Chapter 1

Our company just landed a massive account, and management wanted to throw a grand celebration banquet. I managed to pull some strings and booked a five-star hotel at an exclusive insider rate of $1,888 per table.

Out of nowhere, the new intern, Piper, pulled out her phone and spoke up:

"Chloe, I just found a place on Yelp that only charges $888 per table, and it has an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet."

"We’re all teammates here. There's really no need to pocket kickbacks off your own coworkers."

The entire office went dead silent for a second before the whispers began.

"Wow, don’t be so greedy off your own teammates. Does she really need to skim cash off us?"

"Right? I never thought she was that kind of person."

Our manager, David, made the call right on the spot: "Chloe, what you did wasn't cool. Let’s hand the banquet arrangements over to Piper."

I didn’t say a single word. I simply turned around and sat back down at my desk.

If they were this desperate to cut corners, I could only wish them an unforgettable night.

I stared at my computer screen, my fingers clacking rapidly against the keyboard.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Piper standing right beside David's desk, her young face practically glowing with smug triumph.

She tapped through her phone, her voice pitched just loud enough for the entire open-plan office to hear.

"Mr. Miller, I've already locked it down. The owner said they’ll hold three private tables for us at $888 each. Everyone gets half a Boston lobster, plus unlimited fresh oysters and sashimi."

David smiled so wide his eyes crinkled into slits. "Piper, you really know how to get things done."

"It's just what I should do," Piper replied, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness. "I’m just looking out for the company. Times have been tough recently, so we should save wherever we can."

She delivered that line beautifully, managing to step on my throat while taking the moral high ground.

The corner of my mouth twitched into a faint smirk. I didn’t look up.

Among the thirty-odd people in our department, Megan—who had always held a grudge against me—was already leaning in.

"Piper, do you have the link to that place? Let me see."

"Of course, Megan! I’ll drop it in the WhatsApp group right now."

My phone buzzed as the group notification popped up.

Piper had posted a long roll of menu screenshots. Bright red Boston lobsters, lavishly arranged sashimi platters—it definitely looked appetizing on a screen.

The team chat exploded instantly.

"This is an insane deal!"

"$1,888 at a hotel versus $888 for all-you-can-eat seafood? Only an idiot would pick the expensive one."

"It really pays to shop around."

"Honestly, Chloe was totally out of line this time."

I glanced at the screen and laid my phone face down.

Jenny, who sat across from me, stole a cautious look in my direction, looking like she wanted to say something.

When our eyes met, she quickly looked away and pretended to type.

Jenny was the only person in the department I was on decent terms with. We grabbed lunch together on weekdays and occasionally hung out on weekends.

Under these circumstances, though, she didn't dare speak up for me.

Anyone with eyes could see that Piper had arrived with an agenda.

The intern had only joined three months ago, allegedly as a distant relative of David’s.

Since day one, she had been energetic and overly sweet, flattering everyone she met. Within weeks, she had wrapped the whole department around her finger.

Meanwhile, there was me, Chloe. I had been at the company for three years, consistently ranking in the top three for sales performance, but I wasn't the mingling type.

I hated forced team-building, skipped after-work drinks, and never posted stupid memes in the team chats.

In my colleagues' eyes, I was cold and aloof.

So when Piper tossed out that $888 seafood package, virtually everyone turned on me without a second thought.

David walked over to my desk and dropped a reservation slip in front of me. "Chloe, go ahead and cancel that five-star hotel booking this afternoon and get the deposit back."

I didn’t touch it. "David, I put down a non-refundable $500 deposit three days ago to secure that rate. If we back out now, we’ll forfeit half of it."

"Then forfeit half. The company will cover the loss."