Chapter 1

When I started working at Sterling Enterprises after college, Emily Bennett, another new hire, wasted no time cozying up to the older employees, isolating me, and making my life miserable.

I worked my way to real results, but she spread rumors that I got my deals by sleeping with clients.

One day, my boyfriend Ryan Carter picked me up in his Porsche. Emily played nice, asking for a ride, then faked car sickness to claim the front seat. Ryan agreed and told me to sit in the back.

During the drive, she flirted with him in that sickeningly sweet voice, deliberately bringing up the rumors about the clients and me, even fabricating lies about my supervisor and me.

Ryan bought every word. He called me shameless and sneered that I was playing innocent. Then he drove off with Emily.

The next day, Emily flaunted that she and Ryan were together. Ryan sent me a vicious breakup text, calling me "cheap".

That was when I decided to reveal my true identity as Sterling Enterprises' heiress.

*****

In the sweltering heat of July, I stood in front of the office building, clutching my offer letter from Sterling Enterprises. My white shirt was already damp with sweat.

While I was going through the onboarding process, I met Emily.

She had her hair in a high ponytail and wore bright pink lipstick. She came right over to strike up a conversation.

"Hi, I'm Emily Bennett. I'm new here too. We're colleagues now," she said.

She smiled, revealing two dimples, looking friendly and harmless.

'Maybe I'll make a friend at work,' I thought, exchanging contact info with her. I didn't notice the quick, calculating look in her eyes.

Our desks were in an open office area, and Emily's spot was right across from mine.

At lunchtime on the very first day, when our senior colleague Abbie Lewis suggested ordering some drinks, Emily's hand shot up immediately.

"Let me know your flavors," Emily chirped.

She went around asking each person. But when she got to me, she suddenly turned to Mike Johnson beside her and started chatting about that barbecue place we went to yesterday, leaving me standing there awkwardly.

I thought she just hadn't heard me, so I quietly added, "I'll have a latte. Thanks."

She turned back, blinked, and gave me an apologetic smile. "Oh, Olivia, sorry, I just placed the order and paid. I'll remember next time."

But I could clearly see her phone screen was still on the order page, and she hadn't even exited it.

That afternoon, I watched my colleagues laugh and chat over their milk teas. Only my spot sat empty.

Emily came over and handed me a fruit candy. "Don't be upset. Next time, I'll buy you two drinks."

Her smile was sweet, but for the first time, I got the bitter taste of being isolated at work.

After just a week, Emily was already mingling with Abbie, Mike, and the other senior employees as if they were old friends.

During lunch, they'd gather in the break room, chatting in voices just loud enough to drift my way.

"Is Olivia always so aloof? I asked her for a stapler yesterday, and she didn't even smile," a voice said.

That was Abbie's voice.

"Not just that. The other day, when the supervisor asked her to organize some files, she dragged her feet until the end of the day, nearly made me late with my report," Emily added.

Her voice dripped with grievance, like I was the one holding her back. But she was the one who'd reassigned the entire task to me, claiming she wasn't "familiar with the system" yet.

I tried to fit in with them.

One time, I brought strawberry cookies my mom had baked, packed them into little boxes, and handed them out around the office.

When I got to Emily, she took the box without opening it, then turned to Abbie. "Oh, I'm on a diet, so I can't have any sweets."

Abbie chimed in, "I need to cut back on sugar, or my blood sugar will spike."

The others followed suit, coming up with excuses to refuse. In the end, only Chloe Young, the intern, took my cookies and quietly muttered, "Thanks, Olivia. They're really good."

But things got worse at the team dinner.

Abbie sent a message in the group chat to see who was coming. I replied, "I'm in." But when I arrived at the restaurant, there wasn't a seat for me.

Emily came over, putting on her best apologetic face. "Olivia, I'm so sorry. I thought you didn't like gatherings, so I didn't reserve a seat for you"

Mike, standing behind her, added, "No worries. We'll bring you next time. Everything's already booked."

I stood at the entrance, watching them laugh and chat as they walked into the private room, my hand still gripping the little gift I'd picked out just for this dinner.

At that moment, I realized Emily's exclusion wasn't random. It was a calculated move to isolate me.

She wanted everyone to think I was the difficult one, so everyone would keep their distance from me.