Chapter 1

On April Fools' Day, I received a promotion email.

I thought my five years of hard work had finally paid off—I was finally being promoted to Sales Director.

Full of joy, I moved my belongings to the door of my new private office.

But when I pushed open the door, there wasn’t even an office chair inside—just a pile of stinking garbage.

That’s when I heard loud mocking laughter from my colleagues behind me.

“Sasha, you actually fell for it? How pathetically shameless!”

My boss also chimed in, “It’s just an April Fools’ prank. You can take a joke, right?”

I became the laughingstock of the entire company, a complete fool.

But they forgot—this afternoon, I was scheduled to sign a one-billion-dollar contract that would determine the company’s fate.

Since my boss loved April Fools’ jokes so much, I’d give him a special April Fools’ gift of my own.

“What’s wrong, Sasha? It’s just an April Fools’ prank. You can take a joke, can’t you?”

My boss, Mr. Richards, looked down at me with unconcealed smugness.

Faced with his mockery, the entire office area erupted in piercing laughter.

“Exactly, Ms. Turner! Did you really think you could become Sales Director?”

Lily from reception covered her mouth, laughing so hard she was shaking.

“She should look at her own credentials—a community college graduate thinking she can become a phoenix? As if.”

I didn’t lose my temper.

I just stiffly crouched down and began picking up the personal belongings I’d just joyfully packed into the large cardboard box, one by one.

I was like a clown being paraded through the streets.

Under everyone’s unrestrained pointing and whispering, I walked step by step back to my cramped old desk in the main hall.

“She usually acts so high and mighty just because she’s the top salesperson, bossing us around. Now she’s been put back in her place.”

Behind me, I could hear my colleagues’ shameless gossip.

Mr. Richards followed me over, tapping my desk with the bottom of his coffee mug.

“Sasha, don’t take it to heart. Young people need to face some setbacks—it’s good for you. I’m just trying to build your stress tolerance.”

He adopted the tone of a caring elder.

“You’ve been with this company for five years.

Even if you haven’t achieved great things, you’ve worked hard.

But the director position isn’t something you can get just by working yourself to the bone.

You need big-picture thinking, you need to understand office politics. Understand?”

I looked at him coldly.

“Mr. Richards, last week you personally told me that if I secured Mr. Wilson’s one-billion-dollar contract, the director position would be mine.”

Mr. Richards scoffed.

“That was motivational rhetoric. You couldn’t even tell? Besides, we could land Mr. Wilson’s deal even without you, just based on our company’s reputation. Don’t think too highly of yourself.”

I clenched my fists, my nails digging deep into my palms.

Five years of my youth, countless days and nights of struggle.

In his eyes, it was all just a cheap game he could trample on at will.

I felt utterly humiliated and degraded.

But I forced myself to swallow this bitter pill.

Because this afternoon, I still had to represent the company to sign that one-billion-dollar contract.

It was the most important credential in my professional career.

I couldn’t flip the table at this critical moment.

“You’re absolutely right, Mr. Richards.” I forced out a smile completely devoid of warmth.

Mr. Richards nodded with satisfaction.

“That’s more like it. Girls shouldn’t always be fighting for power.”

He turned to the other employees who were watching the spectacle.

“What are you all standing around for? Don’t you have work to do? Even though it’s April Fools’ Day, performance reviews are no joke!”

Everyone immediately scattered, but the looks they gave me were still full of undisguised contempt.

Derek Shaw from the next desk leaned over.

“Well, well, Ms. Turner, giving up so easily?”

Derek usually got chewed out by me for his bottom-of-the-barrel sales numbers.

Now seeing my misfortune, he was happier than on Christmas.

“I’ve always said women in sales are just trading on their youth. You’re getting older now, you’ve lost your looks—how can you compete with those young girls?”

He picked his teeth while giving me an extremely sleazy up-and-down look.

“You should just find yourself an honest man to marry and be a housewife.”

I whipped my head around, staring at him with icy eyes.

“Derek Shaw, your sales this month are zero, and you still have time to worry about my marriage prospects?”

His face stiffened, then flushed with embarrassed anger.

“Who are you to act so superior! You’re not even a manager anymore—what right do you have to boss me around?”

I didn’t bother with him. I needed to go over the final contract details one more time.

No matter what, this contract was my personal achievement, and I wouldn’t allow any mistakes.

Just then, someone gently tapped my shoulder.

I turned around.