ANMELDENIt was a pencil skirt that was even shorter and more revealing than the one Joy had made me wear in the past. The fabric was cheap, and the entire outfit oozed an air of vice and degradation.This time, though, she was the one forced into it. “Mr. Jones, I’m here as an administrative supervisor, not a bar girl.” Joy’s face turned pale as she tried to salvage her dignity. Slap!A clear slap rang through the air. Mr. Jones pulled his hand back as his face twisted in rage. “Stop pretending to be all pure! Your previous company was a professional at this, wasn’t it? Why could you do it for them but not now? Stop pretending to be some supervisor. Don’t you know you’ve been blacklisted? You should consider yourself lucky I even hired you! It’s not like you’ll lose anything if a client touches you. When you’re here, you’ll listen to me!”Joy cradled her face as tears welled up in her eyes. Mr. Jones scoffed and lit a cigarette. “If you won’t do it, your salary during your probati
Then, she left with a slam of the door. It was just as Joy had predicted. Bad news spread like wildfire, while good news remained buried in the shadows.The company’s honey-trapping scandal quickly circulated throughout the industry, thanks to Henry’s rage, and its reputation was completely obliterated.The investors watching the situation pulled out their investment, and the suppliers retrieved their stock because they were worried that they would not get their balance. In less than a month, due to a rupture in the capital chain, the company declared bankruptcy. Mr. Wilson, burdened by mountains of debt, was forced to flee from creditors.As for Joy, she still believed that she had a bright future ahead.No matter where she went, she thought that she could become a manager. She meticulously applied her makeup, dressed in designer clothes and high heels, and walked into every company she could find.Unfortunately for her, reality gave her a brutal wake-up call.“I’m sor
He rushed over and looked at me pleadingly. “What happened before was all a misunderstanding! I’ve endlessly reprimanded Joy for it! Ninian… No, Miss Johnson, if you come back, you can be the vice president, and you can name any salary you want. You can even be the company president, and I can be the vice president! Miss Johnson, as long as you stay in the company, you can have it all!”The colleagues who had marginalized me with Joy in the past also changed their tune. “That’s right, Ninian! We can’t function without you in the department.”“I always knew that you were the best among us. Joy can’t possibly compare to you!”As I watched these fence-sitters scramble, I could not help but feel disgusted. “Mr. Wilson, I can’t come back,” I said, putting an end to the chatter. “But since we were once colleagues, let me give you a friendly reminder.” I walked to Joy’s laptop and, with familiar ease, opened a document before pointing at a row of data highlighted in red. “To catc
Joy’s face was red with rage, but she suppressed it. She said, “We worked overnight to get this proposal done, Miss York.”“And this is all you managed?” Melody said and sipped her coffee. She then frowned. “Not only did you fail to come up with a good proposal, but the coffee is also cold. Is this how you treat your guests?”The coffee had only turned cold because Melody arrived so late. Even so, Joy did not dare say that. If she did, it would be a direct hit at their source of income. “Also, what I wanted is the market estimate for the next five years. Why did you show me last year’s data? What’s this? A trip down memory lane?”For more than an hour, Melody insulted the proposal, the coffee, the data, and even Joy’s fashion sense. She practically criticized everything Joy was in charge of until nothing was left untouched. Joy’s expression soured even further as sweat beaded her forehead. In the past, I had been the one handling most of the work while Joy took credit by s
“Miss Johnson, please reconsider!”Mr. Wilson was still trying to get me to stay, but the moment we stepped through the entrance of the club, Henry grabbed my collar and stuffed me into the car. “This isn’t the way back. Where are you taking me?” As I stared at the unfamiliar scenery outside, I pressed my face against the car window and protested. While Henry turned the steering wheel, he cast a disdainful glance at my gown. With a dark face, he hissed, “Getting clothes for you! If Mom and Dad see you going home in this rag, they’re going to kill me!”Henry was truly proactive. Not only did he take me to the supermarket for a new set of clothes, but he also called my best friend, Melody York, over as his advisor on how to help me dress, just so he would not end up getting an earful from our parents.After throwing that low V-line gown into the trash, Melody compared two of the season’s latest styles on me. Once she heard of what I went through, she rolled her eyes so much th
Pindrop silence fell in the room. Joy lost grip of her wine glass, and it smashed on the floor. Her usually arrogant face went completely pale. “S-Sister? Mr. Xander, please don’t joke around!” She forced out a smile while she kept looking between Henry and me. “She’s a Johnson, and you’re a Xander. How could you be siblings? That’s ridiculous!”“I took my father’s last name, and she took my mother’s. Do you have a problem with that?” Henry said without even looking up. He coldly destroyed her last shred of hope. Then, he turned to me. When he spoke next, he sounded disappointed. “Seriously? You told them that you came from the mountains?”I blinked innocently as I stared at Henry. “Our summer home is located on the mountainside, and I’ve always stayed there. By all definitions, I’m from the mountains.”“You liar!” Joy shot to her feet, pointed at me, and yelled, “You did this on purpose, Ninian! You misled me!”“I misled you?” I chuckled and pushed her hand away. “Miss Cla







