Chapter 2

Everyone swarmed around her.

“Oh my God, Viv! You’re so lucky!”

“The best fortune! Vivian’s our company’s lucky charm!”

“Next year’s sales are in the bag!”

Under all that praise, Vivian could barely contain her smile.

She looked straight at me, a malicious little smirk on her face.

“Claire hasn’t opened hers yet. Maybe she got the best fortune, too?”

Everyone turned toward me.

I didn’t believe in any of it, but I didn’t want to spoil the mood.

I tore off the seal. The words at the end of the stick stood out clearly.

Worst fortune!

“Oh my God, Claire! How did you draw the worst one?”

“The vendor said that means bad luck will follow you everywhere! Nothing will go right all year. You’ll lose money and attract disaster. Only someone born unlucky could draw that!”

When Vivian noticed my expression darken, she immediately put on an apologetic face.

“Claire, I’m just saying. Don’t take it to heart.”

Despite her supposedly guilty words, she spread the news about my terrible fortune the moment we returned to the office.

At work, she made sure to maintain her new image as our resident lucky charm every second of the day.

There wasn’t a single document on Vivian’s desk. Instead, it was covered in lucky figurines and good-luck beads, with her fortune stick displayed in the most prominent spot.

That wasn’t all. She also started taking over my work.

When I reached for files for one of my projects, Vivian snatched them first.

“Let me handle this, Claire. I’m the lucky charm. Maybe I can help you dodge some bad luck!”

When I was leaving to meet a client, she planted herself in my car and refused to move.

“With my lucky fortune along for the ride, the client will actually sign.”

“Get out.”

My expression hardened. That evening’s contract was crucial, and the client didn’t like unnecessary people sitting in on meetings.

When I refused to give in, Vivian got out with a huff.

Then she started slipping nasty comments about me into conversations with our coworkers.

“Claire seems a little off lately. That last proposal? She revised it three times, and it still wasn’t approved.”

“Do you think that bad fortune is getting to her? Thank goodness I’m here with my lucky one. Otherwise, our department’s numbers would definitely drop.”

“Do you think Claire’s bad luck might drag down our annual bonuses, too?”

Thanks to her tireless efforts, quite a few coworkers bought her story. Their eyes grew wary whenever they looked at me.

People who used to be friendly started keeping their distance. Everyone gathered around Vivian instead, hoping some of her luck would rub off.

I ignored all of it.

A major company deal had reached its most critical stage. I was working late every night and barely had time to drink water.

Who had time to care about Vivian’s gossip?