Chapter 3

Mona texted me.

She sent me a long message. Every word she typed dripped with warning and condescension.

She wrote, "Since you insisted on contacting me, I'll make myself clear. First, don't contact me outside of work. I'm not interested in you. Second, please don't use your position to harass me in any way. It's causing me a lot of trouble.

"I already have a boyfriend, and we're very happy together. You're my senior. I hope you have a good sense of boundaries."

I read her self-righteous wall of text and couldn't help laughing in disbelief.

I didn't bother replying a single word. She was someone who lived in her own fantasy world. Sending even one punctuation mark in response would have been an insult to myself.

I placed my phone on the desk, leaned back in my chair, and closed my eyes. I wanted to see how long she planned to keep this little act going.

At 2:50 pm that afternoon, I gathered my materials and walked toward the conference room in Block A with Hannah and Oliver.

Hannah looked apologetic as she explained, "Cameron, I'm really sorry. I had no idea Mona would be so immature and cause you so much trouble. An old classmate of mine insisted on putting her on the team. He kept telling me how talented and creative she was.

"I didn't realize she'd be so unreasonable. I should have looked into her more carefully. I'll replace her later."

I shook my head and said, "This isn't your fault, Professor Fowler. I agreed to take her on myself. Let's have the meeting first and see how things go."

We were still more than 30 feet from the conference room when we heard bursts of barely suppressed laughter coming from inside.

It was Mona's voice, and she sounded smug.

"I'm telling you, Cameron is a coward. I completely destroyed him in the group chat last night. He hasn't said a word today. He's obviously feeling diffident. He thought being the vice president of the student council made him such a big deal. My boyfriend could beat him with one finger!"

Another girl chimed in, "Mon, is your boyfriend really that impressive?"

Mona's voice rose several pitches, and it was overflowing with pride. "Of course! My boyfriend's name is Louis Harmon. He's a college senior, and he's already gotten an internship offer from Drakos Group. You guys know Drakos Group, right? They're the sponsor of this competition and the best tech company in our country.

"He said that once his internship is over, he'll definitely get a full-time position. He'll be a project supervisor making at least a few hundred thousand dollars a year. Once Louis gets hired full-time, I can do whatever I want on this campus. Who'd dare mess with me?

"Even that lousy student council president will have to bow and scrape whenever he sees me!"

Another student gazed at her with envious eyes. "Wow, so you'll be the CEO's wife someday."

Mona laughed animatedly, looking extremely pleased. "The CEO's wife? No, Louis says he'll definitely become a project manager within three years and a director within five. He's incredibly capable and handsome. Girls throw themselves at him, trying to get his attention, but he only has eyes for me."

The conference room door wasn't fully closed, so a narrow gap remained. Every single one of her outrageous words came through loud and clear.

Hannah's face flushed and paled before finally turning ashen and grim. She clenched her fists and quickened her pace, ready to storm inside.

I reached out and stopped her.