Chapter 2

Debra's words, heavy with concern, made me frown. "Our company actually has nepotism hires?"

"Of course it does. How else do you think someone who fails her performance review every single month gets to keep her job? It's all because Mr. Niles pulls strings for her."

Greg, who'd had his head down and been silently shoveling food into his mouth since the whole thing started, finally spoke up. The resentment from driving an extra 25 miles every day was practically radiating off him.

At the mention of Lawrence, everyone's eyes drifted toward me with pity. Penny reached over and patted my shoulder. "Just you wait. Mr. Niles is definitely calling you into his office today."

But I waited all afternoon, and the summons never came. It turned out every executive in the company had been pulled into a board meeting. Near the end of the day, Penny glanced over at Bethany's desk.

"You got so lucky. Let's get out of here the second we clock out. Don't give Bethany a chance to corner you."

The sheer relief on her face made me laugh. "Penny, you're way too stressed about this. I'll be fine. I haven't broken any company rules. Mr. Niles can't give me a hard time just because I asked Bethany to pay me back for a drumstick."

That said, I still left the office right on the dot, not because I was afraid of what Bethany might do, but because I had a doctor's appointment.

After getting the results, I couldn't help resting my hand on my stomach.

"The fetal heartbeat was normal, and the development is on track."

Before I even had a second to feel happy about it, my phone rang. It was my husband, Callan Garner.

"Honey, how'd it go? Are we having a baby?"

The eagerness in his voice wrapped me in this warm rush of happiness. Even though I knew he couldn't see me, I found myself nodding anyway. "The doctor says our baby is perfectly healthy."

"That's amazing! I'm going to be a dad!"

Ever since we'd found out from the pregnancy test last week, Callan had been counting down to today's appointment, but as luck would have it, he'd gotten pulled away on a business trip the day before.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there with you, and you had to go through this alone. But just two more days and I'll be home."

"Just focus on your work. I'm pregnant, not sick. I'll be fine."

After I hung up, my mind drifted to Bethany. We were both pregnant, but I really couldn't relate to the way she acted.

The moment I got home, my phone buzzed several times in a row. I opened it to find I'd been added to a new group chat.

"Shelby, you've been with us for two months now, and your probation review is coming up. I've assigned one of our best senior employees to mentor you. Make sure you learn from her."

"Don't worry, Mr. Niles! I'll take great care of Shelby!"

"I have full confidence in you."

Watching Bethany's eager replies in the group chat made my stomach turn. I screenshotted the conversation and sent it to Penny.

"Penny, our company doesn't actually have a mentorship program, right?"

"Never has!

"Plus, Bethany ranked lower than you on last month's review. What could she possibly teach you?

"This is definitely just an excuse Mr. Niles cooked up so she can get back at you!"

Before I could even reply, Bethany's name popped up on my screen. The second I picked up, she was already laying into me. "Shelby! What is your problem? Did you not see Mr. Niles' message in the group? Why haven't you responded?

"You don't even know basic workplace etiquette. Looks like I really do need to teach you a thing or two!"

It had been one minute. I didn't realize I was obligated to instantly respond to work messages when I was off the clock, but since she was technically my assigned supervisor now, the least I could do was show some basic respect.

"Sorry, Bethany. I just got back from the hospital and didn't get a chance to check my phone."

"Oh, the hospital? Are you trying to say I'm overworking you? You young people always use your health as an excuse. I'm this far along in my pregnancy, and I'm still working hard every single day!"

The passive-aggression was practically oozing out of the phone, and I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes. Working hard at mooching off her coworkers, maybe, but as tempting as it was to say that out loud, I held my tongue.

"You're misunderstanding. That's not what I meant."