Chapter 1

Just as I finished retrieving and organizing the flyers, my phone rang. It was the manager, Javier Davis.

"Christine! Where the hell are you?" he snapped. "Once you finish handing off those flyers, get your ass back in here. Don't you dare hide outside slacking off!"

"Sir, there was a little incident, so I haven't finished the task yet," I said frankly, trying to explain what had happened.

But he cut me off before I could get another word in. "I don't give a damn about your excuses. It's just 500 flyers, and you still haven't done it. What are you good at? I'm docking half your pay today."

Before summer break started, my parents and I had agreed that I would work at our family's hotel every vacation to get familiar with the business.

Once I graduated, they planned to hand over the entire business to me. On top of that, they promised that if I stuck it out through this summer, they'd double my allowance when the new semester began.

Thinking about my empty bank account, I swallowed my pride and kept quiet.

"Fine," Javier sighed. "Forget about the flyers. We have some important guests in the house, so get back here and help out."

Before I could respond, he slammed the phone down.

I hurried back inside. The second I stepped into the lobby, Javier handed me a heavy food tray.

"Hurry up!" he barked. "Take this to the Lotus Suite. Don't keep the guests waiting."

He shoved the tray into my hands, his voice dripping with impatience. "Hey, you over there. Don't go in there. All the dishes for the Lotus Suite are going to be served by Christine."

He glared at me, as if I had robbed him of an opportunity. "Listen! The guests are crucial. If they hadn't specifically requested your service, I'd be delivering the food myself."

I caught my breath and balanced the tray before walking toward the suite.

Curiosity gnawed at me. "What kind of important guests could be in there to make the manager so nervous? Did my parents show up unannounced?"

When I pushed open the double doors of the Lotus Suite, I was stunned. Sitting in the room were none other than Jessica Dixon and her friends.

How could they be considered VIPs?

It wasn't that I looked down on them, but my parents had just reviewed our high-profile corporate accounts with me. Jessica and her people weren't even on the list.

I steadied myself and smoothly served the dish onto the table. The classmates sitting around the table looked at me with mixed expressions of amusement and awkwardness.

Finally, Matt Reynolds, our class president, broke the silence. "Hey, we are classmates after all. Why don't you sit down and grab a bite with us, Christine?"

He shot a nervous glance behind me. I turned around, only to realize Jessica had snuck up right behind me at some point.

"Gosh! Are you blind? You almost stepped on me!" she shrieked, startling me.

"You crept up right behind me without making a sound," I shot back, unfazed. "I don't have eyes in the back of my head, so how was I supposed to see you? Besides, I'm a good three feet away from you. What are you screaming about?"

Not expecting me to talk back, Jessica turned livid. "Screaming? Open your damn eyes and look! These are designer heels that cost $18,000 a pair. If you scuff them, can you even afford to pay me back?"

Her sidekick, Tiffany Scott, jumped in. "Pay for them? Look at the pathetic way she's dressed. She probably doesn't even know what high fashion is.

"Christine, with your low wage, you'd have to work half a year without eating or drinking just to buy those shoes. If you know what's good for you, apologize to Jessica and foot the bill for our dinner. Otherwise, you'll pay a heavier price."

The rest of our classmates, eager to watch the drama unfold, chimed in one after another.

"Yeah, Christine. You haven't come to a single party in the past two years, and you even left the class group chat. We'll give you a chance to make up. Cover the check, and we'll let it slide."