The entire executive floor became unnaturally quiet.

Ethan looked at the empty workstation again.

The ceramic mug was gone.

The small green plant was gone.

Even the neatly arranged folders that had always been waiting on the corner of my desk had disappeared.

Only my employee badge remained.

He frowned.

“When did she leave?”

The Human Resources director swallowed nervously.

“Yesterday afternoon.”

“Who approved it?”

“You… technically.”

Ethan looked up.

“What?”

“The resignation request entered the system yesterday morning.”

“You have automatic executive approval authority while traveling.”

“You approved it electronically together with the Singapore acquisition documents.”

Silence.

Someone quietly lowered their eyes.

Ethan picked up the badge.

The smiling photograph stared back at him.

Twenty-four-year-old Claire.

The woman who had followed him into Grant Real Estate when the company occupied only twelve floors instead of forty-two.

The woman who somehow always knew where every contract, every passport, every forgotten meeting file could be found.

“When was her replacement hired?”

The HR director hesitated.

“We… haven’t found one.”

Ethan frowned.

“Find another executive assistant today.”

“Sir…”

“We’ve already interviewed six candidates.”

“They all declined.”

“Why?”

“They reviewed the workload.”

“And?”

“They asked how many assistants Mrs. Parker had.”

“No one.”

“They thought the position normally required at least three people.”

Several department managers quietly exchanged looks.

No one dared interrupt.

Ethan walked into his new office.

For six years…

He had entered this room every morning.

Coffee had always been waiting.

Every meeting had already been rearranged whenever flights changed.

Every presentation had appeared exactly when needed.

He had never wondered who made that happen.

Now…

His desk was empty.

No meeting schedule.

No briefing folder.

No color-coded contract summaries.

Only a stack of unopened documents waited beside his computer.

He pressed the intercom.

“Claire.”

Nothing.

He pressed it again.

“Claire.”

The silence answered him.

Only then did he remember.

She no longer worked here.

An hour later…

The first problem arrived.

“Mr. Grant,” the finance director said carefully.

“The Singapore investors are waiting.”

“Where’s the revised contract?”

“It should already be prepared.”

“It isn’t.”

Ethan frowned.

“It always is.”

Everyone remained silent.

Because everyone knew who had always prepared it.

By four o’clock…

Three meetings had started late.

One international conference had been missed because nobody noticed the time-zone change.

The chairman’s office called twice asking for briefing materials that no one could locate.

The legal department requested contract revisions that had somehow disappeared.

The marketing vice president walked into Ethan’s office.

“Claire normally reminded us about today’s government inspection.”

“What inspection?”

“The inspection that begins…”

He checked his watch.

“…in twelve minutes.”

For the first time all afternoon…

Ethan’s expression changed.

Not anger.

Confusion.

At six o’clock…

He finally unlocked the administrative system.

He searched my personnel file.

Employment:

Six years.

Vacation days used:

Five.

Sick leave:

Zero.

Overtime hours accumulated:

4,862.

He stared at the number.

Four thousand eight hundred sixty-two hours.

Almost two full years of overtime.

His eyes moved farther down.

Emergency Contact:

None.

Marital Status:

Divorced.

Updated yesterday.

His hand froze above the mouse.

Yesterday.

The same day.

The divorce.

The resignation.

Suddenly he remembered the message he had sent.

“Saturday, we are having dinner with my mother.”

He hadn’t even remembered we were no longer married.

His phone was still blocked.

He tried another number.

Voicemail.

He called Human Resources again.

“Did Mrs. Parker leave a forwarding address?”

“No, Mr. Grant.”

“A new employer?”

“We don’t know.”

He looked toward the empty desk outside his office.

For six years…

He had assumed Claire would always be there.

Like the lights.

Like the elevator.

Like the sunrise.

Only after she disappeared…

…did he realize that half the company had been quietly running through the woman he barely noticed.

And at that exact moment…

More than two thousand miles away…

I was signing a new employment contract with the only competitor capable of challenging Grant Real Estate.

A contract containing one unexpected clause.

My first assignment would begin on Monday morning.

Across the street.

Directly facing Ethan’s office.