Chapter 1

I went to a cosmetics counter in my pajamas to buy lipsticks, only to be looked down on by a snobbish salesgirl.

"Just another broke girl here for free makeup," she sneered. "Get out of here! You're lowering our standards."

Only the newbie girl was willing to help me.

So, I placed an order right there with her for goods worth 60 thousand dollars.

The salesgirl who'd called me a broke loser? Her jaw practically hit the floor.

*****

The company's annual party was coming up, and my leader put me in charge of the ladies' perks.

Feeling bored, I just picked a random weekend to check out one of our own brand's counters.

But as soon as I walked in, the salesgirl shot me a dirty look.

I thought maybe there was something wrong with her eyes, so I didn't pay it any mind and just went over to try out some lipstick shades by myself.

When I saw my go-to shade wasn't out on the counter, I asked her if she could get me a tester to try.

The salesgirl who'd shot me that dirty look let out an exasperated sigh, curled her lip, and snapped, "No!"

The salesgirl next to her instinctively said, "Wait, I thought we had..."

But before she could finish, the rude salesgirl jumped in, "I'm the assistant manager here! If I say we don't have it, then we don't have it!"

The store went dead silent. No one wanted to help me.

Without a word, I just glanced at the assistant manager's name tag—Bonnie Glisson.

Alright then.

If I were filing a complaint, I knew exactly who to name.

I turned to leave, and just then, I almost ran into a young salesgirl who was coming back from the restroom.

She was obviously new here.

She seemed a bit nervous, stumbling over her words.

"Hi, um... Miss, are you looking for a particular shade? Want to try it out?" the new salesgirl asked, her voice a little shaky.

There was a fresh, earnest look in her eyes—like she was really trying her best. It made me pause and want to give her a shot.

I told her which shade I wanted.

She gave me a warm smile and found it right away. Then, without me even asking, she dabbed it on my lips with a cotton swab so I could see how it looked.

As she was doing it, I caught a glimpse of Bonnie in the mirror, sizing me up from behind. The disdain in her eyes was impossible to miss.

She didn't even bother to lower her voice as she started snarking at the salesgirl next to her.

"Look at her, wearing those ratty pajamas. Just here to mooch off our samples like the other broke-ass freeloader.

"Like she could ever afford that shade.

"And Dana's such a fool, falling over herself to waste time on her.

"Ugh, can she just leave already? She's making our store look cheap!" Bonnie complained on and on.

Guess since I didn't say a word when she snapped at me, she must've thought I was an easy target. She didn't even bother to lower her voice, and I caught every single word.

Dana Bell, the new girl helping me, heard everything too.

She forced an awkward smile, trying to keep things upbeat as she introduced the product. "Hey, this shade looks great on you! Makes you look super fresh."

I grinned. "Good call! Mind showing me some other shades?"

"Of course!" Dana said, her face lighting up.

Then, she walked me through every single shade, and even took the time to introduce me to other products like foundation and blush.

It took quite a while, but she never once looked impatient—she just kept smiling and serving me with genuine warmth.

Meanwhile, plenty of customers came in and placed their orders, so the other salesgirls were all making their sales.

But Dana still took her time with me, never rushing at all.

Bonnie, meanwhile, looked like her eyes were about to roll right out of her skull.

Finally, she marched over and snapped, "Are you buying anything or what?!"

She sounded super rude and impatient.

I just ignored her and kept checking out how the new shade looked on me.

Bonnie was fuming—she snatched the tester right out of my hand.

"Sorry, but my customer needs to try this." Her voice was full of attitude.

But after grabbing it, she just set it down right next to her, making sure I saw it, but didn't touch it at all—smirking like she was daring me to say something.

Her message couldn't be clearer: "I'm not letting you have it. So what are you gonna do?"

Dana, still young and hot-headed, couldn't bite her tongue any longer. She stepped up to defend me.

"Bonnie, you don't even have a customer right now. Why are you giving my customer such a hard time?" Dana shot back, her voice steady but firm.

Bonnie's face turned bright red with anger. She didn't even care that I was standing right there, pointed her finger at Dana, and started yelling. "You've got some nerve! What's the point of sticking with this broke-ass loser in her ratty pajamas?

"All you do is waste time on her. Don't come crying when we miss our sales quota; it'll be your fault!"

"Why should it be?" Dana shot back.