Chapter 2
Simon said, "Cosima, why do you keep avoiding me?
"What's wrong with me? I've got a car, a house, and my own business. So many girls would kill to be with me.
"Can't you give me a chance? Quit acting like you're too good for me."
I just hung up and blocked him right away.
I thought that was the end of it, until that nasty rating post blew up online.
The next morning at work, the receptionist looked at me funny the second I walked in.
As I headed to my desk, the usually noisy open office suddenly went quiet for a moment.
I could feel everyone staring straight at me.
My arch-nemesis, Linda Cabot, strolled by with her coffee and purposely bumped my chair, making the coffee splash onto me.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't see you sitting here, Ms. Spielberg," Linda said with a fake smile.
She pitched her voice just right so everyone around could hear.
"So, how does it feel to have a hundred thousand people rating you? Feels good, doesn't it?" Linda sneered.
A few of the usual office gossips stifled their laughter.
I clenched my fists so hard my nails dug into my palms.
At the morning department meeting, I could tell my manager, Dudley Waugh, kept shooting me uneasy glances.
After the meeting, he kept me back for a private word.
"Cosima," he said, fidgeting with his hands, looking pretty uncomfortable.
"There's... some stuff about you online, and it's not looking great."
I hastened to explain, "Mr. Waugh, that photo was taken without my consent. It's all malicious slander.
"I'll collect evidence and report it right away..."
Before I could finish, he waved me off with a weary sigh.
He said, "But it's gotten out of hand, and the higher-ups are already paying attention.
"We're negotiating a major brand deal right now, and the other side cares about our company's reputation."
He paused, then said in a serious tone, "For now, hand over the Starlight Project to Linda. We'll talk about it again once things calm down."
The Starlight Project was an S-level priority I'd been running since last June.
I'd spent countless nights burning the midnight oil, closing deals with partners one by one, and bringing in every single person myself.
And now, all of it was going to Linda? She was reaping all the rewards for nothing?
As I walked out of the meeting room, Linda was standing by my desk, looking all smug as she rifled through my paperwork.
At lunch, my usual lunch buddies avoided me.
I sat alone in the corner with my tray, and the whispers from the next table floated over.
"Word is, someone spilled in the comments that her private life's a mess. No wonder she climbed the ladder so quickly."
"Wait, that's her? I saw the pic. The angle was pretty... suggestive."
"I heard she turned down that guy from the matchmaking, and then got exposed right after. She must've pissed him off."
I couldn't taste a thing, just shoveling food into my mouth on autopilot, my stomach churning with nausea.
On the subway ride home, I kept my head down, scrolling through my phone with my mask on.
The post had been blasted across a bunch of local lifestyle accounts, and the headlines kept getting more and more scandalous.
[Private Photos of Female Executive at Well-Known Foreign Firm Leaked. 100,000 People Are Scoring Her!]
[Digging Into the Scoring Scandal's Leading Lady: Is She a True Goddess or Just Playing Games?]
Under every post, people were spilling all kinds of dirt, some true, some totally made up.
[She lives in Glenwood. I've spotted her jogging at night more than once.]
[She went to the language department at college. Someone from her class said she always loved to stand out.]
[This whole thing's blown up. Her company's probably gonna step in and deal with her.]
Meanwhile, my phone was flooded with harassing texts from random numbers.
[Hey, gorgeous, how much for a night?]
[Stop acting so innocent. Everyone's already seen it all. What are you still pretending for?]
My hands shook as I turned off my phone. Leaning against the cold subway carriage, I couldn't hold back anymore. The tears rolled down my cheeks.
Why? What did I do to deserve this?
Was this what I got for rejecting that pushy guy at the matchmaking? Just because I said no, I had to be dragged through the mud like this?
I didn't expect that I had just got home and hadn't even had time to change into my slippers when my mom started yelling at me.
She snapped, "How could you be so careless? Letting someone take those kinds of pictures of you.
"Now all our relatives and friends know about it. How are your dad and I supposed to face anyone now?"
"That was a sneak shot, taken from a deliberately creepy angle," I shouted, my whole body shaking.
I trembled all over and said hoarsely, "I'm the victim here."
But my mother jabbed her finger at me.
She yelled, "If you hadn't gone jogging, if you hadn't worn that outfit, would anyone have snapped those pictures of you?"
"Is it a crime to go jogging at night? Is it a crime to wear workout clothes?" I shot back.
I never imagined my own family would side with outsiders against me.
All the frustration and anger I'd bottled up all day finally burst out.
I broke down and yelled, "Why aren't you tearing into the creeps who took those photos and spread those lies? Instead, you're blaming me?
"Do you trust strangers more than your own daughter?"
"Still talking back?" My dad slammed his hand on the table, scowling as he jumped to his feet.