hey, did you see who presented the expansion project this morning?
Lucía discovers that her colleague Diego has stolen her project proposal and presented it to the boss as his own. As she tries to figure out what happened and what to do, she turns to her only trusted ally at the office — and what she uncovers is worse than she imagined.
hey, did you see who presented the expansion project this morning?
yes... Diego. why? did something happen?
okay... it's just that project is MINE, Vale
excuse me... what?
😶
the market analysis of Southern Europe, the pricing strategy, the graphs... I did all that last month. I sent the draft to Diego so he could give me feedback 😶
oh my god Lucía
are you sure? maybe he just used some ideas and...
—
the report title is EXACTLY the same. even the subtitle. "Growth opportunities in Mediterranean markets: Q3 proposal" — I wrote that, word for word
😤
that guy... 😤
do you have the email where you sent him the draft? that's proof
looking for it right now... wait

there it is. June 17th. with the attachment and everything.
that's gold, Lucía. save everything, don't delete anything
are you going to talk to Ramírez directly?
first I want to talk to Diego. let's see what he tells me
be careful. that guy is very clever at slipping away
Lucía opened the chat with Diego. She had been staring at the blank screen for three minutes before writing.
Diego, I just got out of the meeting. I'd like to talk to you about this morning's presentation
😊
sure, what's up? it went well, didn't it? Ramírez seemed very happy 😊
yes, I imagine so. can I ask you something? where did you get the Mediterranean market analysis?
I worked on it over the last few weeks, my own research. why do you ask?
🙂
"own research" 🙂
Diego, I sent you that draft on June 17th. same title, same structure, same data. I have the email
look, Lucía, you sent me some very basic ideas. I developed everything, added the strategic part, the costs, the action plan... your draft was just a foundation
🙃
"a foundation" of 34 pages 🙃
don't be like that. in teams, work is collective, right? besides, Ramírez already approved the project. there's no point in stirring this up now
collective work works when both names appear on the report. yours was there. mine wasn't.
it was a mistake, I admit it. I should have mentioned you. but it's not like you should go to HR over this
who said anything about human resources... yet
Diego stopped responding. Lucía went back to the chat with Valeria.
😐
he says I only gave him "a foundation" and that he developed it all. that it was a mistake not to mention me 😐
sure, "a mistake". how convenient, that mistake right before the quarterly review
exactly what I thought. the salary review is next month
😮💨
I know you're right... 😮💨 I hate that you're right
search the email thread. Diego replied to you regarding the draft at some point, didn't he? those replies count too
wait, let me look...
💀
okay, yes. on June 18th he replied: "good job, the analysis of Italy and Greece is very solid. I would add something about Portugal" 💀
THERE IT IS. that's exactly what you need. he says "good job" himself, recognizing the analysis was yours
—
save that screenshot too. and keep a copy of the file with the document metadata — that shows who created it and when
the metadata... of course. I created the document on my computer, my name will show up as the author
okay. I'm going to ask for a meeting with Ramírez for this afternoon. I have enough now
do you want me to go with you?
❤️
no, thanks. I have to do this alone. but thanks really, Vale ❤️
Lucía spent her lunch hour organizing all the evidence: dated emails, screenshots, the original file with metadata. At 3:00 PM, Ramírez confirmed the meeting for 4:30 PM. An hour before, Diego wrote to her again.
Lucía, word got to me that you have a meeting with Ramírez this afternoon
look, we can solve this between ourselves. there's no need to make it complicated
you already made it complicated, Diego
I can pay you. I know it sounds weird but... we can reach an agreement. let it be known that you participated in the project, I'll give you 30% of the bonus if it goes through
30%... of MY own work. incredible.
🙂
hey, thanks for the offer. now I have one more screenshot for the meeting 🙂
lucía please
don't write to me anymore today
At 4:30 PM, Lucía entered Ramírez's office with all the documentation. The meeting lasted forty minutes. When she came out, she called Valeria.
Lucía: Vale? It's me. Valeria: Yes, tell me, how did it go? tell me everything. Lucía: Well... Ramírez stayed silent when I showed him the emails. a long, very awkward silence. Valeria: Oh my god, and what did he say? Lucía: That he was going to investigate it, that this was "very serious." And then he asked me why I hadn't presented the project directly myself. Valeria: What a question... and what did you tell him? Lucía: The truth. That Diego asked me to send him the draft to review it together, that I trusted him because we've been working on the same team for two years. Valeria: Of course... what a huge betrayal. And Diego? Does he know anything about how the meeting went? Lucía: I haven't told him anything. But Ramírez has summoned him first thing tomorrow morning, so he'll find out then. Valeria: How are you feeling right now? Lucía: Honestly... I don't know. Relieved to have said it, but also very tired. And a bit sad, you know? I thought Diego was someone I could trust. Valeria: I understand. Hey, do you want to meet up later? We'll have a drink. Lucía: Yes. Yes, that sounds good. I need to get out of here.
— ⭐
I'll wait for you downstairs in 10 minutes. and hey — you did very well today ⭐
The next morning, Lucía arrived at the office and saw that Ramírez's office door was closed. Diego was already inside. The meeting lasted twenty minutes. When Diego came out, he didn't look at anyone. He picked up his jacket and left.
I just saw him leave. Have you spoken with Ramírez?
he just sent me an email. the project is now listed under my name. and Diego is "in the process of a contract review"
meaning... they're going to fire him
it seems so. I don't know how I feel about it, honestly
the consequences are his, not yours. you only told the truth
💪
well said 💪
😌
hey, I'm going to get to work. I have a project to present 😌
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