Chapter 1

I worked until 2:00 AM every single night over Thanksgiving week. Just when I thought I could finally clock out and go home,

My boss’s side chick called, demanding I deliver condoms to her and our boss right then and there.

Exhausted to the bone, I had no choice but to order a delivery driver through DoorDash.

Yet, the moment Thanksgiving break ended, the first notice waiting for me was that all my holiday overtime pay had been completely canceled.

Stunned, I marched over to the finance director—the very mistress who placed the order:

"Is this a joke? I worked overtime all five days through Thanksgiving!"

"I came in at 9:00 AM and didn't leave until 2:00 AM. How could my overtime pay be zero?!"

The little mistress scoffed, looking at me with pure disdain.

"You couldn't even deliver condoms properly, and you still have the nerve to ask for overtime?"

"I specifically told you to get them here within ten minutes. Instead, you were lazy and hired a DoorDash driver who took fifteen."

"You ruined the mood for both Mr. Crawford and me. Consider this docked pay a warning. Slack off again, and you're fired!"

I gritted my teeth in pure fury. Then, at 2:00 AM that night, she called me again, demanding another emergency condom delivery.

I smirked. Placing the order, I filled in the CEO’s wife’s mansion address and her private phone number.

You dare rob an underpaid, overworked worker of her hard-earned overtime? Fine. Then nobody gets to survive tonight!

Hearing this absurd excuse for stripping away every cent of my holiday pay,

My brain buzzed, and my sanity completely snapped.

I spun around, stormed out of the finance office, and shoved open the General Manager's door, shouting my outrage.

"Mr. Crawford! Chloe just told me that because a DoorDash driver was five minutes late delivering your condoms, she canceled all my Thanksgiving overtime pay!"

"That is completely absurd! I demand the company pay me what I earned!"

Julian Crawford let out a soft chuckle, his voice dripping with condescending reassurance.

"Nicole, calm down. I just heard about this."

"Chloe can be a bit impatient, but honestly, so were you. How could you hire a random delivery driver for something so private?"

"It shows zero respect for company leadership."

I clenched my jaw and fired back.

"That was after my shift was over!"

"And that was your personal business, not part of my job description!"

The smile instantly vanished from Julian's face, replaced by a cold, sinister glare.

"Nicole Davis, trusting you to handle such private matters was a sign of respect. Don't push your luck."

He stood up and walked around his desk, towering over me.

"I heard your grandmother is lying in a hospital bed, scheduled for heart bypass surgery any day now."

"That surgery, plus post-op recovery... that's not a small bill."

My heart clenched tight, a wave of cold sweat drenching my back.

Watching my reaction, Julian tapped my shoulder with smug satisfaction.

"If you don't want to get fired, and you don't want your grandma kicked onto the street because her bills aren't paid..."

"Then learn to behave."

"Whatever Chloe asks you to do, do it. Don't piss her off, and don't piss me off."

I bit my bottom lip so hard I tasted copper.

Julian sighed, shaking his head with fake pity.

"If you had just agreed to be with me six months ago, all you had to do was nod,"

"You’d be the one running finance and living the high life today, not Chloe."

"Why put yourself through working until 2:00 AM every night and swallowing all this humiliating shit?"

The second he brought that up, my stomach churned violently with disgust.

Six months ago, Julian used a business dinner as an excuse to trap me in a VIP booth, putting his hands all over me.

I threw a scalding cup of tea right in his face and slammed the door on my way out.

Soon after, our colleague Chloe Vance crawled into his bed. She got fast-tracked straight to Head of Finance.

Ever since, the two of them treated me like an eyesore that needed to be erased.

Julian hated me because my rejection bruised his fragile male ego.

Chloe hated me because she saw me as her biggest rival, finding every petty excuse to make my life a living hell.

To keep this job and pay for my grandma's medical bills, I had swallowed every insult.

But today, I reached my absolute breaking point.

Seeing my silence, Julian assumed I had yielded.

"Alright. Go back to your desk and reflect on your attitude."

"Show me some respect, and I'll handle your overtime pay."

I stared coldly at his hypocritical face, said nothing, and turned on my heel to walk out.

I foolishly thought he meant he would actually give me my money back.

Yet the moment I stepped outside his office, a shadow loomed before me.

Before I could even register who it was, a gust of wind whistled toward my face.

SLAP!

A sharp, ringing strike whipped my head to the side, my cheek instantly burning with fire.

Chloe stood in front of me, venom dripping from her eyes.

"Feeling bold, are we, Nicole?"

"You dare contest my decision and throw yourself at Mr. Crawford to get your punishment revoked?"

The entire open-plan office fell dead silent. Everyone stopped typing and turned their heads.

I held my burning cheek, staring at her in utter disbelief.

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

"I went in there to talk about my legally earned overtime!"

Chloe sneered, raising her voice so every single person could hear.

"Save your pathetic lies!"

"Mr. Crawford just texted me everything."

"He told me you hated my disciplinary notice, stripped off your clothes in his office, and tried to seduce him into letting you off the hook!"

"You shameless little slut, have you no dignity at all?!"