Chapter 1

"You heard what Ms. Sanford said, didn't you?" Owen Pearson sneered, his face flushed with triumph.

"She specifically asked me to clean up any corruption in this company. You want to embezzle public funds? In your dreams!"

I didn't bother arguing with him. I turned on my heel, ready to leave.

But Owen lunged forward and grabbed my wrist. His eyes flared with pure greed as he stared at my watch.

"You think you can just walk out without handing everything over? How could a guy like you afford a watch this expensive? You probably bought it with the lottery winnings from your business trip. Hand it over!"

Controlling my rising anger, I said, "This watch was a gift from someone. It has absolutely nothing to do with any business trip or lottery."

Owen rolled his eyes dramatically. "Bullshit! More like a little bonus for sleeping with some sugar mommy on your trip!

"Man, you really go all out. I wondered why you were flying all over the country. Turns out you've got business everywhere, selling yourself like a manwhore!"

Around us, our colleagues began whispering among themselves.

"No wonder Toby always comes back from his trips claiming he won the lottery. Turns out it wasn't a lottery at all. It was just payment for his service!"

A sly glint danced in Owen's eyes. "Well? Are you going to tell us you got this from sleeping with a wrinkled old hag, or are you sticking to the lottery story?"

Seeing the dangerous look on my face, one of the coworkers tried to play peacemaker. "Toby, just say you bought it with the lottery winnings. It's just a watch. It's not worth ruining your reputation over."

"Yeah, exactly! Just hand it over to the company and move on. Be more careful next time."

A surge of fury rushed straight to my brain. I raised a finger and pointed at one of them at a time. "The shoes you're wearing were bought during our business trip in December.

"And you bought a gaming console while you were on a business trip last month."

Finally, I locked eyes with Kobe Buckner, the one who had been laughing the loudest.

"And you. Weren't you just bragging about how your wife got pregnant after visiting you just once while you were away on a business trip? By your logic, should all of those things be handed over to the company too?"

The room fell dead silent.

I stepped right up to Owen. "If none of them have to hand over their things, what makes you think you can demand mine?"

Feeling his pride wounded, Owen snatched the watch from my wrist and slammed it violently onto the floor. The glass and gears shattered instantly.

"Oops! I tried to give it back to you, but your reflexes are just too slow!"

Having had enough of his garbage, I pulled out my phone to call the police.

But someone yanked it right out of my hand and threw it against the floor. "Enough! How long are you going to keep making a scene?"

Macy Sanford stepped forward, her face grim as she intervened. "Toby Burton, I'm warning you, don't push your luck. How dare you threaten your colleagues with the police? Apologize to Owen. Now!"

Owen instantly dropped his smug attitude, twisting his face into a mask of faux remorse. "Toby, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. Let me pay you back for it."

Macy shielded Owen behind her back, murmuring soft words of comfort to him.

But when she spun around to face me, her eyes held nothing but raw disgust. "It's just a watch! Stop making a mountain out of a molehill!"

I took a deep breath to force the storm of emotions back down into my chest.

"That was an anniversary gift from my fiancee."

Only then did Macy glance down at the mangled heap of metal and glass on the floor. She froze slightly.

I let out a chuckle. "But you're right. It's just a watch. It doesn't matter. I've already decided to break up with her anyway."