Chapter 1

The intern, Emily Shaw, spoke up in the conference room. Her voice was clear and confident, like a rookie who wasn't afraid to step on a few toes. "Sophia, the quote for this batch of medical equipment is 1.26 million dollars.

"But I checked the market price for the same model and setup, and it's only 730 thousand dollars. That leaves a 530 thousand dollar gap. Either someone made a mistake with the math, or there's something else going on behind it."

The room went dead silent. The only sound was the air conditioner humming.

Over thirty pairs of eyes snapped to me, then shifted straight to Louis Pace, the CEO, at the head of the table.

Emily pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses and smirked. Her expression said, "I checked."

I leaned back in my chair, keeping quiet.

Louis frowned, his gaze shifting from Emily to me. "Sophia, you've been handling this equipment purchase. What's going on?"

Before I could answer, Emily jumped in again. "Mr. Pace, I'm not trying to call out Sophia. But every dollar counts, and the company's money should be spent where it matters.

"I studied supply chain management in college. If I handled this purchase, I am confident I could keep the cost under 730 thousand dollars."

Her eyes shone like a student who had aced a pop quiz.

Louis paused for a few seconds, tapping his fingers on the table. He looked at Emily with a hint of approval. "Alright. It is great to see you young people stepping up.

"Since you are so confident, you will take charge of this equipment purchase. Sophia, hand over the files."

A few scattered claps echoed in the conference room.

Emily smiled brightly and nodded at me, as if to say, "No hard feelings, Sophia."

I smiled back at her.

After that, I lowered my head, pulled out my phone, and sent a message to someone I'd saved as "Frank Sanders." [Frank, a heads up. Someone else is handling the equipment procurement now. You might hear from them in the next couple of days.]

Less than ten seconds after I sent the message, my phone started ringing.

I declined the call and shot back a quick text. [In a meeting.]

Frank sent three voice messages in a row. I converted them to text, and they all said the same thing: "Has your CEO lost his mind?"

I didn't reply. Because I knew the real show hadn't even started yet.

This equipment was called a High Precision CNC Machining Center. It was the backbone of their precision manufacturing division and directly affected the quality and output of two new production lines they were rolling out the following year.

Two weeks ago, Louis patted me on the shoulder and said our old machines were about to break down. If we couldn't fulfill next year's orders, we wouldn't only lose a few million dollars. We would lose tens of millions in market share.

So this purchase wasn't only about buying machines. It covered installation, calibration, team training, a three-year warranty, and most importantly, custom software integration.

The equipment quoted at 730 thousand dollars on the market was a bare machine. Nobody there could operate it. The software wouldn't connect properly. If anything went wrong, the manufacturer would say it wasn't covered. Then they would be out of luck.

Emily had no clue about any of this. She only looked at the spec sheet, not the contract itself.

But even if I had told the truth, it wouldn't have mattered. In Louis's eyes, Emily was saving money, and my plan was asking for an extra 530 thousand dollars. Spending more was always a red flag.

It didn't matter which plan was actually flawed. What mattered was who Louis decided to blame. That was office politics.

*****

Julian White, the head of the procurement department, was the first to come over. He strolled past my desk with a cup of coffee, acting casual, and leaned in to whisper, "Sophia, you got the short end of the stick on this one."

I looked up at him.

Julian had been in procurement for twenty years. He had seen every trick.

He knew that if the quote was 1.26 million dollars, the real cost couldn't be 730 thousand dollars. Either Emily's price check was wrong, or that cheaper equipment wasn't the right model for us.

"It's fine, Julian," I said.

"You are letting her take over like that?" Julian sounded worried. "Imagine, she signs the contract and pays, and then the equipment turns out to be useless. The company will take the hit."

"Mr. Pace made the decision. How could I stop it?" I replied.

Julian paused for a second, sighed, and walked away.