Chapter 2 All Show, No Money

Ashton cut Natalie off, saying, "We're all new here, aren't we? Shouldn't everyone just follow the company's arrangements?"

He turned to me, his lips curling into a smug grin. "Well, look at you. Managed to worm your way in, did you?"

Natalie slipped her arm through his. "He's just some nepo hire. You can make him do whatever you want. It's your team, babe. You're in charge."

Ashton grinned and wrapped an arm around her waist. "All right, then. You can be my assistant, nepo boy."

He wasted no time making my life miserable as soon as we got to our assigned desks.

"Hey, nepo boy. Copy all of these by hand, and I want them done by tomorrow, you hear me?"

He slammed a mountain of paperwork onto my desk. Soon, dozens of pages stared back at me. Heck, maybe even more than that.

I frowned. "Why can't we just print them? Copying everything by hand is a complete waste of time."

"Print them? What, you think paper and ink are free?" Ashton jabbed a finger against my forehead. "I'm your boss. When I tell you to do something, you do it. Got it?"

That was just the beginning.

"Hey, nepo boy! Sort these files!"

"Nepo boy! Get over here!"

He barked orders at me nonstop, barely letting me catch my breath, let alone sit down.

…

As lunch rolled by, the rest of us were heading to the company cafeteria when Natalie showed up.

"Ashton, want to grab lunch together?"

He scoffed. "I don't eat cafeteria food. My butler's bringing me lunch."

Then, he glanced at the rest of us like we were beneath him.

"A5 Wagyu sushi and foie gras imported from Bordelle, Francelle."

I had to bite back a laugh. I'd seen the takeout bag myself. All it contained was sushi and chicken pate. So, this was Ashton's idea of luxury.

Still, I couldn't resist asking, "Your butler?"

Ashton shot me a condescending look. "What, nepo boy? Don't tell me your family doesn't have a butler. Mine's named Sebastian."

"Sebastian?" one of my coworkers muttered. "Why does that sound so familiar?"

Natalie giggled. "Well, Ashton's family is in the top 0.1 percent. Even their butler is practically a celebrity. Of course, you've heard of him."

I ducked my head, fighting a grin.

Of course, Sebastian sounded familiar. It was the classic butler name, straight out of every cheesy novel.

...

That evening, Ashton announced he was taking the team out to dinner just as everyone was getting ready to clock out.

"It's our first day together, so let's have a proper team dinner. It'll give everyone a chance to get to know each other."

He even hinted that the chairman might stop by.

That perked me right up. I was curious how far Ashton would push his performance, so I made sure to tag along.

Ashton and Natalie took us to a Michelin-starred restaurant where a meal could easily cost around 3,000 dollars per person.

"Order whatever you want," he announced.

Everyone dove into their menus, their eyes shining with enthusiasm. I glanced at the prices, snapped mine shut, and slid it away. "I'm good. I won't be eating."

Ashton tapped his fingers against the table. "Come on, nepo boy. Don't be like that. Everyone else is ordering. What, you think you're too good to eat with us?"

"First of all, I have a name. It's Nate Lehmann." I met his gaze. "Second, I'm only here because you said the chairman might be coming. I wanted to meet him, not have dinner."

Ashton's expression changed as soon as I brought up the chairman. "Fine. If he doesn't want anything, leave him alone. Let's eat."

He turned his attention back to everyone else and ignored me for the rest of the meal, which was perfectly fine with me.

I nursed my glass of water while everyone else feasted.

…

The evening crawled by, and the chairman still hadn't shown up.

Eventually, I pressed, "Didn't you say the chairman was coming? What's taking him so long?"

Ashton's hand froze for a moment before replying, "You think you can just meet the chairman whenever you feel like it?"

Natalie quickly jumped in before I could poke the bear in faux fur, saying, "It's getting late, guys. We should head home and get some rest. We've got work tomorrow."

Just then, a server entered the private dining room with the bill. "Excuse me. Your total comes to 108,000 dollars. How would you like to pay?"

Every head at the table turned toward Ashton.

He swallowed hard before looking at Natalie. "Could you cover the bill for me? Just for now?"

She stared at him. "Huh? What?"

Clearly, she hadn't seen that coming.

"See, I had a fight with my dad," Ashton explained, putting on a helpless expression. "That's why he didn't come tonight. He even froze all my cards."

He let out a dramatic sigh. "I know I really should be the one paying since I organized this dinner, but considering the circumstances..."

He let his words hang, dumping the awkward silence right into Natalie's lap.

Then, as though the idea had only just occurred to him, he added, "Actually, since this is a team dinner, wouldn't it make more sense for everyone to split the bill?"

Natalie immediately backed him up. "Exactly! Just because Ashton's your supervisor doesn't mean he should have to pay for everyone. That wouldn't be fair, would it?"

Everyone looked ready to explode, but nobody dared to confront Ashton, not with him being their supervisor. So, they reluctantly forked over their share of the pay one after another.

When it was my turn, I pointed to the empty place setting in front of me. "I only had water."

Ashton's expression darkened. "Nate, I'm giving you a chance to get on my good side. Don't be stupid enough to turn it down."

He stared at me expectantly, obviously waiting for me to pay the same amount as everyone else.

I pulled out a crumpled 20 and flicked it onto the table. "That should cover the water."

Then, I got up and walked out.

…

By the time I got home, the anonymous post I'd seen before my interview had been updated.

"Update! The CEO's son took us to a Michelin-starred restaurant, and then he asked me to lend him money. Could he actually be a fake rich kid?"

The comments were already pouring in.

"Sounds like a spoiled trust-fund baby who's never earned a dime in his life!"

"Exactly. Only useless rich kids get their cards frozen when Daddy gets mad."

I stared at the screen; every detail practically screamed that the poster was at our dinner. They even got the frozen card part right.

I couldn't help but wonder whether Natalie was behind that account.

Honestly, it would explain a lot if she were. It looked like I'd have to find a way to test my theory.

...

The next morning, I arrived at work and immediately sensed that something was off.

The entire department's vibe felt different.