Chapter 2

I pushed open the door to the manager's office. Zion sat behind his desk, an unopened bottle of water resting on it.

He didn't look surprised, as if he'd been expecting me.

"Have a seat."

He tipped his chin up, wearing the kind of look that said he was doing my boyfriend a favor.

He seemed to have forgotten that when Malcolm first arrived, I was the one who trained him.

I sat down, and he pushed the bottle of water toward me.

"Have some water. Cool off."

I didn't move.

In the past, whenever I came to his office, he would always make me a cup of tea himself and hand it over.

Now, things had changed.

The bonus was gone, and the tea had been swapped out for bottled water.

I didn't bother with small talk. I set the printed materials down on his desk.

"Mr. Whitney, there is no explicit rule in the company's policies prohibiting office romances, and no clause allowing a bonus to be canceled. I'm requesting that ownership of my bonus be restored to me."

Zion glanced at the papers, as if he'd already guessed what they were, and put his finger on one of the lines.

"Effie, there's no explicit rule in the policy, but this clause—'Employees should avoid letting personal relationships affect the impartiality of their work'—means exactly that."

"Don't worry, the company would never cancel your bonus without cause. There are always grounds for it."

I leaned back in my chair and looked at him calmly.

"Mr. Whitney, as far as I know, Malcolm and I aren't the only office couple here, are we?"

"There's Jordan in administration and Reginald in finance, Alma in HR and Aiden in R&D, plus the married ones—were their bonuses canceled too?"

He paused, then started to explain.

"You can't compare it like that. They're all in administrative departments, not involved in core business, no conflict of interest. It's not like you and Malcolm, who are both in sales and have to avoid any appearance of impropriety."

He looked at me with a rehearsed smile.

"You don't need to question the company's decisions. The company doesn't treat any employee differently."

"What about Malcolm?"

I looked at him.

"He took a fifty-thousand-dollar bonus last month. Why didn't he have to avoid the appearance of impropriety?"

Zion's smile froze, and the fingers resting on the desk curled slightly.

"Malcolm is a key member of the team—"

"And what am I?"

I leaned forward.

"In my five years here, the biggest project, worth thirty million dollars, was one I negotiated. The toughest clients were ones I won over. The most remote markets were ones I opened up."

"I single-handedly carried seventy percent of the whole company's KPI, and you're telling me I'm not a key player?"

Zion's face tightened. The composure from before was gone, and he started to change the subject.

"Effie, don't take this so seriously. When you get married, you'll take maternity leave, parental leave—at least three years with no output. Those hidden costs are a waste for the company. Of course the company is going to favor male employees who can create value steadily over the long term."

"Are you saying I have no value?"

I turned the words over slowly, and they struck me as nothing but ironic.

"I bring in twenty million dollars a year for the company. I train the new hires, I cut logistics costs. None of that counts as value?"

Zion's expression shifted, and his fingers clenched into a fist.

"Effie Henson, are you dredging up old accounts with me?"

"I'm not dredging up old accounts. I'm just reasonably taking back what I'm owed."

He was silent for a few seconds, then his tone softened.

"Effie, Malcolm is your boyfriend. I hear the two of you are already talking marriage. Digging in like this puts Malcolm in a very difficult spot." "If you absolutely insist on getting the bonus back, then your relationship with Malcolm will have to change."

I looked at him. "You mean, from now on all my bonuses will be canceled to avoid the appearance of impropriety?"

He paused, not committing to it outright.

"In theory, that's the logic."

I fell silent.

The threat in his words was already plain enough.

The bonus or the boyfriend—I could only have one.

Seeing me go quiet, Zion assumed I'd caved, and his tone took on a note of big-brotherly concern.

"Effie, aren't you and Malcolm getting engaged? A woman should really put her family first. From now on, you can hand all your projects over to Chloe and set your mind on preparing for the wedding, on becoming a mother."

I suddenly laughed, a very faint laugh.

First cancel the bonus, then take the position.

Zion wasn't even bothering to hide his plan to push me out anymore.

I gathered up the documents and slowly stood.

"Mr. Whitney, I can give up the position. But the money, I won't."

I turned and walked toward the door, and his voice came from behind me, low and heavy.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I laid my hand on the handle without looking back.

"It means I'm going to appeal."

And with that, I pushed open the door and strode out.