Chapter 1

A difficult customer forced me to apologize to her dog, even though I had done nothing wrong.

From my manager to my boyfriend, everyone told me to give in. But I am not a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Five minutes later, a Maybach pulled up outside the shop to pick me up. Only then did they realize in horror that the person they had been bullying was no ordinary girl.

*****

I'd finished making the 182nd coffee of my shift when the shop phone suddenly rang.

I barely picked up before a furious voice erupted from the other end. It was so loud that everyone in the store could hear it without. "Your straws are so hard. My baby bit down and ended up with a cut on its lip."

I froze for a second. It was only my tenth day working here, and this was the first time I'd ever gotten a complaint like this.

Remembering what the manager had told me during training, I quickly apologized, "I'm really sorry, ma'am. The straws that come with our coffee have always been like this.

"We're really sorry your baby got hurt. Would a full refund work for you?"

The woman on the other end snorted, "You think you can brush me off with the price of a coffee? You wait."

She hung up, and my coworker gave my shoulder a reassuring pat. "We get crazy customers like this all the time. Refund her and don't let it bother you."

The next day, as I walked up to the shop and sent a voice message to the manager, a woman clutching her dog rushed at me and slapped me hard across the face.

Before I could process what was happening, she came at me again, trying to claw at me. "You were the one who answered the phone yesterday, weren't you?

"My baby loves chewing on straws, and it's never had any issues at other places.

"How come my dog started bleeding the moment it bit your straw? And you still dare to talk to me that way?"

I quickly dodged aside, and she nearly went tumbling to the ground. Her little poodle, seeing how fired up its owner was, started barking up a storm at me.

I remembered yesterday's phone call and glanced at the dog she was holding. So, when she said her baby, she meant her dog, not a kid.

Glancing at the security camera by the entrance, I bit back my frustration from that slap and tried to reason with her. "Ma'am, I looked at your order history yesterday. This isn't your first time ordering from us.

"Our straws have always been like this. If your dog got hurt chewing on one, that's honestly not on us.

"Since you're a regular, the refund is already us going out of our way for you."

But that only pissed her off more. She pointed right at my face and screamed. "Just a coffee girl, huh? Do you know how much more precious my dog is compared to you?

"You made my dog suffer, so you should suffer, too. That's the only way you can make it up to it."

I was furious and pulled out my phone, about to call the police.

But the manager, who had walked in, reached out to stop me and whispered in my ear, "Emily, let's not blow this out of proportion. This is the customer from yesterday, right? Let me talk to her first."

The manager was practically groveling as he apologized, and the woman looked smug as hell. "Now that's how a worker should treat their lord and master.

"Just pay me ten times the vet bill for my precious pup. That's thirty grand dollars."

She paused, then jabbed her finger right at me. "And make that mouthy girl who dared talk back bow to my dog in apology, then fire her. Only then will I let this go. That'll settle things."

The manager looked really uncomfortable when he heard the thirty grand dollar demand.

The woman noticed his awkwardness and toyed with her nails. "Looks like your little shop can't afford that, huh? Fine, I don't need the money.

"But she has to bow to my dog ten times, one for every three grand. That should be okay, right?"

The manager's forehead was slick with sweat as he stared at the pushy woman.

He turned to me, desperation written all over his face. "Emily, I got promoted to manager less than a month ago. I've got parents and kids depending on me.

"If this gets out of hand, I might lose my job. I'm begging you. Please do what she wants and apologize."

I was about to say no, but the manager kept talking, "When you first came in looking for a part-time gig, you had zero experience and were a winter break temp.

"Nobody else wanted to hire you, but I gave you a shot and let you stay.

"After this is over, I'll apologize to you. And I'll pay you double for your shifts these past few days, alright?"

I could understand why the manager didn't want to lose his job, but I couldn't accept him bending over backwards for such an entitled customer.

I pulled out my phone, which had been recording the whole time, and said in a stern voice, "Ma'am, I advise you not to take things too far.

"Your dog bit a straw and cut its lip. No reasonable person would think that's our responsibility.

"What you said isn't disrespectful. It's straight-up insulting. No matter if this blows up online or goes to court, everyone will see who's really in the wrong."

The woman let out a mocking laugh at me. "You really think that recording is gonna help you? Do you know who I am? I'm the general manager of Sutton Group.

"You wanna sue me? Can someone like you afford a lawyer? And posting it online? That's pointless. If I want, anything you upload will vanish from the internet in ten seconds."

The manager's face darkened, and he tried to talk me down, "Let it go, Emily. She's Olivia Sutton, Mr. Sutton's daughter.

"The Suttons pretty much have Bayview City in the palm of their hand. If we really cross her today, none of us will ever survive in this city."