Chapter 3

After that incident, Sadie didn't bring up the snack money again when she showed up at work the next day.

The expired snacks had exposed her true nature to everyone, so one wanted to be around her anymore. Whenever she appeared, my coworkers would scatter as if she were contagious.

If her desk hadn't been right next to mine, I wouldn't have wanted anything to do with her either. The farther she kept her distance, the better for all of us.

Meanwhile, Ian had been on an IV drip all night after the incident. It took him two more days off before he finally forced himself back to the office.

To my surprise, he didn't blame Sadie, the very person responsible for it all. Instead, he comforted her. "I know you meant well. Let's just move past this. From now on, focus on your work."

With that, he assigned our team a new project.

In a few days, a potential client would be visiting to discuss a partnership. We needed to revise the proposal carefully.

This was a major deal. If we pulled it off, the whole team stood to earn a generous bonus. Once we accepted the task, everyone jumped in with full force.

Sadie was the only exception. She had instead spent a majority of her time stealing glances at Mason through her home surveillance cameras. Time and again, she would disappear into the restroom to slack off.

I had already anticipated this. In my past life, Sadie often vanished without warning. She repeatedly claimed that Mason was crying and that she had to be there for him.

At that time, I gently urged her to consider whether it was feasible for her to work if she couldn't be apart from her son.

However, Sadie fired back, accusing me of discriminating against mothers. She even went so far as to curse that I'd never have children of my own.

While everyone else was swamped with work, Sadie was the only one taking it easy. A few coworkers had come up to me, requesting that I say something to her.

But rather than joining in the criticism, I ended up defending her. "Sadie is still settling in and getting familiar with things. I'll take on her tasks too. We're all on the same team. Let's be patient with her."

My coworkers were livid. Their frustration with Sadie grew even more when she put Mason on speakerphone again during working hours.

This time, someone finally snapped. "I honestly can't tell if some people are here to work or to just kill time. When I have a kid, I'm looking for a job where I get treated like royalty too. It must be nice getting paid to do nothing."

Sadie shot back with a glare. "My son misses me. What's wrong with calling him? He's still very young. Can't any of you show a little sympathy?"

"Well, he's not my kid, so why should I care? You don't do any real work. Instead, you're just glued to your phone all day. If that's your thing, why bother coming to the office? Just stay home and look at your phone."

Sensing tension escalating, I quickly stepped in before things spiraled out of control. "Alright, that's enough. Everyone else is still trying to work here. Sadie, here's the deal. The clients will be arriving in a few days.

"You'll be in charge of hosting them, so please ensure that the drinks and snacks are prepared. Also, remember to keep all receipts and submit them to the Finance Department for reimbursement."

It was a straightforward task, and Sadie immediately took it on. Using "a supply run" as an excuse, she quickly stepped out of the office.

One of my coworkers shot me a look of disbelief. "Come on, Ms. Shepherd, you're being too lenient with her. How can you trust her to handle the purchasing?"

I just smiled and said, "Don't let Sadie get under your skin. How about I treat everyone to coffee? You've all been working hard these past few days. Just clock out on time. I'll manage the rest."

Sadie would probably attempt to pocket some extras during the supply run. However, I was certain her stinginess would cause her to mess it up.