“Why Is the Card Declined?” My Husband Yelled—That Was Only the First Domino

The office of MediaStream had fallen into the particular quiet that only comes after everyone else has gone home, when the hum of computers and the click of keyboards become amplified in the emptiness. Lily Price sat hunched over her monitor at 9:47 PM on a Thursday evening, triple-checking the quarterly report that would determine whether she finally continue reading …