THE LAST FILE · EPISODE 03

The Laptop Nobody Locked

By lunch, payroll was finally private. At 1:44 PM it sat open on the busiest table in the office, right next to a visitor.

1:41 PM. Wednesday.

Neha Iyer had spent the whole morning fixing what Alex had found the night before.

By lunch, the Payroll folder was private again. The Studio group was gone from the sharing list. Only Neha, Alex and Priya could open it. It felt good to close one problem properly.

Now she had to actually run payroll, and it was due at four.

The finance corner was being repainted, so she carried her laptop to the big table by reception, plugged in, and opened the salary sheet. Names, bank details, amounts. Fourteen rows.

At 1:44 PM her phone buzzed. The bank, calling about a payment that hadn't matched. The signal by the table was terrible.

"Hold on, I'll step outside," she said, already walking.

She left the laptop where it was. Screen on. Spreadsheet open.

Two minutes later, the visitor for the two o'clock meeting arrived early. Maya, whose desk was nearest the door, smiled and offered him the only free chair.

The one right next to Neha's laptop.