The Inkwell presents: Blind to the Truth

By The Inkwell

There is an old adage - "Every villain is the hero of their own story". It might sound corny, but that doesn't make it any less true. Sometimes it's because history is written by the victors, other times it's due to a delusion of what is right. And sometimes, just sometimes, villains simply hold a different view to everyone else. No matter the case, antagonists can be just as interesting and layered as the greatest protagonist, and often we love them more for it.

Sticky Notes - A hotshot new CEO walks into the office, only to discover the unexpected.
Doctor Griffon - Do no harm is the doctor's pledge, so what went wrong?
Selling Lies - Sometimes the task we are given is not the task we accomplish.
A Box, A Message - Things come full circle for the denim jacket and all those surrounding its saga.
Justification - Come Hell or high water, Eve is determined to see her husband and son again.
Pull the Trigger - Will ethics win the day, or will they blow away with the storm?

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Inkwell
• Release date: May 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005725990

The Inkwell

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Book preview

Sticky Notes

Written by LA Harper

I briefly glanced at the door to the stairwell before opting for the elevator. The doctor said I should get more steps in, but it took three times as long, and I had so much to do. So, I was running a little late, but it wasn’t anything as bad as Jamison last week. Ninety minutes lost because of car trouble. If that were the case, he should have used his holiday bonus to do some maintenance on it, instead of taking his kids on vacation. That was real responsible parenting. 

The button for the eleventh floor lit a tallow yellow at my touch; the building starting to show its age. My father had been one of the first companies in the building, and now it was in my hands. And my possession. We—well, I—bought it last quarter. I smiled, knowing I was doing well by him. The company’s profits were at an all-time high, and our customer feedback was up ten percent thanks to the new social media campaign Kelly started. People really like cats. 

I glanced at my watch, confirming I still had fifteen minutes ‘til the meeting. I sent out a memo night before last regarding it, so they all ought to be prepared and in the board room by the time I arrived. At least, I expected they would. Who ignores a work email on a Saturday night? Especially when it’s something as important as this. If we wanted to stay on-trend and ahead of Cambria Corvin and her league of corporate flunkies, the release date had to be pushed forward. I still had no idea how they got so large so fast when all I saw on Facebook were employee mixers and the co-ed softball team. And then there were the occasional wasted weekends at the go-kart track or some activity where they were all covered in mud. I didn’t know how she managed to get anything done when her employees were so busy with such pointless distractions.

As the elevator rose sluggishly, I pulled out my phone and checked the shared Google calendar. What? No, Matt, you can’t take leave this week; Corvinus Corporation is releasing their new product next Tuesday and that’s why we’re moving our release to Friday. There’s no way you can have a four-day weekend. You probably won’t even get a one-day weekend; considering you’re head of marketing, after all. You and Celine—who will most definitely need to find a babysitter this weekend, she absolutely cannot have another Saturday off—will need to stay ahead of this Corvin mess. 

Honestly, the audacity. I might have to find a suitable replacement for both soon. A notification flashed across the top of my screen, a reminder that I had a spa appointment this weekend. Oh good, that was exactly what I needed to survive the stress of this new release. The rest would handle the nitty-gritty, I already did the hard part of keeping everyone organized and on task. Metal doors rasped open, a ding heralding my entrance as I stepped onto the office’s worn navy carpet.

That sound made the eerily quiet greeting her all the more palpable. Oh, computers and monitors hummed softly, paper rustled in drafts from air conditioning vents, and a phone rang shrilly from a nearby cubicle. But that was all that broke the blanket of silence that, normally, would be a chaotic mix of cheerful HR telephone conversations and the tapping of keyboards. Breezing along the quiet corridor, I was impressed with how many employees must already be seated in the meeting. Maybe they finally learned after the last time, when I sent a gaggle of secretarial geese honking into the board room from the break room they were hiding in. As punishment, I had the custodian lock it for a week. I guess they got that memo. 

Speaking of the custodian, it was a mess in here, sticky notes hanging from or plastered across every surface available. My employees really needed to learn to use their approved corkboards– patching holes made by push pins and scraping tacky glue off cubicle walls