Chapter 2

A large man with a protruding belly and dark circles under his eyes stepped out of the crowd.

I glanced at the name tag on his chest: [Publicity Department, Jeremy Brooks]

"So you're Jeremy Brooks. Perfect timing. Go explain things to your wife." My tone was cold.

Once this was over, I'd make sure the head of the Publicity Department had a serious talk with him.

But Jeremy looked at me, then suddenly shifted his gaze. He stepped forward and grabbed my hand. "Come on, Penelope. Just apologize!"

I froze.

When I looked up, I caught a sly glint in Jeremy's eyes. "You're a new intern too, right? Take the fall for Penelope, and I'll make sure you get a permanent position later."

As soon as I heard Jeremy whisper in my ear, I understood everything.

As a team leader, he'd never met me before. Since he didn't recognize me and I was wearing the company uniform, he'd assumed I was a new intern. He wanted to use me as a scapegoat to appease his wife and protect Penelope!

Kylie looked as though she'd finally found someone to back her up. "What are you waiting for? My husband told you to apologize to me!"

She rested an arm on her husband's bulging belly and pointed a finger at me. "My husband may be handsome and charming, but that doesn't give you the right to get any funny ideas about him!

"Get on your knees and let me slap you. Then return the necklace around your neck, and I'll let this go!"

I let out a cold laugh. "Sorry, I avoid eating pork."

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asked.

"I detest pigs," I replied.

Kylie looked utterly confused. A few seconds later, she finally caught on and shrieked, "Are you calling my husband a pig?!"

The onlookers burst into laughter.

Jeremy's face darkened as he pulled his shrieking wife behind him. He then frowned at me. "Penelope, I know you're just bitter because I rejected you."

"Stop!" I cut him off. "First, my name isn't Penelope. Second, I never tried to seduce you."

Unexpectedly, he suddenly grinned sinisterly. "You're still denying it?"

Before I could react, he whipped out his phone and held it up for everyone to see. "Look, everyone! These are all the flirty texts she sent me! She kept asking me to meet her at hotels in the middle of the night! And look at these indecent photos!"

The crowd gasped. Several people turned to look at me with lecherous eyes, as though they wanted to rip my clothes off.

"Holy crap! Those really are that kind of pictures!"

"She looks so prim and proper in her business suit. Who knew she had such a great body underneath?"

"If he doesn't want you, why not give me a chance?"

"Shameless! Seducing a married man!"

"You filthy homewrecker! Beat her to death!"

The crowd closed in around me. Some looked eager to throw the first punch, while others were so outraged that they seemed ready to drown me in their spit.

Jeremy stood behind them, wiped away imaginary tears, and continued to fan the flames. "I wanted to let this whole thing go, but she threatened to report me for workplace harassment if I didn't go to a hotel with her!

"Our boss thinks very highly of me and is about to promote me. I can't afford to have something like this happen at such a crucial moment..."

Our boss? He'd actually dragged me into his lies!

"Promote you?" I let out a cold laugh. "No. I'm firing you!"

Jeremy flinched at my commanding tone. Something about the way I spoke seemed strangely familiar to him.

Before he could give it any more thought, Kylie charged at me like a madwoman. "You shameless bitch! How dare you curse my husband?!"

She raised her chubby right hand and swung it toward my face.

Naturally, I wasn't going to stand there and let her hit me.

I sidestepped at the last second. Her slap missed, and the momentum sent her pitching forward.

She hit the ground with a loud thud. "My back! My leg! It hurts so much!"

She lay sprawled on the ground and wailed at the top of her lungs, "The homewrecker is attacking! She's trying to kill me!"

Jeremy immediately rushed over to help her up, but her weight made it impossible for him to lift her. He had no choice but to crouch beside her, his face full of distress. "Honey! Honey, are you okay?!"

Then he whipped his head around and glared viciously at me. "You did this to my wife! You're going to pay!

"Medical expenses! Recovery expenses! Emotional distress damages! You're paying every last cent!

"My wife and I have been trying to conceive, too. Who knows if you've caused us to lose our baby?!"

The crowd erupted.

"She's out of control! A homewrecker who actually dares to fight back?"

"Shameless trash like her should just stand there and take it!"

"Call the police! Have them arrest this bitch!"

"That's right! Call the police!"

Some people even started tugging at the security guards stationed at the entrance.

"Get over here! Tie this woman up!"

"Let's all drag her down to the police station!"

Before long, two security guards had been pulled into the crowd.

"Hey, guys, it's her. Don't let her pretty face fool you! She's a shameless piece of trash!"

The two young guards exchanged uncertain glances.

I usually took the elevator straight to the top floor from the underground parking garage, so they'd never seen me before.

Still, the sheer authority I exuded made them hesitate to lay a hand on me.

"What are you waiting for? Even if you don't recognize her, surely you recognize me!" Jeremy shouted and tugged at the name tag on his chest.

"I'm the team leader of the Publicity Department! This woman is just some useless intern, and you're already scared of her? How can you do your jobs if you're this timid? I'll report you to the boss tomorrow and get you both fired!" he threatened them.

Faced with the threat of losing their jobs, the guards felt they had no choice but to comply. They reluctantly approached me. "Miss, please cooperate with us voluntarily..."

I stepped away from the guard's outstretched hand, my eyes cold. "I'm the boss. Who exactly are you planning to report me to?"