The Pyramid Scheme

The corporate pyramid rose twenty stories above the parking lot, each level a testament to someone else's ambition. Elena stood by the building's edge, whiskey warming her glass, watching the security guard walk his German shepherd around the perimeter below. The dog paused at the same spot every night — a ritual she'd come to depend on more than she should.

'You're going to fall off that ledge one of these days,' Marcus said, appearing beside her with two fresh drinks. 'Then where would your pyramid be?'

'Somewhere it doesn't belong.' She accepted the drink. 'Like your friend David's bonus.'

Marcus flinched. The mention of David — the friend who'd mentored them both, then taken the promotion Elena had earned — still had teeth. They'd gone into the office betting pool together three months ago: who would crack first. Marcus gave up after two weeks. Elena kept paying in.

'David's not my friend anymore.' Marcus swirled his drink. 'Not after what he said about you at the meeting.'

'What did he say?'

'Nothing that matters.' Marcus turned to her. 'Come back inside. The pool's still open.'

The betting pool, he meant. Who would quit first this quarter. Her odds had dropped after her performance review. The dog below barked at something in the darkness. Elena watched the pyramid of the building catch moonlight on its glass facade, thinking about all the evenings she'd stood here with Marcus, neither willing to be the first to walk away from the edge — or toward each other.

'If I jump,' she said, 'the pool payouts are going to be catastrophic.'

Marcus set his drink on the ledge and stepped closer. 'Or everyone wins.'