Chapter 2

The moment I walked into the office the next morning, the atmosphere felt incredibly off.

Whenever my co-workers saw me, they either looked down quickly or walked the long way around. Whispers followed me like shadows.

As soon as I stepped into my office, my assistant, Becca, followed me inside, her face written with worry.

"Audrey, are you okay?" she asked cautiously. "The rumors out there... they're getting really nasty."

"What are they saying?" I didn't even look up as I booted up my laptop.

"They're... they're saying you used your position to force Chloe into..." Becca couldn't finish the sentence, her face flushing red.

"Force her into what?" I looked up at her.

"Force her... to let her husband sleep with you in exchange for her permanent contract recommendation." Becca squeezed her eyes shut and blurted it out.

I laughed out of sheer anger.

With that kind of imagination, these people should be writing romance novels instead of working here.

"I got it. You can go," I said, waving my hand.

Becca opened her mouth as if to say something else, but ultimately sighed and walked out, closing the door behind her.

The rumors were spreading much faster and more maliciously than I had anticipated.

I could easily picture Chloe's tear-stained, pitiful face as she exaggerated the story to anyone who would listen.

At lunch, I went down to the cafeteria. Almost every eye in the room locked onto me.

The moment I sat down, Chloe appeared, holding her lunch tray. She walked straight toward me.

Her eyes were red and swollen like a frightened rabbit. She sat directly across from me, looking at me timidly.

I sneered inwardly. She wanted to play the 'bullied victim' in front of everyone again.

"Audrey," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

I ignored her, continuing to eat my lunch.

"Audrey, I'm sorry," she said again, tears beginning to well up.

"Yesterday was my fault. I shouldn't have talked behind your back."

"Please forgive me just this once. I really can't lose this job."

As she spoke, she kept darting glances around us.

Every ear in the cafeteria was practically pressed in our direction.

I set my forks down, looked up, and quietly watched her performance.

"You weren't just talking behind my back," I said calmly. "You were just saying what you truly thought of me."

Chloe froze, clearly not expecting this reaction.

"No, that's not true!" she quickly defended herself. "I was just confused and scared! I was terrified you were going to take my husband away!"

She didn't speak loudly, but it was clear enough for the neighboring tables to hear every word.

Gasps and hushed whispers immediately broke out around us.

"See? She's terrified. It must be true."

"Why is Director Miller eyeing a junior employee's husband when she's so successful?"

"Poor Chloe. Her boss is literally trying to steal her husband."

Looking at Chloe's "innocent" and "wronged" face, I suddenly felt incredibly disgusted.

I picked up my tray and stood up.

"Chloe, I'll say this one last time," I said, looking down at her.

"I have absolutely zero interest in you or your husband. Keep your distance from me."

With that, I turned and walked away, leaving her and the whispering cafeteria behind.

That afternoon, I called Chloe into my office.

"This is your permanent contract recommendation," I said, sliding a document toward her. "HR rejected it."

Chloe's face went paper-white instantly.

"Why?" she shrieked.

"I work so hard! You even said my performance was great!"

"Your work capability is fine," I said, leaning back in my chair.

"But this company values integrity and honesty as core principles."

"You publicly fabricated rumors and slandered your superior, which is a severe violation of the employee code of conduct."

"I provided the evidence to HR. They unanimously agreed that you do not meet the company's standards."

"Just because I talked a little trash behind your back?" She stood up, highly agitated. "You're abusing your power for a personal grudge!"

"It wasn't just 'talking trash,'" I corrected her.

"It was slander. I simply handed the facts and evidence over to HR. They made the final call."

"Personal grudge?" I smiled.

"Chloe, did you forget? I was the one who wrote your performance review."

"If I really wanted to get rid of you out of spite, all I had to do was write 'unsatisfactory' on the review. You wouldn't even have had a chance to argue."

She stunned.

"I actually graded you as 'excellent,'" I said, locking eyes with her.

"I gave you a chance. You threw it away yourself."

Chloe's lips trembled. She couldn't understand.

"Why?" she mumbled.

"Because I wanted to see just how rotten the conscience of someone who received so much grace from me could get," I said, my voice turning icy. "And you didn't disappoint."

Chloe's body swayed as if all the strength had been sucked out of her.

"Audrey, I was wrong! I was really wrong!" She suddenly lunged forward, trying to grab my hand, but I dodged her.

She collapsed to her knees in front of my desk, sobbing hysterics:

"Please give me another chance!"

"My son still needs money for his treatment! I can't lose this job! I beg you!"

She actually started bowing her head to the floor, over and over, her forehead hitting the carpeted floor with a muffled thud.

I watched her quietly, feeling absolutely nothing.

If you knew this day would come, why did you do it in the first place?

"Begging me is useless," I said. "Go beg the HR Director."

She looked up, her face covered in tears, but her eyes were filled with pure venom and resentment.

I knew she hated me.

She hated me for not playing the victim quietly. She hated me for not letting her smear my name. She hated me for ruining her future.

She scrambled up from the floor, wiped her tears, and glared at me with a dark, vicious look I had never seen before.

"Audrey Miller, you just wait," she spat through gritted teeth. "You'll regret this."

She turned and slammed the door shut behind her.

I picked up my phone and sent a message to Harrison on WhatsApp.

"Harrison, please pull the hallway camera footage outside my office door from today around 3:15 PM."

"Got it, Audrey."

I paused, then typed another message:

"Also, from today on, make sure all cameras in the lobby and common areas are fully functional. I might need them at any moment."

"Understood, Audrey."

I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes.

Chloe, this is only the beginning.

Everything you owe me, I am going to get back. With interest.