When the conglomerate's heir parachutes into our company, he conveniently brings along a "poor student" he's been sponsoring for years. That afternoon, they turn the entire office upside down.

The young heir, Matthew Zohart, has no idea how to handle problems. All he knows how to do is smooth things over.

He lets Gracie Fowler blow through my team's entire bonus and just stands there as she throws a tantrum in the open office.

"I'm the future daughter-in-law chosen by the Zohart family!" she shrieks. "What are you people, anyway? Just a bunch of office drones!"

Enraged, I rip off my work badge and turn to walk out.

The very next second, Matthew drops down and grabs my leg. "You can't leave! I don't know how to do anything! If the team leader who actually gets things done quits, won't my family's company collapse?"

After three years of blood, sweat, and tears working at Zohart Group, we finally came out on top of the other team, and I finally had a chance at a promotion and a raise.

Out of the blue, the company's heir showed up for his first day at work, bringing with him a poor student he had sponsored for years.

When I heard the news, I was having a cup of my well-needed coffee in the pantry. I looked outside and saw a group surrounding a strikingly handsome man. He stood in the very middle, nervously distributing gifts.

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Matthew Zohart, the new general manager. I'll arrange something soon so that we can all go out together and get to know one another."

Standing beside him was a young woman dressed in a white dress. She smiled gently and introduced herself. "Hello, everyone—Gracie Fowler here. I'm kind of frail most of the time, so please take extra good care of this soft little girl!"

Amid my daze, a small gift box had been placed in my hands. Matthew was smiling as he handed it to me, his expression full of the nervousness of someone who had just started a new role.

Honestly, it stabbed my heart.

In that moment, I could feel the reality of having a 30-thousand-dollar monthly salary as the newly appointed supervisor slowly collapsing, and I was reduced to a life of grinding as a regular employee.

A wave of irritation rose in my chest. Mortgage payments were coming up again soon, and my side hustle needed to pick up the slack. Well, at least my livestream sales had been doing well lately.

Unamused, I dragged my feet and returned to my desk. For some reason, Gracie followed me over.

"You must be the team leader, Claire Simpson, right? I got assigned to your team!" she said.

The cheap shampoo smell that came off her hit my nose and gave me an instant headache. Regardless, after adding Gracie to the project group chat, I asked her to review the materials and create a preliminary summary.

It should have taken her about 30 minutes at most, but after lunch break, I still hadn't seen her do any work. Instead, she was lying on the desk, excitedly poking and peeking at everything.

The desk was covered with over a dozen cute figurines. Even the documents for the contracts had new bow stickers stuck on them. She looked exactly like a kid who had just walked into kindergarten.

I sighed helplessly. I wanted to beckon her over, but she grabbed her cup and headed to the pantry. My eyes widened slightly as I caught a glimpse of her swaying skirt—a vivid red patch had tainted it dead centre.

I quickly fished out a tampon, removed my outerwear, and ran up to her. "Hey, your period came. You can use this for now."

Before I could say more, Gracie rolled her eyes at me and started mocking me out of nowhere. "Yeah, I got it, Ms. Simpson. By the way, how stingy of you to just offer me one. I know what you're trying to do.

"Trying to show off some skin and get a man's attention? Please—look at the goosebumps on your arms and those non-existent boobs. Seriously, what makes you think you have anything to flaunt?"

I was baffled. My hand, still holding the tampon, didn't know whether to retreat or extend.

Gracie reacted first. She swung her hips dramatically and sauntered past me, leaving another comment in her wake.

"Having a menstrual period is a woman's privilege to gain sympathy. Only by showing it will Matty feel a sense of eagerness to protect me and help me with my work.

"You can't deprive me of the chance to show my vulnerability just because you're about to have menopause soon. Oh, by the way, I've asked someone else to do the summary for me. Will ping you when I'm done!"

…

The words coming out of Gracie's mouth were absurd, to say the least. It instantly made me want to tear the tampon in half and slap it right on her face.

When I finally returned to my desk, a few of my male colleagues came up to me with grim expressions. "Ms. Simpson, that newcomer's dress is stained. I don't think we're in a good position to point it out to her."

I took a long, deep breath and coldly answered, "Relax. In no time, her precious Matty will run to the convenience store and get her some tampons. It's better that ordinary folks like us stay out of that princess' business."

After blowing off some steam, it was back to the heavy workload. The afternoon flew by.

Just before leaving, the finance department called to remind me to distribute the bonuses. That was when I remembered that the company had given us a bonus for outperforming the other team.

Well, at least this would cover this month's mortgage!

At that, I quickly pulled out my phone to check. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Matthew walking toward me, looking like he wanted to go over some work with me.

However, Gracie stopped him halfway, her clear voice ringing through the office. "Matty, I got my period, and my stomach really hurts. Could you buy me some tampons?"

The moment she said that, the office went dead silent. The coworkers nearby pretended to type away like nothing was happening, but their ears were practically perked up.

I couldn't help but wonder if this hot-blooded young manager would finally set some boundaries with his beneficiary, or pull a dramatic TV-style move and play the devoted boss.

Just as I was watching the drama unfold, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and saw Matthew, whose face was slightly flushed. "Claire, could you… help Gracie?"

Seriously? He did nothing and just pushed the problem onto me?

Resigned, I pulled open the storage cabinet under my desk. "There are three packs down here with all the sizes you can think of. Take what you need."

Before I could take another breath, Gracie stomped her feet angrily. "I don't want that cheap stuff. Matty, ever since I was little, the Zoharts have provided everything for me. I see you as my brother, so you must do right by me…"

Matthew's face was as red and sweaty as a dewy tomato. He grabbed a pack at random and shoved it into Gracie's hand, growling, "Take this for now. Focus on your work and stop causing trouble!"

After being scolded, Gracie burst into tears instantly. I also furrowed my brows.

It appeared this young man was just another soft-hearted person. Everything he said was pure compromise and waffling. With this attitude, how could he possibly hold a leadership position?

The answer was "impossible".

Just as I was lost in thought, a pair of pale hands appeared before me. I looked down, and Gracie had cleared out everything from my cabinet. She held up more than she could handle, looking at me challengingly.

"Since you've been consistently kind to me, I won't pass on the offer this time. Thanks, Ms. Simpson!"

She added, "I'm young and… well, I need a lot. I guess you probably won't need them anymore, so I'll clear them for you. Oh, and my body's been pretty weak lately. You won't mind if I grab some extra scarves and jackets, right?"

I slammed my hand on the desk in frustration, only to be stopped by Matthew, who pressed me down nervously. "Alright, let's not escalate this. How about I pay for all this stuff?"

It wasn't until the transfer confirmation popped up on my phone that I forced myself to sit back down. Exchanging old for new at the same price wasn't the end of the world.

Still, I quickly realized something was off. Hadn't the finance department mentioned the bonus had already been transferred? Why was the balance still showing the same old number?

Puzzled, I messaged the person in charge and soon received a reply.

"I sent the amount around noon. Your new team member came to me to handle her onboarding paperwork. She said she's your assistant and asked me to transfer it directly to her."

Gracie was about to leave with her "loot" when I called her out. "The finance department said the project bonus was transferred to you. Send it back—I need to split it based on each individual's workload."

At that, the coworkers perked up with excitement. "Finally, the bonus is here! The project took months to grind through!"

"Right? Did you see Mr. Pearson's face? He was so sour and clearly didn't want to lose to us!"

"Our team rules, thanks to Ms. Simpson's ability! Serves them right for losing, even after all the dirty tricks they pulled!"

Listening to them, I couldn't help but drift back to those late nights and hard work. I didn't get promoted to a senior supervisor role, but at least the bonus was a little consolation.

Still, I waited for a long time, only for Gracie to do nothing. Everyone's eyes turned toward her.

At last, she seemed to break. "Why is everyone staring at me? Isn't the bonus mine?"

The office went silent. There were no words to describe the mix of disbelief and speechlessness in everyone's mind.

"What kind of delusion are you having? Why would you receive tens of thousands of bonus on your first day at work?"

The anger that bubbled up was almost uncontrollable, and I turned to Matthew, who was standing beside me. "Mr. Zohart, why did you approve it when the finance department tried to wire it to her?"

"I-I just started and wasn't really sure," he stuttered. "I thought as long as the number matched, it was fine…"

Still, seeing the situation escalate, he immediately tried to mediate. "Gracie, transfer the money back to Claire now! She's the most senior here and knows how to split bonuses properly!"

"But Matty, I…" she whined defiantly. "I spent it!"

In the crowded office, Gracie's sharp words pierced everyone's ears like needles.

"I mean, the bonus should've been mine! You all have regular salaries, while I only have an intern wage," she argued.

"The bonus is the only way I'll make as much as you! The Zoharts always give me anything I want. Why are you guys acting so… so inconsiderate?"

Then, she jabbed a finger at me. "Especially you, Claire Simpson! You fanned the flames and rallied others to pick on me. Do you think I'm an easy target just because I came from a poor family?

"I'm the future daughter-in-law of the Zoharts, while you guys are just a bunch of office drones!"

Hearing that, Matthew froze for a moment before hurriedly waving his hands to stop things from escalating. "That's nonsense, Gracie. We—"

"You're not being truthful to yourself, Matty. You don't have to be afraid of this hag. You're the real heir of this company!"

My anger shot through the roof as I listened to their nonsense. That was it.

I was already frustrated from not getting promoted or a raise, but now, I had to endure a nepotistic brat yelling in my face? Who cared if she would be anyone's daughter-in-law? Even if Matthew's father showed up, I wouldn't stand for it!

With that, I ripped off my work badge and slammed it on the desk with a loud clang. "I'm done! I quit!"

At the peak of tension, Matthew's eyes darted around nervously. He suddenly dropped to his knees and clutched my leg, crying even louder than Gracie.

"You can't leave! I don't know how to do anything! If the team leader who actually gets things done quits, won't my family's empire collapse?"

The next second, a familiar voice came from behind. "Relax. Claire's not the only capable team leader in Zohart Group."