Chapter 3
So Greyson was using my name to pull tricks, likely planning to pin the blame on me if anything went wrong. I made a swift decision: “You’re fired. HR will discuss your severance. Pack up and leave.” He stared at me in disbelief, wanting to argue, but finally left, disgruntled. The room fell silent as everyone took in my anger.
“There’s only one supervisor in Procurement. If anyone is dissatisfied, they’re welcome to join John.” I left the room after this, and not a single person resigned.
Since John’s firing, the Procurement Department has been much more orderly. But there were still a few troublemakers, namely Molly and a few of her close female colleagues.
Once, I overheard Molly in the restroom by the sinks with another woman, saying, “Who knows how she got here–probably slept her way up.” When they saw me come out, they fell silent, watching me leave the restroom. It was clear they were implying I’d used connections with a man to get promoted.
2
Whenever I passed by Molly, I could feel her resentful gaze trailing me. Lately, Greyson had been showering me with attention, likely ignoring her in the process. No wonder she hated
- me.
mine up,
Molly was responsible for ordering afternoon tea for the department. When I went to pick
she pretended to have “forgotten” to include mine. With a mock–sincere smile, she said, “Oops, I must’ve forgotten yours, Aurora. You’re not mad, right?” Her friends snickered, clearly enjoying the scene.
I remained unfazed by her petty ploys. I grabbed her coffee instead. “No worries. I’ll just take yours, and you can go grab another.” She hadn’t expected this and turned red with anger, but didn’t dare confront me, watching helplessly as I walked away with her coffee.
After work that evening, I overheard her seething to her friends, “I caught Aurora cozying up to some old guy. No doubt she has a sugar daddy. A girl her age with clothes that pricey? She has to have a backer.” Her friends eagerly agreed, gossiping about me as if they lived under my bed and saw everything.
12:18
Chapter 3
But I wasn’t about to ignore such baseless rumors. I had already taken action and was just waiting for the right moment. Molly loved gossip, especially spreading scandalous rumors. She often whispered in the restroom to her close friends, so I hired the cleaning lady to carry a recording device. Whenever Molly came by, she’d pretend to clean nearby and record her. I already had several clips of Molly spreading lies about me.
In my first month as supervisor, we landed a major project, negotiating a contract with a top supplier. Securing this deal would significantly boost company profits.
One evening, I was working on a crucial document when Greyson came over, bringing me a hot latte and massaging my shoulders. “You’ve been working so hard lately. Seeing you like this makes my heart ache, Aurora,” he murmured softly. Then he leaned close, resting his cheek against my neck. “Are you still upset about what happened? I was only worried about you. Please, Aurora, believe me.” He knelt before me, crying and begging for forgiveness.
I looked down at him, knowing exactly why he was doing this. First, he didn’t want to lose the benefits he was getting from me. Second, he wanted me to let my guard down so he could make another move against me.
Suddenly, an idea flashed as I looked at the document on my computer.
“I believe you, Greyson. Could you help me revise this document?”
His eyes lit up, and he broke into a smile, hugging me. “Leave the document to me. I’ll handle it.”
Feigning exhaustion, I yawned and handed him the laptop, pretending to head to bed. Through the crack in the door, I watched him in the living room, editing the document, his face full of confidence.
I bet he would try to use this document to set me up.
