January 21st, 2023. This exact date marked the end of Elizabeth Bardot's first year working at a tabloid magazine. It had been a difficult twelve months leading up to this day on all accounts. Her personal life was a mess - her fiance had broken off their engagement for another woman, her mother passed away from liver failure, and after all the tedious times Elizabeth's driven to AA meetings, she found herself closely following her mother's footsteps as drinks began to pour in day in and day out to drown out the stresses of her life. On top the drinking that began halfway into her year at work, her professional life was suffering. She and her colleagues got along fine enough but they certainly did not make her tougher days any easier, especially when mistakes were made. With that, her work performance began to falter and she sensed that her review meeting tomorrow would end without a pay raise.
The 38-year old sat back in her chair while bleary dark eyes stared at the computer screen. She was behind on her weekly report and stayed late to finish it up. Eventually, the lights in the office began to dim then shut off at its scheduled time. Looking up at the main digital clock on the wall, Elizabeth let out an exasperated sigh into the dark office as the numbers reflected 8:30PM in soft yellow lighting. This was the latest she has ever stayed for work and even though she didn't want to admit it, somewhere in the back of her mind she mourned the loss of happy hour prices. At least I don't have to deal with traffic, she thought bitterly. After a few more clicks of her mouse, she saved her report and logged off her computer. The desk chair squeaked in protest as she leaned back and rolled herself out from under the table. With sluggish motions, the blonde grabbed her jacket and purse off the back of her seat and began her walk out the office.
She clicked down the rows of white cubicles and rounded the corner past the small office kitchen and past an unassuming wooden door that held a sign that read "Employees Only". As Elizabeth's tall frame glided past this particular door, she came to an abrupt halt and turned her head to look at the sign. She wasn't sure why in this exact moment she felt an intense curiosity to see what was behind the door. Surely, it was just another office for meetings. However, that thought was dashed when she recalled the very first months she started work at the company. Another starting employee had mentioned that after a year of employment at the company, they would be able to access the room. It struck an odd chord with Elizabeth at the time, but now that she was a year into her company, she debated giving herself early access to this rite of passage. She glanced back towards the clock then with a nervous smile, reached out and turned the handle.
To her great surprise, it was unlocked. The metal handle dipped and allowed her to easily swing the door into the room. She saw there was a black square adjacent to the door knob, indicating a need for a badge to be keyed in. She wasn't sure if it was pure luck or a malfunction of the security system, but she wasn't one to complain at this unexpected situation. Elizabeth eagerly stepped into the room and let her eyes rake over the nearly empty walls and space before settling on a screen at the far wall along with a dimly lit computer to the side of it. There were scenes displayed on the screen that she couldn't quite make out until she took several timid steps in. When she was close enough to register the gray pixels as a clearer image, she came to a complete stop and her mouth opened in confusion and horror.
"What..." She began, chest heaving, eyes rapidly flying over the details of the picture currently displayed. It was a bird's eye view of the office with the center focus of it being a woman at a cubical pouring alcohol into her coffee mug. After a few seconds, the image was replaced by another. A blonde haired woman with a sour expression on her face while she seemingly argued with an equally disgruntled man. The screen then went blank and instead of another photograph to replace it, a sound byte of a male voice played in a loop: I'm leaving you, Lizzie. I'm leaving you, Lizzie. I'm leaving you, Lizzie. The screen then brightened to show another snapshot of the woman's life. This time, the woman was in her car guzzling down a beer and the building in the background had a sign that said: AA Meeting at 7:00PM.
Elizabeth staggered back, a cold and acidic sensation washing over her as she realized that these pictures and moments captured were fragments of the worst days of her life in the past year. That dread built and built until she abruptly doubled over and let spill the crackers, bile, and alcohol from her stomach. The sound of vomit splattering against tile flooring disgusted Elizabeth enough that it caused her to heave again, the second pass much more violent and louder than the first. It was all beginning to make sense now. The knowing sneers, the perfectly timed jabs, the day that they all called her Lizzie for "fun". The blonde staggered away until her back hit a wall and the strength in her legs gave out. She ungracefully slid down with a hard thump and sat in a daze as she breathed sour pants into the air.
Her mind raced through what else they could have on her and after a while, the only question left on repeat was "Why me?". She struggled to her feet and made her way to the computer beneath the hanging monitor and shook the mouse until the smaller screen came to life. It was password locked and the username was the name of the company, "The Dirty Truth". She couldn't understand what this meant and why her unconsented and documented personal life had a place in the work office. Suddenly, Elizabeth felt naked and exposed. She felt vulnerable and intensely judged by her peers who had no business knowing her struggles. How was she ever to face them again knowing what she knew, what they knew? Her cheeks flushed and she staggered away from the computer, slipping on her bile as she made haste for the door. In a few quick moments, the door swung open then slammed shut, the sound of panicked heels filling the office until silence took over the dark office once more.
The 38-year old sat back in her chair while bleary dark eyes stared at the computer screen. She was behind on her weekly report and stayed late to finish it up. Eventually, the lights in the office began to dim then shut off at its scheduled time. Looking up at the main digital clock on the wall, Elizabeth let out an exasperated sigh into the dark office as the numbers reflected 8:30PM in soft yellow lighting. This was the latest she has ever stayed for work and even though she didn't want to admit it, somewhere in the back of her mind she mourned the loss of happy hour prices. At least I don't have to deal with traffic, she thought bitterly. After a few more clicks of her mouse, she saved her report and logged off her computer. The desk chair squeaked in protest as she leaned back and rolled herself out from under the table. With sluggish motions, the blonde grabbed her jacket and purse off the back of her seat and began her walk out the office.
She clicked down the rows of white cubicles and rounded the corner past the small office kitchen and past an unassuming wooden door that held a sign that read "Employees Only". As Elizabeth's tall frame glided past this particular door, she came to an abrupt halt and turned her head to look at the sign. She wasn't sure why in this exact moment she felt an intense curiosity to see what was behind the door. Surely, it was just another office for meetings. However, that thought was dashed when she recalled the very first months she started work at the company. Another starting employee had mentioned that after a year of employment at the company, they would be able to access the room. It struck an odd chord with Elizabeth at the time, but now that she was a year into her company, she debated giving herself early access to this rite of passage. She glanced back towards the clock then with a nervous smile, reached out and turned the handle.
To her great surprise, it was unlocked. The metal handle dipped and allowed her to easily swing the door into the room. She saw there was a black square adjacent to the door knob, indicating a need for a badge to be keyed in. She wasn't sure if it was pure luck or a malfunction of the security system, but she wasn't one to complain at this unexpected situation. Elizabeth eagerly stepped into the room and let her eyes rake over the nearly empty walls and space before settling on a screen at the far wall along with a dimly lit computer to the side of it. There were scenes displayed on the screen that she couldn't quite make out until she took several timid steps in. When she was close enough to register the gray pixels as a clearer image, she came to a complete stop and her mouth opened in confusion and horror.
"What..." She began, chest heaving, eyes rapidly flying over the details of the picture currently displayed. It was a bird's eye view of the office with the center focus of it being a woman at a cubical pouring alcohol into her coffee mug. After a few seconds, the image was replaced by another. A blonde haired woman with a sour expression on her face while she seemingly argued with an equally disgruntled man. The screen then went blank and instead of another photograph to replace it, a sound byte of a male voice played in a loop: I'm leaving you, Lizzie. I'm leaving you, Lizzie. I'm leaving you, Lizzie. The screen then brightened to show another snapshot of the woman's life. This time, the woman was in her car guzzling down a beer and the building in the background had a sign that said: AA Meeting at 7:00PM.
Elizabeth staggered back, a cold and acidic sensation washing over her as she realized that these pictures and moments captured were fragments of the worst days of her life in the past year. That dread built and built until she abruptly doubled over and let spill the crackers, bile, and alcohol from her stomach. The sound of vomit splattering against tile flooring disgusted Elizabeth enough that it caused her to heave again, the second pass much more violent and louder than the first. It was all beginning to make sense now. The knowing sneers, the perfectly timed jabs, the day that they all called her Lizzie for "fun". The blonde staggered away until her back hit a wall and the strength in her legs gave out. She ungracefully slid down with a hard thump and sat in a daze as she breathed sour pants into the air.
Her mind raced through what else they could have on her and after a while, the only question left on repeat was "Why me?". She struggled to her feet and made her way to the computer beneath the hanging monitor and shook the mouse until the smaller screen came to life. It was password locked and the username was the name of the company, "The Dirty Truth". She couldn't understand what this meant and why her unconsented and documented personal life had a place in the work office. Suddenly, Elizabeth felt naked and exposed. She felt vulnerable and intensely judged by her peers who had no business knowing her struggles. How was she ever to face them again knowing what she knew, what they knew? Her cheeks flushed and she staggered away from the computer, slipping on her bile as she made haste for the door. In a few quick moments, the door swung open then slammed shut, the sound of panicked heels filling the office until silence took over the dark office once more.
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