Chapter 1

Everyone in the company knew that my boss, Liam, hated me to the core.

He would scold me during meetings, make my life hell on business trips, and constantly give me a hard time.

I couldn't take it anymore, so I handed in my resignation.

However, the application was rejected with just these words scrawled across it: [In your dreams.]

I was so furious I could barely keep my hands from shaking.

Then, I found a diary in his office drawer.

The first page read: [Chewed her out again today. Now I can't sleep tonight. Really wish I could apologize.

[Forget it, if I do, she'll figure out I like her.

[Guess I'll just keep acting tough.]

I was completely baffled.

******

My name was Sophie Sullivan, and I was twenty-four.

I had spent two years as an administrative assistant at the Sterling Group.

My job was pretty straightforward: making coffee, organizing files, booking meeting rooms, and taking the blame for everything that went wrong.

Honestly, I was a pro at the last one.

That was because my boss, Liam, had perfected the art of blame-shifting.

If there was a problem with a contract, he'd say, "Sophie, did you even check this?"

If the meeting room wasn't booked, he'd snap, "Sophie, do you even do anything around here?"

If the coffee's cold, he'd grumble, "Sophie, did you do this on purpose?"

I remained silent.

After all, for a monthly salary of three thousand dollars, did he really expect unshakeable dedication?

*****

Just another day getting yelled at by Liam.

Here was how it went down.

Liam was meeting with a big client and asked me to prep the materials.

I got everything ready.

But the moment he opened the folder, his face went dark.

"Sophie, come here," he called out.

I walked over cautiously. "Mr. Sterling, what's wrong?"

"What is this?" he demanded.

He jabbed a finger at the cover of the folder.

I took a look and my stomach dropped.

I was doomed.

I had mistyped the company name, rendering "Sterling Group" as "Sterling Gropu."

It was a single typo, just one misplaced letter.

Liam slammed the folder onto the desk. "Are your eyes merely decorative?"

"Sorry, Mr. Sterling. I'll fix it right now..." I stammered.

"Fix it? The client's here in five minutes. How are you gonna fix it?" Liam barked.

"I..."

"Get out. Don't let me see you."

I slipped out, feeling like a total loser.

As the door closed behind me, I heard Liam mutter from inside. "Useless."

I clenched my fists.

"Suck it up," I told myself.

I'd swallow it now. Maybe things would stay quiet.

But if I kept putting up with this forever, I would end up with nothing.

No, scratch that. If I kept this up, I would probably just keel over from stress one day.

*****

At lunch, my colleague Vivian came over.

"Sophie, got chewed out again?" she asked.

I nodded, shoveling food into my mouth.

"Just get used to it. Mr. Sterling's like that with everyone," Vivian said.

"Oh, really?" I scoffed. "Then why does he only yell at me?"

Vivian thought for a moment. "Maybe... because you're easy to pick on?"

Thanks for the comfort.

That really helped.

I made up my mind.

I was quitting.

I was done with this crappy job.

*****

In the afternoon, I logged into the resignation system with the resolve of a martyr.

When it came to the "Reason for Resignation" section, I stared at it for ages.

In the end, I just typed in: [Health issues.]

Well, it wasn't exactly a lie.

I had mental health issues.

I hit submit.

The system notification read: [Your resignation has been submitted. Please wait for approval.]

I let out a long sigh of relief.

I was finally going to be free.

And then I waited. And waited more.

Three whole days dragged by.

Finally, the system showed a response.

Fingers crossed, I opened the update, hoping for the best.

Approval Status: [Rejected].

Review Comments: [In your dreams].

Reviewer: Liam Sterling

I stared at the screen, completely dumbfounded.

*****

Fuming, I marched right into Liam's office.

"Mr. Sterling!" I snapped.

He was busy with paperwork. He didn't even glance up. "What is it?"

"Why did you turn down my resignation?" I demanded.

"Because I didn't approve it."

"But I want to quit!"

"Wanting and doing are two different things," he said.

He finally looked up at me.

"Sophie, you're a full-time employee here. If you want to quit, you need to give a month's notice and finish all your handover tasks.

"Your application didn't clarify anything. Why should I approve it?" he added.

I took a deep breath. "I'll update it right now. I'll get the handover list done today."

"Doesn't mean I'll approve it even if you do."

"Why?!"

Liam just went back to his paperwork, not even looking at me.

"Because I don't want you to go," he said.

I just stood there, totally speechless.

What did he mean?

He didn't want me to leave?

Was it just because he couldn't bear to lose his favorite punching bag?