— The text is: “The contracts will be with you by Friday. After that, we’ll discuss the terms of my transition. I hope your offer will be more worthy than what I have now.”
A dead silence fell. Svetlana covered her face with her hands, and her shoulders began to shake. Pavel slowly straightened up in his chair.
— I think, — he said quietly, — we now have all the proof we need.
Svetlana Beregay sat without lifting her head, her heavy breathing the only sign of her state. The red nails that had so confidently tapped on her phone screen an hour ago were now digging into the edge of the table. Pavel looked at her and felt a strange mixture of disappointment and relief. Disappointment because he had trusted this person for five years. Relief because his worst suspicions were confirmed before the damage became irreparable.
— Kirill, tell the IT department to export all the restored emails and record their sending times, — Pavel instructed. — Have them prepare a full report with technical details. We’ll need it for the paperwork.
— On it, — Kirill nodded, leaning over his phone.
Gennady Rudnitsky leaned back in his chair and shook his head.
— Svetlana, how could you? — His voice held not so much anger as bewilderment. — Five years of work, a stable salary, bonuses. Why?
She raised her head, and Pavel saw that her eyes were red. But they were not tears of remorse, but rather the anger and despair of a cornered person.
— A stable salary? — she repeated bitterly. — 180,000 a month. Do you know how much heads of HR departments make in proper companies? 250,000–300,000. And what do I get? A 5,000 raise once a year. And that’s with me carrying the whole department on my shoulders.
— That’s no excuse, — Pavel said sternly. — If you were unhappy with the terms, you could have come and talked. You could have looked for another job legally. But not sell information to competitors.
— Talk? — Svetlana scoffed. — I did. Six months ago, I asked for a salary review. Do you know what you told me? ‘We can’t right now, there’s a crisis, we need to wait.’ And then I find out that the new head of the IT department was immediately given 220,000.
— Because he’s a man?
— Because a programmer is more important than an HR manager, — she continued.
— Because the IT department generates revenue for the company, — Pavel replied coldly. — And the HR department is a support unit. You knew that perfectly well when you took the job.
Svetlana jumped to her feet. Her face was contorted.
— A support unit! That’s how you see us. I work 12 hours a day, resolve conflicts, manage documentation, recruit staff, and you call it support!
— Sit down, — Pavel ordered. — Emotions are useless right now.
She slowly sank back down, but her gaze continued to shoot daggers.
Vera Yazvinskaya, who had been silent until then, added carefully:
— Svetlana Andreevna, I must officially inform you of the consequences. At this moment, the following evidence has been gathered against you: first, unauthorized access to documents not related to your direct job responsibilities; second, copying and removing confidential information; third, an attempt to transfer this information to a competing organization. This qualifies as a gross violation of labor discipline and disclosure of a trade secret.
— I didn’t transfer anything! — Svetlana shouted. — I sent the email, yes, but they haven’t received the documents yet.
— That doesn’t matter, — Vera continued calmly. — According to the law, the disclosure of information itself constitutes a violation. It is not necessary for the third party to have had time to use it. The act of transfer or the intent to transfer already constitutes a violation.
Oleg Myachin was scrolling through something on his tablet and suddenly looked up.
— Pavel Igorevich, there’s something else here, — he said. — I checked the phone calls from the corporate number for the last two weeks. Seven calls to the same number. Call durations from five to fifteen minutes. I ran the number through the database. It’s registered to the company ‘Status-Tech,’ their human resources department.
Gennady Rudnitsky shot up from his chair.
— ‘Status-Tech’! The same ones who took three contracts from us in recent months.
— Exactly, — Pavel confirmed. — Now it’s clear where they got the information about our terms.
Svetlana pressed her lips together and turned to the window.
— Svetlana Andreevna, — Pavel leaned forward, — you understand that you can partially rectify the situation right now? Tell us everything. What exactly did you transfer? Who specifically did you contact? What documents did you copy?
She remained silent, staring into the darkness outside the window.
— If you refuse to cooperate, — Pavel continued, — this will not just be a dismissal, but a criminal case.
— Let them, — Svetlana said in a muffled voice. — My career here is over anyway.
— Your career is over, period, — Kirill threw in harshly. — After this, no reputable company will hire you. Reputation is everything in our field. And you’ve just destroyed yours.
Svetlana flinched but remained silent. Pavel exchanged a glance with Vera. The lawyer gave a barely perceptible nod. Legally, they were on solid ground. There was enough evidence.
— Alright, — said Pavel. — Since you refuse to provide an explanation, we will proceed. Vera, please state the procedure.
Yazvinskaya opened her notebook to a new page.
— According to the Labor Code, Article 81, clause 6, termination of an employment contract on the employer’s initiative is possible in the case of disclosure of a legally protected secret that became known to the employee in connection with the performance of their job duties. This is grounds for dismissal for cause. Before making a decision, the employer is obliged to request a written explanation from the employee. If the employee refuses to provide an explanation, a corresponding act is drawn up.
— Svetlana Andreevna, — Pavel took a blank sheet of paper from a folder and placed it in front of her. — I officially demand a written explanation from you regarding the discovered facts. You have two working days to provide it. A refusal will be documented with an act.
She looked at the sheet of paper, then at Pavel.
— And if I refuse?…
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