Chapter 2

Todd glanced at me, and a smug smile tugged at his lips.

"Not much," he said lightly. "Just a few hundred thousand."

A chorus of sharp gasps went up around us.

To working stiffs like us, earning just over ten thousand dollars a month, a few hundred thousand was an astronomical sum.

But I noticed that ever since Todd walked in, his gaze kept drifting toward me, as if by accident. It was like he was watching a lab rat to see how it would react. He wanted to know whether I'd figured out that my bank card was now worthless.

I held back the hatred churning inside me and swallowed the questions on the tip of my tongue. I couldn't tip him off yet.

I stood up and forced a perfectly measured smile, even letting a hint of envy show, "Congrats, Todd! Let some of that luck rub off on me."

When Todd saw I was acting normal, surprise flashed in his eyes. Then he let out a quiet, guilty sigh of relief. He probably thought I still hadn't noticed anything wrong with my savings.

Close to lunchtime, Chester Richmond, who sat next to me, suddenly leaned over, "Drew, didn't you say you'd go look at houses as soon as you saved up enough for the down payment? When are you going? I'll come with you."

At the mention of the house, I clenched my fists so hard my nails nearly dug into my palms. But I quickly relaxed them, and my face stayed perfectly calm.

"There's no rush," I said.

"I lost my ID a couple of days ago, and it'll take time to get a replacement. Besides, housing prices are dropping so fast right now. I'll wait and see a little longer."

No sooner had I finished than I felt someone's gaze land on me again. It was Todd. He was watching me again, a glint of poorly hidden glee in his eyes.

Todd was an intern who had joined the company only two months ago. He stood five foot seven, weighed nearly two hundred pounds, had a plain face, and ranked dead last in sales. In our sales department, where looks and numbers were everything, he should have been at the very bottom of the food chain.

But in my last life, Todd had stolen my five hundred thousand dollars and got full-body liposuction, then plastic surgery. Just like that, he transformed into a rich, handsome guy everyone adored.

Todd had also used my money to buy people's loyalty. He teamed up with a few female coworkers and personally had me committed to a psychiatric hospital on the grounds that I was "mentally unstable."

Remembering those two years of torment in the psychiatric hospital, I took another deep breath to calm myself.

At noon, Todd took us to eat at the Newbury Hotel and grandly told us to order whatever we liked.

I didn't hold back. I opened the menu and pointed straight at the most expensive pages, "King crab, the biggest one you've got.

"Lobster tartare.

"And this, the French foie gras.

"Let's add a serving of caviar too."

With every dish I ordered, my coworkers' expressions grew more and more interesting.

Chester tugged at my sleeve and whispered, "Drew, isn't this... a bit wasteful?"

I smiled at him and said nothing. How could spending my own money be a waste?

Todd's cheek twitched, but in front of everyone, he had no choice but to keep up a strained smile, "It's fine. Drew is our top salesman. He's worked so hard, so he should eat up and recharge. He deserves it."

He beamed. "From now on, he'll eat more and work harder to bring in even more sales for our department!"

Before I could say a word, a coworker beside me chimed in, "Oh, Todd, you weren't here this morning, so you don't know. Drew just told Gracie he's not taking any new orders for the next month."

The air went silent at once.

I unhurriedly dabbed the corners of my mouth with my napkin and looked up at Todd.

Inch by inch, the smile on his face froze.

"What did you say?"

He stared daggers at me, his voice shrill. "Drew, why are you pausing your orders? What are you playing at?"