Chapter 1

I sat at my desk, working through the day's tasks, my eyes on the screen in front of me.

Eve Fox came over out of nowhere, a document in her hand.

"Lulu, could you help me out? This is the contract for the new partnership. Manager Finch wants it tonight, and there's just no way I'll finish everything in time."

"Give it a couple of days and I'll treat you to a nice dinner."

She pressed her palms together, a plea on her face.

Seeing her like that, I instinctively reached out to take the file and help.

We'd joined the company in the same batch back then, so we got along well enough, and helping each other out seemed perfectly normal to me.

But just as my hand was about to touch the document she held out, a voice sounded in my ear.

【Don't take it. Lucretia James, whatever you do, do not help her.】

【Eve made a huge mistake. There's a serious problem with the contract that would cost the company tens of millions.】

【The only reason she's asking for your help is so she can pin the blame on you.】

I froze for a second and rubbed my eyes, thinking I was imagining things.

Set aside how the strange voice had appeared at all. I found it hard to believe a coworker would set out to hurt me like that.

【Trust me, every word of this is true!】

【In a moment, your boyfriend Caspar Finch will come over and, under the banner of "we're all old classmates," push you to help.】

【But what you don't know is that Caspar has long since been carrying on with Eve, and he's the one who planned this whole thing.】

My confusion only deepened. I had no idea whether the voice in my ear was telling the truth.

Seeing me stand there without taking the contract, something anxious flickered deep in Eve's eyes.

Right then, Caspar walked up, snatched the file from her hand, and pressed it straight into mine.

"Lucretia, we're all coworkers here, and you're not busy right now anyway. Just help out!"

Hearing him say the exact words the voice had just warned me about, my expression stalled for a moment.

I looked down at the contract in my hand and couldn't help the cold smile rising inside me.

They wanted to frame me?

Did they really think I was some soft pushover anyone could squeeze however they liked?

...

I looked at the document in my hand and set it down on the desk in front of me.

"Sorry, Eve, I'm just swamped today. I haven't even finished my own work."

Ever since we'd joined the company in the same batch, Eve had come to me for help all the time.

And out of courtesy between coworkers, I'd never once turned her down.

If not for that voice that had suddenly sounded in my ear, I'd probably already be helping her with the contract by now.

But with that warning ringing in my ear, there was no way I'd fall into her trap.

At that, a flash of surprise crossed Eve's face.

She clearly hadn't expected me to refuse. She stepped closer and gently took hold of my hand.

"Lulu, I really can't keep up, just help me this once!"

"We're all coworkers. Just help me this last time!"

Caspar chimed in from the side: "Exactly. We're all coworkers, helping out is completely normal. Besides, how busy can an ordinary employee like you really be?"

I lifted my head and looked at Caspar, as if trying to read something different on his face.

But his face was exactly as it had always been, not a trace out of place, as though he were merely putting in a good word to help a colleague.

I glanced over the contract.

Just a few glances and I spotted the problem with it.

They both thought I was nothing more than an ordinary employee. What they didn't know was that I'd grown up steeped in it under my father, and I understood contracts inside and out.

Better, even, than most professionals.

The contract looked harmless enough, but it was riddled with problems.

If I'd really been as oblivious as they were counting on, I'd have walked right into their trap.

And then they could have shoved every problem onto me.

"It's not that I don't want to help, I really am too busy today."

"On a normal day I'd have done it, but right now I've got work Director Cobb assigned me. If I hold it up, he'll have something to say about it."

I brushed her off with the first excuse I could find.

Seeing me still unmoved, the panic in Eve's eyes grew, and she kept glancing at Caspar beside her.

"Lulu, just help me this one time. I promise it'll be the last time I ever ask you for help."

The last time, all right.

If I really took the fall for them, being on the hook for tens of millions in penalties would be more than enough to end my time at this company.

By then I wouldn't even be here anymore, so of course I'd never be helping them again.