Chapter 1

Anna Whitman's bizarre logic left me speechless, yet she didn't even bother pulling back her bed curtain.

Assuming this had to be some kind of joke, I knocked on her bed frame. "Anna, are you seriously pulling my leg?"

She sounded annoyed. "Why would I waste my time joking with you?"

A heavy knot tightened in my chest. "But I've been busting my butt for the past six months to earn this offer!"

"So what? I'm only giving you a heads-up out of the goodness of my heart," she said dismissively. "Don't be ungrateful. Be smart and go decline that email right now."

She sounded as if she were bestowing a grand blessing upon me.

"But you aren't even acquainted with Mikael! How could you two be dating?" I scowled, pushing back.

She finally pulled open her bed curtain, throwing me a look of pure disgust. "What era are you living in? Haven't you ever heard of speed dating or whirlwind romances? For someone in college, how are you such an uncultured dinosaur?"

She snapped the curtain shut again and rolled over. I gritted my teeth and sat back down at my desk with my head spinning.

She sounded composed, not like someone blabbering in her sleep, but her logic made zero sense to me.

Unable to hold it in, I called out loudly, "Anna, did you not wake up properly or something? Are you talking in your sleep?"

The curtain whipped open. "Megan, do you not understand English, or do you have some secret crush on my boyfriend?"

Before I could react, she sneered with condescending disdain. "All you know how to do is study like a drone and slave away at work every day. No boyfriend and no career prospects."

Anger flared straight into my brain. I stood up and glared at her. "And who's like you? Sitting there talking about stealing someone else's job through connections? I study hard. I work hard. I earn everything with a clear conscience!"

Before I could finish, she stormed out and slammed the door shut. My favorite song was playing in my headphones, but all desire to listen had evaporated.

I pulled out my phone and searched online.

[What to do if someone uses connections to steal your job offer?]

The comment section was overwhelmingly pessimistic.

[Nothing you can do, OP. Might as well find your own connection.]

[If it's not meant to be yours, it won't be.]

...

"Why is everyone just taking it lying down?"

I tried searching Whirlwind Romance and Speed Dating.

[Fast-food romance is so trendy right now!]

[Flash dating is honestly the most efficient way to date!]

...

I locked my phone screen, feeling as though I was the only sane person left on the planet.

Just then, my team lead, Mikael Brady, sent over pre-onboarding materials for me to review. I typed out a long reply, deleted it, and ended up with just a simple [Thanks!]

"Could this total workaholic really be into fast-track dating?" As I was pondering, Anna walked back in, holding an armful of expensive cosmetics.

She cast a sideways glance at me, mocking, "Looks to me like you're the one who hasn't woken up from her dream."

I ignored her, pulling my bed curtain shut and putting my headphones back on to sleep.

...

The next morning, I was woken up by the sound of Anna aggressively slamming drawers open and shut. Not long after, she walked out, caked in heavy makeup.

While brushing my teeth, I mindlessly scrolled through Instagram. Two photos on Anna's story immediately caught my eye.

In the first one, she was riding a carousel while Mikael stood a short distance away holding his phone, looking as though he were taking a picture of her.

In the second one, she held up an iced coffee while he stood at a pharmacy counter paying for medicine.

The caption read: [Having fun at the amusement park today when I suddenly felt under the weather. My boyfriend is so attentive!]