Chapter 1

For a company outing, as the sales manager, I took a few people from my department to entertain an important client.

That included Tina Brooks, who had only been with us for two months.

She was sweet-talking and sharp, and she was one of the new hires the department was focusing on training.

After a few rounds of drinks, that client, Lewis, kept eyeing Tina like a creep and insisted she do a couple’s toast with him.

Tina’s face went pale, and her hand shook so badly she could barely hold her glass, while her pleading eyes kept darting toward me.

I didn’t think too much at the time.

Mr. Lewis was a major client, and we couldn’t ruin his mood, but Tina was obviously at her limit.

As the person in charge of the department, protecting my team and keeping the drinking under control was part of my job. If I didn’t step up then, who would?

I stood up, smiled, took Tina’s glass, and said to Mr. Lewis:

“Mr. Lewis, she’s new and really doesn’t know how to drink yet. I’ll take this one for her. Please don’t take it the wrong way.”

Mr. Lewis burst out laughing, patted my shoulder, and said,

“Manager Miller, you’re pretty straightforward! But if you’re playing the knight-in-shining-armor card, one drink isn’t enough. Three drinks would show real sincerity!”

He was clearly cornering me.

To keep the client happy and to put this whole thing behind us, I said nothing and picked up the glass.

I tipped my head back and gulped down two more drinks.

Mr. Lewis laughed and patted my shoulder, saying I knew how to play ball, and that settled it.

I finally relaxed and subconsciously looked over at Tina to make sure she really was safe, then went back to my seat.

I kept chatting with an older coworker next to me, and after that I didn’t have any more contact with her.

I thought it was just another perfectly ordinary business dinner, a small favor done with one hand.

But the next morning, the department SnapChat group exploded.

Tina posted in the group:

“Everyone, I drank too much last night, and my head was all over the place.”

“I feel like someone touched me when I wasn’t fully aware.”

“I don’t want to make this a big deal, and I don’t want to call anyone out by name, since we still have to work together.”

“I just hope you know better now and don’t let this happen again.”

“Otherwise, I’ll have to go through the company’s official process.”

Those words were like a bomb, instantly blowing up the whole department.

At dinner last night, it was just the few of us men, and the client had already left. The rest of us were all on the same team.

And the only one who had drunk for Tina was me.

Almost everyone’s eyes naturally landed on me.

Someone immediately jumped in in the group.

“Oh my god, Tina, are you okay? Who would be so bold?”

“That’s a complete workplace predator! Tina, don’t be scared, we all support you!”

Tina replied with a crying emoji:

“I’m fine. I just feel really wronged and scared. I just wanted to remind that person.”

I was looking at project files at the time. When I saw those messages, I immediately sent her a private message, but she didn’t reply.

I called her, and she hung up.

I realized I couldn’t argue in the group. That would only make me look worse.

I forced down my anger and got through the whole morning.

At lunch, I saw her go into the break room alone, so I followed her, called her into a meeting room, and asked her with barely suppressed anger:

“Tina, say it clearly. Who are you talking about in the group? What exactly did I do to you last night?”

The moment she walked into the meeting room, tears started falling nonstop, like she had suffered some huge injustice.

“Jason, I didn’t name you.” She sniffled. Her voice was soft, but every word felt like a stab.

“Why did you drink for me?”

“Didn’t you just want to get me indebted to you so you could ask me for something later?”

“Who doesn’t understand the dirty little thoughts middle-aged men like you have?”

“You kept staring at me after you drank. I was scared!”

I was shaking with rage and pointed at her.

“I stared at you? Tina, do you even have a conscience?”

“I was only keeping an eye on things so the client wouldn’t keep pushing you to drink!”

“Did I lay a hand on you? Did I even touch a single hair on your head?”

“You didn’t touch me, but your eyes looked like you wanted to eat me alive!” Her crying got louder.

“Do you think that because you drank for me, I should be grateful to you and let you do whatever you want?”

“Jason, please, I’m begging you, leave me alone. I’m just a new intern who just graduated. I don’t want to lose my job.”

She twisted the truth, dodged the real issue, and turned my kindness into a complete premeditated scheme.

Before I could even argue back, the meeting room door was pushed open, and the department director, Mr. Walker, stood there with a dark face.

Behind him, a few coworkers were peeking in, their faces full of gossip and contempt.

It was obvious they had all heard Tina’s tearful accusation.

Mr. Walker looked at the crying Tina, then at me with an extremely disappointed expression, and coldly said,

“Jason, come to my office.”

At that moment, I knew I had fallen into a carefully planned trap.

And this was only the beginning of the nightmare.