Chapter 2

Mia and her two sidekicks moved their desks to Richard’s corner.

Richard was thrilled to score three free workhorses.

He immediately dumped all his abandoned, chaotic messes onto their plates.

Within three days, the trio looked like walking corpses.

They were trapped in the office until 10:00 PM every night, without so much as an Uber reimbursement code.

Later that week, as I was packing my bag to head home on time, Mia suddenly materialized beside my desk.

She held a cup of artisan iced coffee, sporting a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Manager Bennett, I brought you a latte!"

"After working under Richard these past few days, I finally realize how incredible you really are."

"Could you... maybe let me borrow your past project decks as a reference?"

I looked down at the paper cup and didn't even touch it.

In my past life, she had used this exact trick—cozying up under the guise of "learning."

I was fooled by her doe-eyed act, shared every master blueprint, and worked directly on her laptop, leaving all raw source files in her hands.

In the end, those files became her ammunition to frame me.

And she thought she could run the exact same play twice?

I instantly locked my screen, pulled out my encrypted flash drive, and dropped it into my designer tote.

"No."

Mia’s smile froze solid.

"Manager Bennett, we're all colleagues here. What's wrong with sharing a few templates?"

"I just want to look at the layout! I swear I won't copy your actual content!"

Logan and Harper strutted over right on cue.

Logan sneered with utter contempt.

"Don't beg her, Mia! What's the big deal? They're just a bunch of lousy PowerPoint decks!"

"Selfish gatekeepers like her are doomed to stay middle managers for the rest of their pathetic lives!"

Harper sneered in agreement.

"Seriously. Guarding them like we're thieves."

"Does she really think this company will stop spinning without her?"

I rose slowly, towering over them with cold detachment.

"You're damn right. I am guarding against thieves."

"Because every single slide I create is born from midnight sweat. Why the hell should I hand them to you for free?"

"Want references? Go pull the company archives yourself. Stop begging at my desk."

Tears instantly flooded Mia's eyes.

"Manager Bennett, how can you humiliate me like this?"

"I just want to learn! Why are you calling me a thief?!"

Right on cue, Richard waddled over, clutching his travel mug with an oily, patronizing grin plastered across his face.

"Now, now, Chloe, don't be so petty."

"Rookies need room to grow. As a senior leader, it's your job to lift them up."

"Why don't you send your initial drafts of last year's 'Project Starlight' to Mia so she can study them?"

Hearing the words "Project Starlight," my heart turned to ice.

That was the exact mega-account that ruined my life in the past.

It was the firm's largest annual procurement tender—insanely lucrative, but notoriously brutal.

Richard wanted the glory without the sweat, scheming to hand my blood-stained blueprints to his new lackey.

I held Richard's gaze, refusing to budge an inch.

"Deputy Manager Evans, corporate compliance clearly states that core tier-one drafts are classified materials."

"None of these interns have security clearance."

"If you're eager to play mentor, use your own decks. Don't play the generous saint with my property."

Richard's smile vanished, replaced by an ugly scowl.

"Chloe Bennett, don't push your luck!"

"We all work for the same firm. What's with this petty tribalism?"

I grabbed my purse and walked straight past him.

"If you think it's tribalism, take it up with Mr. Sterling."

"Let's see if the CEO listens to a deadweight manager, or to the top producer who pulls in tens of millions in revenue every single year."

As I stepped toward the elevator bank, I heard Mia hiss behind me, her voice trembling with hatred:

"Don't be mad, Richard! We'll write our own pitch!"

"We are going to crush her in the Project Starlight bidding war!"

I pressed the elevator button and let a mocking smirk play across my lips.

Crush me?

With three empty-headed hacks? Good luck.