Chapter 1

Just before Halloween, our intern, Vivian Blake, suggested visiting a monastery for our team outing.

I checked the distance and was about to turn her down.

“Our budget is five thousand dollars. Why don’t we just have a nice meal somewhere nearby?”

Vivian shot back, visibly worked up.

“Who cares about some fancy meal? Do you know that monastery is offering a limited-edition fortune stick? Whoever draws the best fortune will have good luck all year!”

“We should try it! Maybe we can bring the company some luck, too!”

Seeing how excited my coworkers were, I agreed.

After carefully crunching the numbers, I managed to arrange transportation and admission within our budget.

I was planning to spend the remaining money on everyone’s lunch.

But once we had all drawn our fortunes, the vendor produced a bill.

“Eight hundred and eighty-eight dollars per blessing stick. How would you like to pay?”

Everyone froze, staring at the bamboo sticks in their hands in disbelief.

Vivian looked at me as though the answer were obvious and urged impatiently,

“Claire, what are you waiting for? Pay him.”

I wanted nothing more than to throw the overpriced stick right back onto his stall.

“A gram of gold doesn’t cost eight hundred and eighty-eight dollars. Is this little stick plated in gold or studded with diamonds?”

The vendor quickly cut me off.

“Don’t talk nonsense about things you don’t understand! These are limited-edition sticks blessed by a revered monk. That’s what they cost!”

My coworkers erupted.

“Why didn’t you say that earlier? I thought they’d cost a few bucks!”

“This is a total rip-off! Can’t we just give them back?”

Seeing everyone trying to return the sticks, the vendor’s face darkened.

“You can’t be serious. These sticks were blessed by a revered monk. The moment you drew them, your fates became connected!”

“If you don’t treat them with respect, your good fortune could turn against you!”

The threat was obvious, and it actually scared my coworkers into staying put.

But how were interns earning two or three thousand dollars a month supposed to afford an $888 fortune stick?

Vivian tugged urgently at my sleeve.

“Claire, I checked. These blessing sticks really work!”

“Doesn’t the company reimburse team outings? The company can definitely afford this. Just pay!”

At $888 each, the total came to nearly fifty thousand dollars!

Every eye turned to me.

I swallowed my anger and took out the budget sheet.

“Vivian, the company approved five thousand dollars. The charter bus and admission cost three thousand. I used the rest to book a vegetarian lunch for everyone at the foot of the mountain.”

“Eight-hundred-and-eighty-eight-dollar blessing sticks aren’t covered.”

“What?” Vivian blinked, then looked so wounded she nearly burst into tears.

“But what are we supposed to do with the sticks? This is all my fault. I should have asked the price before bringing everyone here…”

“I just wanted to bring everyone a little luck before the fiscal year ends, and help us get better sales next year…”

“I’ll find a way to pay. Please don’t blame Claire…”

As she stood there sniffling, my coworkers immediately softened.

“Oh, forget it. You’re an intern. How much money could you possibly have?”

“Claire, can’t you just charge it to the company for now? We can sort it out when we get back…”

“Exactly. Make an exception, Claire. Look how upset she is.”

Before I could explain that this was company policy, our director, Paul, stepped forward.

“I’ll pay.”

He scanned the vendor’s payment code, then frowned at me.

“Claire Bennett, Vivian’s still a young woman. She meant well. There’s no need to be so aggressive.”

I clenched my fists, crumpling the budget sheet in my hand.

The company had given me five thousand dollars. I’d stayed up half the night working out the arrangements. How did that make me aggressive?

I was about to explain when Paul turned and headed down the mountain.

“That’s enough. It’s paid for. Don’t ruin the outing. Let’s go have lunch.”

Everyone crowded around him, praising his generosity.

After lunch, just as we were getting ready to leave, Vivian slapped her forehead and pulled the unopened fortune stick out of her bag.

A collective gasp went up, followed by Vivian’s delighted squeal.

“Look! I got the best possible fortune!”