Chapter 1

The moment I arrived at the store, Vivian, the new intern, followed me to the break room.

“Whoa, Lily, you bought a plane ticket? Taking another vacation?” she asked me. “It’s Valentine’s Day, and you’re buying a ticket. You’ve got a romantic getaway planned with your partner tomorrow?”

Her question caught me off guard, because it was true that I had booked a plane ticket for my husband, Henry Ambrose, this very morning.

Without thinking, I blurted out, “Yeah, I did buy one. How did you know that?”

She looked smug as she said, “Well, you linked your JouleBug account to our corporate wellness app. Your carbon tracker shows you saved half a pound today. That only happens when you skip an airplane meal.”

After saying that, she touched up her makeup and left the break room before I could even respond.

I felt a chill run down my spine. What was wrong with Vivian? Frowning, I opened the corporate wellness app and immediately blocked her account. This was not the first time that something like that happened. The more I thought about it, the more irritated I became.

Half a month ago, I bought a new car and ordered a car air freshener on Amazon. That same day, we were working the same shift. After work, she appeared in the mall parking lot to ambush me.

“Hey! I just found out you bought a new car!” she called out proudly.

“I saw that your Amazon wish list was updated with an air freshener, so I pieced it together. Since we’re heading the same way, can you give me a ride home?”

Out of consideration for our coworker relationship, I ended up driving her home that day. It added over six miles to my trip, and I was stuck on the elevated highway for nearly an hour before finally getting home.

After that incident, I made all my social media private. I even went as far as putting her on my Restricted List on Instagram.

I shook my head and texted Henry to vent.

Today was Valentine’s Day, and business was great.

I had been ringing up orders since my shift started. Many of them came from friends in my social circle or partners from Henry’s company who specifically requested me. By the time it was almost closing time, my sales had already approached a million dollars.

Vivian, on the other hand, watched customer after customer walk out of her appointments without buying anything. Her performance was dismal.

After helping another customer with a purchase worth over a hundred thousand dollars, I headed back to the break room for a quick rest. I turned around and saw Vivian clutching a newly arrived limited-edition silk scarf. The way she gripped it looked like she wanted to tear it to shreds.

She shot me a jealous look and hissed through gritted teeth, “You’re so lucky, Lily! You literally just made your monthly quota in one day.”

I just laughed it off and said nothing.

Just as it was her turn to serve a walk-in customer, Henry walked through the door.

“I’m here for Lily.”

The other colleagues in the store were used to this. It was common for clients to have a preferred sales associate. I had never shared anything personal about myself at work. No one even knew I was married, let alone that Henry was a big shot at a domestic scientific research firm.

Naturally, they did not recognize him.

Their ignorance would soon reveal to me how toxic a workplace could be.

“Lily, it’s my turn to serve a customer. You’ve already hit your sales target for today; why not let me have this client?” She grabbed my wrist tightly as she spoke with a sickly sweet tone.

I frowned and withdrew my hand. Bright red welts marked my wrist where her nails had dug in, with some nearly breaking the surface.

“Vivian, if you want to talk, just talk. Keep your hands to yourself.”

She shrugged it off with a dismissive scoff. “Oh, please. Who knew you’d be this delicate? I barely touched you. Just let me take this client, Lily.”

I stared at her coldly and replied, “No.”

Seeing that I was upset, Henry simply used his VIC card to get me straight into the VIP consultation room.