones ringing nonstop.
Customers cussing agents out before 8AM.
And sitting in the middle of all that tension was Josie.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
Her headset rested around her neck while her eyes stayed locked on Terrance office.
She watched Deja walk in carrying Starbucks.
Watched her smile at Terrance through the glass.
Watched Terrance smile back.
That hurt different.
Because all weekend he had been texting Josie:
You the only one I’m serious about.
Lying ass.
Deja pushed open Terrance office door without knocking.
“You wanted caramel or mocha?”
Terrance grinned. “See, this why I like you.”
“You say that now.”
“Nah forreal.”
Josie saw the entire exchange through the glass.
Every laugh.
Every smile.
Every piece of disrespect.
Her blood started boiling slowly.
Coworkers noticed immediately.
“Tuh,” one woman whispered. “That girl finna snap.”
Around lunchtime Josie cornered Terrance near the copy room.
“What the hell going on with you and Deja?”
Terrance sighed dramatically like she was annoying him.
“Ain’t nothing going on.”
“Don’t play with me.”
“I’m not.”
“Then why she wearing your jacket?”
Terrance stepped closer lowering his voice.
“Cause she cold. Damn.”
Josie folded her arms.
“You think I’m stupid?”
“Nah I think you emotional.”
Wrong thing to say.
Josie eyes instantly hardened.
“Don’t gaslight me, nigga.”
Terrance glanced around nervously making sure nobody heard.
“Lower your voice.”
“No. You lower yours.”
“You creating problems for no reason.”
Josie laughed bitterly.
“Nah. YOU created this.”
Before Terrance could answer, Deja appeared around the corner.
And the second she saw them standing close?
Her whole face changed.
“Ohhhh,” Deja said slowly. “Now this make sense.”
Josie turned.
Deja looked at Terrance.
Then back at Josie.
And suddenly all three understood exactly what was happening.
Terrance had been running the same game on both of them.
Silence sat heavy for three long seconds.
Then Deja laughed.
Not happy laughter either.
The dangerous kind.
“This bum ass nigga.”
Terrance rubbed his forehead. “Deja—”
“Nah shut up.”
Josie stared at her.
“You ain’t know about me?”
“Hell no.”
“You lying.”
“Bitch why would I lie about HIM?”
Terrance stepped between them quickly.
“Aight everybody calm down—”
Both women snapped together:
“SHUT THE FUCK UP!”
Employees nearby immediately stopped pretending to work.
Everybody listening now.
Everybody watching.
Deja pointed directly at Terrance chest.
“You told me you was single.”
Terrance scoffed. “I am single.”
Josie looked disgusted.
“But you moving like you married to confusion.”
A few agents nearby snickered.
Terrance hated embarrassment.
Especially public embarrassment.
His jaw tightened instantly.
“Both of y’all doing too much.”
Deja blinked slowly.
“WE doing too much?”
Josie stepped closer too.
“Nigga you sleeping with both of us!”
Terrance voice dropped low and threatening.
“Watch how you talking to me at work.”
“Oh NOW you care about professionalism?” Deja snapped.
The argument exploded from there.
Voices echoing through cubicles.
Managers peeking out offices.
Agents recording secretly under desks.
Josie chest was rising hard.
“You had me looking stupid!”
Deja yelled right back:
“Girl me too!”
Terrance tried grabbing Josie arm.
“Stop touching me!”
She shoved him hard enough to stumble backward into the wall.
Everybody gasped.
Then Deja laughed again.
“That’s what your ass get.”
Terrance looked furious now.
Not guilty.
Mad.
Mad he lost control.
Suddenly another manager named Rochelle stormed over.
Rochelle Banks
“What the HELL going on?!”
Nobody answered immediately.
Cause everybody knew the truth ugly as hell.
Finally Josie pointed at Terrance.
“This nasty ass manager been sleeping with employees.”
The whole floor went silent.
Rochelle face tightened instantly.
Because deep down?
Management already suspected it.
Terrance immediately switched into victim mode.
“This personal business ain’t got nothing to do with work.”
“The hell it don’t!” Deja yelled. “You our supervisor!”
Rochelle looked stressed already.
“Everybody separate. NOW.”
But the damage was done.
Rumors spread through Billings Inc in less than an hour.
By afternoon everybody knew.
Terrance was smashing both new girls.
And neither knew about the other.
That evening Deja sat in her car crying angrily.
Not because she loved Terrance.
Because she felt played.
Embarrassed.
Humiliated.
Meanwhile Josie sat in her apartment replaying every lie Terrance ever told her.
Every compliment.
Every promise.
Every fake soft moment.
And the more she thought about it…
The angrier she got.
But Terrance?
He wasn’t thinking about accountability.
Nah.
That man was already thinking about damage control.
Because if HR dug too deep…
Other women might start talking too.
And Terrance had too many secrets walking around that building in heels.
Late that night Josie phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
She answered cautiously.
“…Hello?”
Silence.
Then breathing.
Slow breathing.
Before she could hang up, a woman voice whispered:
“You better leave Terrance alone before somebody get hurt.”
CLICK.
Josie sat frozen.
Heart pounding.
And somewhere across Greenbrier City…
Deja received the exact same call.

Josie and Deja secretly meet to compare Terrance lies
HR opens an investigation against Terrance
Another woman from a different department comes forward
Terrance begins threatening employees behind closed doors
Somebody follows Deja home after a late-night shift