You Will Find Out Tomorrow Morning

A new broom sweeps clean, and I was the first piece of dust she decided to toss.

Youre fired.

I didnt argue. I didn't beg. I calmly opened my laptop and began wiping my work drives.

The new director, an external hire, crossed her arms and let out a small, contemptuous laugh. Oh, playing the rebel? Deleting files won't help you, you know.

She leaned in, feigning curiosity. By the way, what exactly was your project? I dont recall seeing anything critical.

I just offered her a slight, hollow smile, pulled a thumb drive from the port, and pocketed it.

Youll find out tomorrow morning.

01

The conference room was suffocatingly hot.

The harsh fluorescent lights above cast a sickly pallor on every face, including the freshly installed Head of Projects, Naomi Price.

To optimize our organizational structure and boost team vitality.

Her voice was clear and carried a sense of inherent superiority as her gaze swept deliberately over every person present.

Finally, that sharp, predatory look settled on me.

Kai Lawson, you are terminated, effective immediately.

The room went completely silent.

I could feel a dozen pairs of eyes lock onto mesome offering pity, a few genuine shock, but mostly schadenfreude and cool indifference. I was the sacrificial lamb, dragged out to be butchered in front of the flock.

I didn't give her the reaction she expectedno outrage, no desperate plea.

I simply looked up, met her gaze through my glasses, and gave her a calm two-word reply.

Understood.

My compliance clearly threw her off balance. The rehearsed speech she had prepared must have died in her throat. She frowned, visibly annoyed that her lamb was being so meek.

The meeting concluded in an awkward, heavy silence.

I returned to my desk, a quiet corner by the window where I kept a few struggling succulents. My colleagues avoided my eyes as if I were carrying a contagion.

Only Sam Miller, the intern who sat across from me, risked a quick, worried glance. I gave him a slight nod, letting him know I was fine.

Then, I opened my work computer.

Every click of the mouse was loud and deliberate.

- Format drive C."

- Format drive D."

Two progress bars appeared on the screen, the blue bands creeping forward with slow, steady certainty.

The sharp click of high heels grew louder, stopping just outside my cubicle wall.

It was Naomi Price.

She stood there, arms crossed, looking down at me with undisguised mockery.

A tantrum, Kai? Really?

Her voice was low, yet loud enough to carry through the quiet office.

I wouldn't bother with these petty theatrics. Everything is backed up on the company server.

I ignored her, my focus fixed on the slow march of the progress bars.

My indifference infuriated her.

She stepped into my space, and the rich, expensive scent of her perfume instantly saturated the airso intense it made my stomach turn.

Still fighting? Deleting files won't change anything, you know.

She leaned in, body forward, and whispered close to my ear, feigning conspiratorial interest. Tell me, what was your project again? I dont recall anything essential. Just some dispensable, fringe work?

She was too close, her breath tickling my ear, and a wave of nausea washed over me.

I finally turned my head, looking her directly in the eyes for the first time. Her face was a mask of the victors arrogance and the contempt for the loser.

I looked at her, and then, I smiled.

It wasn't a smile of anger or sadness, but one of complete, cold detachment that she couldn't possibly comprehend.

The instant the progress bar hit one hundred percent, I reached out and, with a soft click, pulled a small, plain black thumb drivethe one with the scratched casingfrom the side of the host machine.

I slipped it into my jeans pocket, grabbed my worn-out messenger bag, and stood up.

I met her eyesnow wide with confusion and a flicker of unease at my inexplicable calmand said, slowly, deliberately:

Youll find out tomorrow morning.

Without a backward glance, I walked out of the place where I had poured three years of my life. The colleagues I left behind were frozen in their seats.

02

I slept until I woke up naturally the next morning.

Sunlight filtered through the blinds, casting warm, shifting patterns on the floor.

I rose leisurely, brewed myself a pour-over coffee, and carried the mug to the balcony to water my small collection of succulents.

My phone lay silent in the living room. I hadn't touched it.

I knew that soon, it would turn into a scorching hot brand.

Meanwhile, dozens of miles away, the headquarters of Vanguard Tech was already in chaos.

At 6:08 AM, the core operations channel for The Nexus, the companys flagship AI system, registered its first red alert.

[Level 1 Alert: Core Database Connection Failed!]

Immediately, hundreds of thousands of error messages flooded the screen like a burst dam. The backend indicators for The Nexus, normally a calming, stable green, were now flashing a frantic, blood-red.

All front-end services relying on The Nexus, from the smart customer service on the company website to the AI recommendation engines in key partner applications, now displayed a single, chilling message: SYSTEM ERROR.

SYSTEM ERROR.

The Nexus was completely down.

Naomi Prices recently promoted Technical Lead, a man named Brian, was dragged out of bed by a frantic series of calls and arrived at the office by 6:30 AM. He sat in front of the terminal, his eyes puffy with lack of sleep, sweating as he stared at the screens filled with low-level code he couldnt understand. His mind was blank.

Server restart. No effect.

Rollback to a previous version. Insufficient permissions.

Attempted repair. The code was a monolithic firewall, rejecting all unauthorized access.

At 8:00 AM sharp, the roar of CEO Robert Montgomery echoed through the entire Technical Department.

What in Gods name is going on! Someone tell me!

Robert, a man in his late forties who usually embodied polished professionalism, was disheveled, his face ashen, pacing like a caged lion.

Naomi trailed behind him, pale but still trying to bluff her way through.

It has to be Kai Lawson! Robert, it must be him! He was disgruntled, he maliciously sabotaged the company system!

Brian immediately jumped in to agree. Yes! It was definitely Kai! His access was the highest; hes the only one who could have done this!

A few older employees gathered in a corner, murmuring amongst themselves.

Nonsense, Kai isn't like that.

The Nexus was built from the ground up by Kai. The core architecture, the algorithmsall his. No one else here can touch the foundation.

I knew something was wrong yesterday. How could Naomi fire Kai so casually? It's like cutting off your own arm.

Naomi overheard their comments, her face tightening with fury. She shrieked at Robert. We have to call the police immediately, Robert! Get Legal ready to sue! This is corporate sabotage!

Shut up!

Robert spun around, his bloodshot eyes fixed on her.

The priority is fixing the problem! Not finding blame! If the system isnt back online before the market opens tomorrow, the company is finished!

The entire morning was spent in frantic, disorganized efforts. But faced with the impenetrable fortress of The Nexus, all attempts failed.

The companys stock began showing violent, anomalous fluctuations, and several major partners had already called with furious inquiries.

In the midst of the chaos, someone finally remembered the sight of me formatting my computer the day before.

Robert, when Kai left yesterday, he wiped everything on his local drive!

I checked it myself! Brian immediately chimed in, eager for credit. The drives are empty! He left nothing behind!

Roberts gaze snapped to him. What about the backup server?

A new layer of cold sweat broke out on Brians forehead. He stammered, The backup server the core module for The Nexus it shows it shows Access Denied: Insufficient Permissions.

Boom.

Naomi felt a sharp, sickening explosion in her head.

She finally understood. The cold smile I gave her as I left, the calm finality of Youll find out tomorrow morningit wasn't a threat of a childish prank. It was the precise timing of a calculated counter-strike.

Her face, already alarmed, completely drained to a terrifying shade of ash-gray.

03

The sunlight on the balcony was perfect, and the breeze was warm.

I had just finished watering my last cactus when the phone in the living room finally rang.

It was an unrecognized number.

I slowly set down the watering can, dried my hands, walked into the living room, and picked up the call.

Hello.

There was a moment of sharp, ragged breathing on the other end, followed by a voice attempting to project calm authority.

Hello? Is this Kai? Its Robert. Robert Montgomery.

The CEO.

I waited, letting the silence stretch.

Kai, listen weve had a bit of an issue here at the office. Are you available right now?

He chose his words with extreme care, as if testing a live wire.

I took a slow sip of my coffee. It was rich and complex.

Robert, Im no longer an employee of Vanguard Tech. Per company policy, my employment was terminated yesterday at 5:30 PM.

My tone was as neutral as if I were discussing the temperature outside.

The line went audibly quiet.

After a few seconds of silence, Robert started to play the sentiment card.

Kai, I know youre upset. Naomi acted rashly, and Ive already reprimanded her. But the company has supported your career for years, and you have a loyalty to the work weve done here, right?

He paused, his voice now laced with undisguised urgency.

Look, can you can you please come in and help us restore the system?

I almost laughed out loud. Help? Supported my career?