Naomi snapped, "On purpose? Don't be ridiculous. I'm following the finance rules to the letter. You can complain all you want, but I'm not wrong. The choice is yours, but get out now!"

My blood boiled, and I could feel my pulse spike. I glared at Naomi, but my manners kept me from swearing at her outright.

After a moment of thought, I grabbed the expense report from my desk and pushed open the finance office door.

"Fine! Stick to your precious rules. I'm going straight to Mr. Gray to see whether this receipt can actually be reimbursed!"

Naomi showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, her expression was pure challenge. "Go ahead! Don't think I'm intimidated just because you involve Mr. Gray. Someone like you should have been kicked off the company roster a long time ago. I'm curious whether Mr. Gray would really choose to offend the company's lifeline for a nobody like you."

Back at my desk, I clutched my pillow, trying to calm the storm of anger and frustration surging inside. But I failed.

I headed straight for David's office, carrying all the reports. Before I could even reach the door, Naomi's whiny voice carried out from inside.

She sounded ridiculously pitiful. "She's here! Perfect timing!"

Before I could speak, David Gray frowned and interrupted, "What's going on? If there's a problem between you, deal with it face-to-face. You're coworkers."

Naomi's eyes were red and swollen as she sniffled. "Mr. Gray, I didn't… The supervisor made it very clear in a recent meeting that we have to review every reimbursement carefully. Finance work demands extreme caution, but I think Madeleine misunderstood me…"

She paused, then dropped her head and sobbed softly, looking utterly forlorn.

My blood boiled. I ignored her theatrics and slammed the expense reports onto David's desk. "Mr. Gray, I understand that financial work requires precision, but please take a look at this report. What exactly is wrong? I've already redone it exactly as Ms. Lane instructed, using the pen, paper, and formatting she demanded. And now she's insisting I replace every single receipt…"

Before I could finish, David slammed his hand on the desk and shot me a sharp look. "Enough! I know the whole story. Madeleine, tell me—what exactly has Ms. Lane done wrong? Any company expects receipts to be complete and neat. Reissuing them is a minor task. Your reluctance makes me wonder—have you been using company money for personal matters?"

The accusation hit me like a bucket of ice water, freezing me to the core. In this line of work, distrust was the gravest sin.

Sales was a job with high freedom and constant gray areas. If David started seeing me through suspicious eyes, what would be the point of continuing?

Before I could even form a response, David's expression softened, and he turned to Naomi with a smile. "Naomi, you did the right thing! This is exactly how a company should operate, by following the rules. Finance is the core of this company, and strict compliance with regulations is mandatory."

David said, "Today, I'm giving you a special privilege. Any reimbursement that isn't properly filled out will be returned for correction until it meets the standards. At the monthly meeting, you'll be this month's employee of the month. Don't forget to go up and give your speech."

Naomi's eyes lit up with delight. "Thank you, Mr. Gray! I'll give it my all, so I won't let you down!"

David looked thoroughly pleased.

Then he fixed me with a hard look. "See that? Salespeople like you are useless and lazy! You don't even bother to learn from others and waste company resources on trivial nonsense every day. Have you no shame? Now, redo your expense report exactly as Ms. Lane instructed!"

My hands trembled as I clutched the reports. The frustration lodged in my chest pressed painfully, and tears threatened to spill over.

As I walked out of David's office, Naomi shot out behind me. Her eyes glinted with contempt as she looked me up and down. "Weren't you going to get Mr. Gray to sort this out? Well, is your grievance resolved now? Let's see if you still have the nerve to defy me!"

My eyes burned as I slumped back at my desk. Work felt impossible, and I could do nothing but stare at the expense reports in a daze.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed from the desk. It was a notification from social media. Just as I was about to dismiss it, a post caught my eye.

"That idiot from the sales department refused to let me list my new designer purchase under her name for reimbursement. Fine. If she won't help me, then she won't get reimbursed anymore. I'll make sure she learns what happens when you cross finance."

I stared at the familiar avatar. It had to be Naomi.

Only now did I finally see why Naomi had been giving me so much trouble with reimbursements. Her so-called dedication to rules and work ethic was a lie. This was pure revenge for the free bag I refused her last month.

The comments section exploded with workers venting, lambasting her for petty office bullying.

The ever-arrogant Naomi struck back relentlessly, reveling in her own cunning.

"What's there to fear? Salespeople are nothing but expendable trash. Finance is the real backbone of the company. I don't believe the boss would risk me for a worthless sales rep. She's already advanced half a month's expenses, and now she shows up crying about money. I stopped her reimbursement. Let's see how long she lasts now."

I laughed out loud. If she was the backbone of the company, then what was I—the sales champion? If she refused to reimburse me, fine. I wanted to see who would crack first.

I set my work aside and spent my days idling at my desk. The end of the month arrived quickly, and a notification from the finance department popped up in the company's internal system.

As the month drew to a close, the finance department began auditing every sales order in the company, all of which originated from the sales department.

Even though I had only been working for just over half a month, I was still the company's undisputed sales champion, with a mountain of orders already piled up on my desk.

I had always stayed late voluntarily, working unpaid overtime so as not to disrupt my colleagues in finance. I would burn the midnight oil to prepare every file in advance. But now, who in their right mind would repay their cruelty with kindness?

The company's internal system pinged again with a flashing red alert.

"Sales department staff must organize all order files immediately. This concerns crucial matters like tax reporting. Set aside other work and deal with it immediately!"

I couldn't help but laugh at the glaring exclamation marks. Methodically, I gathered all this month's orders, verifying each against the records and tracing them back to their source according to the sales submission rules.

I wasn't in a rush, but someone else clearly couldn't sit still.

…

The next morning, Naomi barged into the sales office. She jabbed a finger at me and barked, "Madeleine Shaw! Are you doing this on purpose? You know how critical end-of-month submissions are, yet you're deliberately stalling just to torment me! Who exactly are you trying to intimidate? If Mr. Gray finds out, he'll hold you accountable, not me!"

I paid no attention to her anger, keeping my focus on the files, and let out a faint, knowing laugh. "Oh? Is that how it is? Well, there's no need to rush then."

I dropped the sales submission guidelines in front of her. "Calm down. Ms. Lane, this is exactly why I'm doing what I'm doing. After being reprimanded, I'm simply doing exactly what the rules require. I trust someone as meticulous as you won't mind, right?"

Naomi was speechless for a moment, but her glare burned with pure resentment.

After Naomi stormed out, I handed a thick stack of confirmation forms to Lincoln Brooks, the head of finance. "Mr. Brooks, I've compiled all of this month's orders according to company procedure. Please review and sign once everything is correct. After that, I'll personally verify each order with our partners, and as soon as the review is complete, I'll submit the documents to the finance office immediately."

Before I could finish, Lincoln interrupted sharply, "Maddie, this won't do! It's already the end of the month. Without these files, the company can't file taxes. This is serious! We need to make an exception. Hand them over now!"

I looked at him without a flicker of emotion and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Brooks. According to the sales submission rules, all month-end orders must be verified. If anything goes wrong, no one will be able to shoulder the responsibility."

Lincoln was at a loss for words, but he could do nothing except take the documents and sign.

Over the following three days, I only came to the office to clock in and out. The rest of the time, I wandered through the sales units with the order files, doing as little as possible.

Lincoln was beside himself, calling relentlessly to ask about the progress.

On the 28th, just as I was clocking out and gathering the files to leave, Lincoln appeared at my desk unexpectedly.