"She's young and easily influenced by rumors," said Theodore.

That made me swallow the words I had been about to say.

As a secretary, I shouldn't argue with my boss' girlfriend. But as the chairman's daughter, watching him blur the line between personal and professional matters was disappointing.

…

The next morning, I arrived at the office in the family car as usual.

I had just settled into my seat when a familiar voice rang out with exaggerated curiosity. "Ms. Saccone, you're certainly living the life. A luxury car picks you up every day."

Cassandra was leaning against the doorway, her eyes fixed on me. Several colleagues looked up.

I set my briefcase down and replied evenly, "You're not an employee here, Ms. Callahan. How I get to work is none of your concern."

"Why wouldn't it concern me?" she shot back, her tone sharp with entitlement. "I'm Theodore's girlfriend. If something might affect the company's image, I naturally have a right to speak up."

"Cassandra."

Theodore stepped out of his office, his brows knitting together. "This is an office. Don't interrupt the employees while they're working."

He turned to me, his tone professional and detached. "I know your character, Yvette, but be mindful going forward. Try to avoid situations that could lead to misunderstandings."

Cassandra clearly wasn't happy, but she kept quiet.

His attempt at playing mediator made me sneer inwardly. He had no idea who actually needed to be mindful.

After Theodore returned to his office, Cassandra walked straight up to my desk. She lowered her voice, the hostility no longer hidden. "Don't get ahead of yourself just because Theodore spoke up for you. You're just a secretary. Know your place, and we'll see how long you last."

I didn't respond.

The girlfriend of a branch general manager, lecturing the chairman's daughter about knowing her place. It was almost laughable.

Still, I kept my head down and said nothing. The evaluation wasn't over yet, and my identity couldn't be exposed.

…

Early the next morning, I discovered that the 7,000-page bid proposal on my computer was gone. The recycle bin had been emptied as well.

That proposal was tied to the company's most important project for the second half of the year, valued at 800 million dollars.

It was also a key test of Theodore's team.

I went straight to his office.

Cassandra was sitting on the couch, scrolling through her phone like she owned the place.

"Mr. Grant, the bid proposal was deliberately deleted," I reported without preamble.

My gaze swept past Cassandra. "Yesterday afternoon, Ms. Callahan was alone in the office area for a long period of time."

Cassandra immediately put her phone down, her face filling with hurt and disbelief. "Theodore, I was just waiting for you to get out of work. Why would I touch the company computers? She's framing me!"

Theodore's expression turned serious. "Yvette, accusations like this need proof. Are you sure this wasn't a system malfunction?"

"I'm certain. Files can be deleted by mistake, but the recycle bin was emptied. That doesn't happen accidentally."

Cassandra's eyes reddened at once. "I know you like Theodore and want me gone, but you can't use something this serious to frame me."

Theodore glanced at her before turning back to me. "Focus on recovering the files first. Until there's evidence, don't accuse anyone."

Seeing how protective he was of his girlfriend and thinking of the proposal that was lost, I clenched my fists in anger. "If you want evidence, then let's call the police and have them investigate who deleted the files."

Cassandra's expression changed instantly.

Theodore stood up, his voice sharp. "That's enough. You didn't back up the proposal properly. That's on you. Now, get back to work and redo the proposal. If the bid fails, you're fired."

Behind him, Cassandra smiled at me triumphantly.

She probably thought she'd won, but she didn't realize she'd crossed more than just a secretary's bottom line.

That day, my coworkers had thought they would finally be able to leave on time and get some rest. Instead, they all sat at their desks with dark expressions, working overtime.

No matter how late we stayed, a 7,000-page presentation was not something we could finish in a single night.

The next day, the bid failed.

Cassandra ordered coffee and told everyone, "This is all because Ms. Saccone didn't save the files properly, causing everyone to lose the bid."

Then, she added, "Ms. Saccone, hurry up and apologize to everyone. You just made them lose their year-end bonuses."

I took a deep breath. "You're the one who used my computer without permission, and you're the reason the company lost a project worth 800 million dollars."

When I said that, all of my coworkers stared at Cassandra in shock.

Cassandra's face turned bright red.

"You're just jealous that Theodore is with me, so you're slandering me. You're trying to force Theodore to break up with me! I'm telling you, even if Theodore broke up with me, he still wouldn't want a vicious woman like you."

At that moment, Theodore happened to walk out of his office.

He held Cassandra's hand and looked at me with hostility.

"Yvette, you failed to separate personal matters from work. You're making up false accusations, and you caused the company to lose an 800-million-dollar project. As an intern, you lack ability, and your character is questionable. You're fired."

A moment later, I was standing downstairs outside the building, holding my things.

I turned back to look at the building, and my eyes turned icy.

…

The next day was the group's annual gala. All branch general managers, senior executives, and core employees had to attend the gala at headquarters.

I attended with my dad.

I was about to go get champagne when an unpleasant voice suddenly rang out.

"Yvette? What are you doing here?"

Cassandra walked toward me with her arm linked through Theodore's.

She looked me up and down, then clenched her teeth, pointed at me, and cursed, "Yvette Saccone, you're a disgusting homewrecker who just won't go away!

"You're telling me you're not harboring ulterior motives toward my boyfriend? Look at you! You stole an invitation and sneaked in here just to cling to Theodore!"

Even Theodore's gaze turned guarded. "Yvette, I really didn't expect you to follow us all the way to the company gala. Security, get her out of here!"

Seeing Theodore's expression made my skin crawl, and I rolled my eyes. "Ms. Callahan, I told you to stop spouting nonsense. You're saying I stole an invitation and sneaked in, but where's the proof?"

Cassandra scoffed. "Hey, are you trying to be funny? You've already been fired. If you didn't sneak in, how else could you get in here? Security, hurry up and throw this woman out. She clearly snuck in here!"

The security at the venue heard the commotion and moved in, but they halted when they saw me.

Theodore frowned. "Yvette, I'll say this one last time. Get out of here right now. If you keep bothering us, I'll make sure you never work in this industry again."

His shameless threat made me laugh. "You're trying to blacklist me? Do you really think you can?"