Chapter 2
Instead of letting the isolation eat at me, I poured everything into my work.
I came to the office thirty minutes early every day to organize files, stayed late to study project cases, and spent my weekends in industry reports at the library.
Three months later, the company received a one-million-dollar order. Our supervisor put Emily and me in charge.
Emily said she wanted to "learn from the senior staff", but she was basically absent the whole time. She only showed her face when the client visited, and even rushed to hand over her business card before I could.
In the end, after multiple rounds of revisions and several on-site visits, I successfully closed the deal.
When the news spread through the department, Chloe ran over and congratulated me, "Olivia, you're incredible. This is the biggest deal we've landed all year."
But that same afternoon, disgusting rumors started circulating in the break room.
"Did you hear? Olivia only got that deal because she hooked up with the client," someone whispered.
"For real? I heard that client is almost sixty and super creepy," another person chimed in.
"Emily said she passed by the bar that day and saw Olivia come out with the client. And the guy even had his arm around her shoulder," someone else chimed in.
Those words cut me deep.
I confronted Emily, barely holding back my anger. "Why are you spreading rumors about me?"
She put on an innocent look, eyes welling up. "Olivia, how could you accuse me of that? I only told Abbie and the others that you work really hard to close deals and often meet with clients. Maybe someone misunderstood?"
Her words were flawless, making me look like the crazy one.
What really broke me was how my coworkers reacted.
People who used to talk to me now avoided me.
Some even pointed at me behind my back, their eyes full of contempt.
Even Chloe got a warning from Abbie: "Don't get too close to Olivia, or you'll get dragged down with her."
They didn't need proof. With a plausible-sounding rumor, they branded me "loose".
Back then, the only thing keeping me together was my boyfriend, Ryan.
He'd started his own small company and always said he'd give me a good life someday. Recently, he even "bought" a Porsche, saying it was for "impressing clients".
One Friday after work, Ryan came to pick me up.
Just as I walked up to the car, Emily suddenly burst out of the office, threw her arm around my shoulder, acting like we were old friends.
"Olivia, is this your boyfriend? Wow, he's so good-looking, and the car is seriously impressive," Emily gushed.
Her nails dug into my arm. I tried to shake her off, but she pressed in tighter, turning to Ryan.
Emily blinked at Ryan, looking all pitiful. "Mr. Carter, my place is just up the street. Could you drop me off? The bus is late, and I can't get a cab. I'm totally stuck."
I was about to refuse, but Ryan just smiled and said, "Sure, hop in. It's on the way."
I stared at him, shocked, but he shot me a look that basically said, "Come on. Don't be mean."
I swallowed my words, but something felt off.
As we got in the car, Emily suddenly clutched her stomach, her face going pale. "Mr. Carter, I get carsick. It's way worse in the back. Can I sit up front?"
I thought Ryan would turn her down, but he just looked at me and said, "Olivia, you don't get carsick. Why don't you take the back seat? Be thoughtful."
I froze, watching Emily smugly slide into the passenger seat and even deliberately brush her skirt against Ryan's arm.
At that moment, a wave of unease washed over me.