Chapter 1 The Wrong Rich Kid

I stared at Natalie, half-expecting a hidden camera to pop out. Had I wandered into the wrong company, or was this some elaborate prank?

"Sorry, I just need to clarify one thing. This is the Lehmann Group, right?" I asked in bewilderment.

Natalie let out a mocking laugh. "Yes. Don't tell me you don't even know where you're at."

"Of course, I do. And that's not what the job posting for this position said." I met her gaze head-on. "You barely glanced at my resume, and you haven't asked me a single question relevant to the job. How can you reject me before we've even started?"

Someone nearby burst out laughing before she could answer.

"Seriously? You're arguing with HR? Man, you really are fresh out of college."

I turned toward the guy and spotted the resume on the table in front of him. His resume for Ashton Lehmann was placed right at the top with his name written in bold. There was nothing but a sea of white right beneath it.

He caught me looking and leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other. "What are you staring at? I've already passed the interview."

I turned back to Natalie. "His resume is blank. How did he pass when I didn't?"

He laughed again before she could respond.

"Here, let me make it clear for you." He tugged at his shirt. "See this? It's Chrome Hearts."

Then, he raised his wrist. "And this watch? It's an Audemars Piguet."

He smirked, waiting for my jaw to drop in awe.

It was actually really ironic because I could spot a fake from a mile away. His clothes screamed knockoff, and that watch? Bitch, please.

Surely someone working in HR at a big company like the Lehmann Group could spot a fake.

I glanced at Natalie, waiting for her to call him out on it. Instead, she gazed at Ashton like he was Prince Charming in a cheap suit.

I cleared my throat to get her attention.

She quickly turned back to me.

"When I say we only hire rich kids, I mean people who can bring useful connections and resources to the company," she explained, tapping my resume. "Your qualifications are impressive, but I'm afraid it's still a no."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I'd just been rejected by my own family's company.

The thought of my friends finding out and laughing at me was humiliating.

I was about to call my mother and ask what was going on with Natalie when my phone rang.

Speak of the devil. It was my mother herself.

"Nate! Congratulations on passing your interview!"

I frowned. "Wait, what? I passed?"

"Of course, you did! Natalie said she was very impressed with you. She even told me you two hit it off so well that you decided to start dating right there!"

My mother laughed, clearly delighted. "All right, enough playing dumb. Don't forget to show up for work tomorrow!"

She hung up before I could get a word in edgewise.

I stared at my phone, my mind reeling as I pieced the pieces together. Natalie had rejected me in person, but somehow she then told my mother that I'd aced the interview and that we were now dating.

Suddenly, it all clicked.

She thought Ashton was me.

I glanced over at him, and then at Natalie, who was still giving him her undivided attention.

Well, it seemed that things just got a whole lot more interesting.

A moment later, an official onboarding message appeared on my phone. I read through it and couldn't help but smile.

...

The next morning, I arrived at the office on time with the other new hires. Everyone was there… except for Ashton.

Natalie spotted me right away. Surprise flickered across her face, and then irritation as she stormed over.

"I don't know who pulled strings to get you in here, and frankly, I don't care," she snapped. "But people like you, who have no real skills and rely on connections to get ahead, should learn to keep their heads down and do their jobs."

Several of the other new hires turned to look at me, their expressions shifting from curiosity to disapproval.

I couldn't really blame them. Nobody liked the idea of working with someone who got hired through connections, brought nothing to the table, and expected everyone else to do their work while they loafed around.

I just smiled and bit my tongue. After all, there was no use arguing with someone who thought she had the whole world pegged.

She didn't give us any work to do, either. Apparently, we had to wait until everyone arrived before we could get started.

…

We waited an hour before Ashton finally strolled in, looking like punctuality was for mere mortals.

"My Rolls-Royce Cullinan is in the shop, so I had to take the Bentley today," he announced. "I'm not used to driving it yet, so I'm late. My bad."

He looked around at the rest of us before adding, "Then again, it's not like any of you know much about Bentleys. So, I won't bore you with the details."

He tossed out a casual "my bad," but his smug glance made it clear he didn't mean a word of it.

Natalie hurried over to greet him as though he'd done us all a favor by just showing up.

"Everyone, this is Ashton Lehmann," she announced. "He'll be your supervisor from now on. You've all been assigned to Marketing Team B."

Ashton's face lit up as if he'd just won the lottery. Clearly, he hadn't expected to be handed the reins so fast.

However, the other new hires weren't nearly as pleased.

"Seriously? Another nepo hire?" someone whispered in displeasure. "How is that fair?"

"Exactly. We're all interns. Why does he get to start above the rest of us?"

Just then, someone lowered their voice and muttered, "Don't you know who he is? He's actually…"