Chapter 3

"Effective immediately, you're suspended from your sales duties. I want you to scrub every toilet on the first and second floors, and don't even think about leaving until every last one is spotless!"

I snapped my head up, clenching my jaw as anger surged through me. "Ms. Collins, this is blatant abuse of authority! I applied for a sales position, not a janitorial job. You're just using your position to get back at me."

"So what if I am?" Lily shot back, rolling her eyes with a mocking sneer. "If you don't like it, then get lost! Nobody's forcing you to stay."

She jabbed a finger into my shoulder and shoved me hard enough to make me stumble backward. "Who the hell do you think you are? You're nothing but a low-level grunt, and you think you have the right to negotiate with me? I make the rules around here. If I tell you to clean toilets, you damn well better do it. Honestly, you should be thanking me for even giving you a job!"

She stepped closer, glaring down at me with undisguised contempt. "Learn your place! You should know better than to run your mouth and push your luck. Don't mistake my patience for weakness."

Around us, my coworkers kept their heads down, pretending they hadn't heard a thing. Ethan shot me a sympathetic glance before quickly looking away. He was too afraid of getting on Lily's bad side to speak up, and not a single person dared to intervene.

Daniel, meanwhile, was more than happy to make things worse. "Lily, making him clean toilets is way too easy on him! Mom said she wanted some of that roasted chicken from the restaurant on the south side of town. Why not make him go get that, too?"

Lily immediately caught on. Turning back to me with a smug expression, she piled on more demands. "You heard him! On top of cleaning the toilets, you'll be running errands for my cousin and his family for the next few days. First, head to the south side of town and pick up the roasted chicken he wants, along with a few cups of coffee. And don't think you can take your sweet time getting there!"

She folded her arms and fixed me with a cold, warning look. "That restaurant always has a long line, but I want everything back here within an hour. If you can't get it done or you're even one minute late, I'll dock 100 dollars from your pay. Got it?"

Then she jerked her chin toward the restrooms. "Now quit standing there and get moving! Grab a mop and get to work!"

I clenched my fists, forcing down the fury building inside me, then turned and headed for the supply closet. Once I was out of their sight, I pulled out my phone and opened my contacts. The dealership was located in a newly developed area on the outskirts of the city, dozens of miles from the group's headquarters. It would take time to get someone out here to deal with this mess, so I sent a direct message to Victor Sullivan, my butler, who also worked at headquarters.

"Victor, I'm at the South District branch. The sales director and a problem customer just poured automotive paint all over me. Now they're forcing me to scrub toilets and run errands for takeout."

Victor's replies came almost immediately, one message after another flashing across my screen. Even through his texts, I could practically feel his fury.

"Mr. Sterling, have they completely lost their minds? You're the heir to the entire group, and they have the nerve to treat you like this at one of your own dealerships?"

He quickly followed up with an explanation. "The South District branch is pretty far out, and traffic is terrible. It'll take me about 40 minutes to get there with a team. Please hang in there a little longer. I'm calling the branch manager right now."

I slipped my phone back into my pocket and let out a cold laugh. 40 minutes? Fine. I could put up with these idiots a little longer. For the next 40 minutes, I'd play along and let them enjoy their little power trip. After that, they'd find out exactly who they'd been messing with.

I grabbed a bucket and a mop and headed into the restroom, with Daniel trailing right behind me. As soon as he stepped inside, he deliberately tracked his muddy shoeprints across the freshly tiled floor, leaving a mess in his wake.

"Oops! My bad!" he said with a grin, stomping his shoes against the tiles to make an even bigger mess. "Guess you'll have to mop it all over again."

I shot him a cold look, tightening my grip on the mop but refusing to give him the satisfaction of a response. Apparently, my silence only encouraged him. He suddenly pinched his nose and recoiled in exaggerated disgust.

"Ugh, you absolutely reek of paint! You smell freaking awful. Here, let me help you clean up."

Before I could react, he snatched up the bucket of filthy water I'd been using to rinse the mop and dumped the entire contents over my head.

The rancid water soaked through my clothes, and its foul stench hit me like a punch to the gut. That was the last straw. I dropped the mop and lunged at him, ready to wipe that smug grin off his face. Before I could reach him, however, Ethan came rushing in and grabbed me from behind, wrapping his arms around me to hold me back.

"Adrian, dude, don't do it!" he shouted, struggling to restrain me. "If you hit him, Ms. Collins will call the cops and have you arrested! Don't throw your life away over a jerk like him!"