"Leave this company, and don't bother applying anywhere else. Your background check report? I write whatever I want on it."

A naked threat.

Open bullying.

A humiliation meant to cut a person down to nothing.

I was shaking all over, biting down hard enough to taste blood without even noticing.

I shot to my feet, ready to fight back, and Jordan Lambert grabbed my arm from behind and held on tight.

I turned. Jordan shook his head at me.

The fury that had climbed into my throat got swallowed back down.

Oliver thought I'd caved. He let out a cold, arrogant little laugh.

"That's more like it. Let Jordan teach you what it means to read the room and play smart."

"You handle tonight's celebration dinner to my satisfaction, and what happened just now never happened. From here on, there's still a place for you in this department."

"Don't be so petty, kid. Every resource you put in now is a stepping stone to your promotion. Relax. With me looking out for you, you won't lose out."

It was his usual trick.

A slap, then a sweet little reward, then a pie in the sky that would never come true, just to keep me playing the fool.

He didn't wait for me to answer. Oliver turned on his heel and strode off, arrogant as ever.

The coworkers shot me looks of disgust and contempt, then happily went off to plan tonight's celebration dinner.

Jordan was the only employee who hadn't reeled off a list of dishes, and the only one who hadn't joined in the sneering.

He pulled me into the stairwell and let out a helpless sigh.

"Cece, Oliver's a lowlife, plain and simple. My wife scrapes by running a little diner, and every time we work late he has me make boxed lunches for everyone, never pays a cent. He gets the credit, I cover the food. The minute I bring up money, he makes my life hell. All these years he's dangled raises and promotions, and I'm still a junior clerk who hasn't seen a dime more."

"I've tried to quit too. Same threats, same speech. You think anybody in sales has expense reports without a single error? At my age, if I leave with a stain on my record, I'll never find another job. I just have to take it."

It surged through me like a tide, and my voice came out wrong.

"Jordan, but my meal isn't some small amount…"

"I know. Go talk to Mr. Whitney, plead poverty, get them to cut down on the expensive dishes. Just bear it. You're still young. The last thing you want is a stain on your résumé."

My nails dug into my palm. My voice came out steady.

"Jordan, I have to quit this job."

Jordan shook his head, resigned, and turned to go.

"Jordan." I called him back.

He turned.

"Don't go to the dinner tonight."

He blinked, then nodded, and pushed the door open and left.

I called my mom.

"Mom, Oliver's planning to book out our restaurant tonight. No matter what he says, don't agree to it."

She paused. "Tonight's already booked by someone else. Didn't you tell him that?"

"I did…"

I told her the whole thing, and by the end her voice was trembling with anger.

"Cecily, you did the right thing. You can't coddle people like that. Don't you worry, even if the good Lord himself walks in today, it won't work."

"And it's my fault too. I figured he was your boss, so let him eat free, treat it like a gift, make things a little easier for you under him. And he just keeps pushing for more."

"Don't be scared, sweetheart. Just quit and come home. If you can't find work, your mom will take care of you. We're not swallowing that kind of humiliation."

A warm rush went through me, and my nose stung.

"Mom, I'm going to quit. He wants to corner me, and I'm not going to let him off easy."

"Mom, check the cameras. Put security cameras everywhere the blind spots can't reach. Hire twenty strong guards from Five Guards Security, and one more thing…"

A hard little edge curled at the corner of my mouth.

"Live stream the whole thing."

I hung up and went straight to HR to hand in my resignation.

Daphne Vance, the HR director, glanced at the form, then waved me into a chair.

She gave me that look, the one that said she'd been around and was only telling me this for my own good.

"Cecily, sweetie, this is nothing. Resigning over it? Word gets out that you fell out with a director over one dinner, and you'll never work anywhere again."

"An opportunity like this doesn't come to just anyone. You should be grateful. Do tonight's celebration banquet right. Don't embarrass your department, and don't drag your family's restaurant's name through the mud either."

My breath caught, and a dull ache pressed against my chest.

I looked at her, and the warmth drained out of my face.

"Ms. Vance, resigning is my right. If you insist on blocking it, I won't hesitate to file with the labor arbitration board."

Daphne's expression darkened, and she switched into strictly-by-the-book mode.

"Resignations require one month's advance notice, and you can't leave until your handover is complete and cleared."

"And during that time, you'll be subject to a financial audit and an attendance review. If anything turns up, it'll be handled strictly per company policy, and all of it goes into your background check. So think it through carefully!"

I slid my employment contract across to her.

"The contract doesn't say anything about one month's notice."

Her face went stiff for a second.

"You still have to go through the audit and review."

"How long?"

"A week, at the fastest."

"Fine." I nodded. "I'll wait."

I turned and walked out. As I reached the office door, I heard Aileen saying, "He's invited the HR and finance directors tonight. From now on nobody's tracking our attendance, and expense approvals will go faster too."

"Mr. Whitney really knows how to set things up. Stick with him and you eat well. Get a few more suckers like Cecily Joyner and think how much he saves on meals in a year."

I stood at the door and gave a cold laugh.

No wonder Daphne went to bat for Oliver like that. She'd been bought off.

Good. Then I could net them all in one sweep.

Back at my desk, I tidied my files as if nothing were wrong.

Aileen sat with a little compact, touching up her makeup while sniping at me in that snide tone.

"Honestly, some people just won't take the easy way and have to learn the hard way. So? Scared now, aren't you? One dinner buys you peace of mind. Cecily Joyner, you're not losing anything."

"Right. Mr. Whitney went to all that trouble to promote her family's place, and this is how she repays him. Real ingrate."

"A little money and she thinks she's somebody, doesn't even respect a director. People like that don't last anywhere. When the background-check people come asking, send them to me, and I'll show them exactly what she's worth!"

I pretended not to hear and kept my head down, working.

Oliver posted a menu in the group chat, everything the colleagues had just ordered.

Then he tagged me.

【@Cecily Joyner, I've put together everyone's order. Send it to your mom so she can prep ahead. Also, set up the venue. Ten flower baskets will do, and have them make a seven-tier cake. It's a celebration banquet, after all, so it should look lively.】

I didn't reply.

The colleagues piled on with their likes.

【Mr. Whitney's got real style】

【Brilliant as always, Mr. Whitney】

Every one of them was beaming, like they couldn't wait for six o'clock.

I watched them, cold-eyed.

Laugh all you want. I just hope you can still laugh tonight.

At six that evening, Oliver led over a hundred people in a grand procession to the door of the Skyline Revolving Restaurant.

A server politely blocked the entrance.

"I'm sorry, sir. The restaurant is booked privately tonight and closed to the public."

Oliver shot the server an arrogant look.

"You don't know who I am? And you still dare to stop me?"

"I'm the one who booked the place. Now get out of the way!"

The server didn't move.

"I'm sorry, sir. Tonight's private booking is for a proposal, and it isn't yours. Please cooperate and leave."

Oliver Whitney's face changed. "Impossible! I'm the boss of Cecily Joyner, your little owner. I told her to book the whole place. She wouldn't hand it off to somebody else."

The server kept smiling, but her tone lost its softness.

"The owner of this restaurant is Vivian Ashford. Cecily is only her daughter. She has no authority to make that call. And the private booking was confirmed a month in advance. We posted the notice on our website."

Oliver's face darkened. He turned and snapped at Aileen Dickerson.

"Call Cecily. Tell her to clear this place out and come greet us in herself!"

Aileen hurried to dial me.

The first time, I didn't pick up.

The second time, I hung up on her.

The third time, Oliver sent me a voice message directly.

【Cecily Joyner, you have three minutes to get over here, or I'll make sure your mother's restaurant doesn't stay open another day.】

I didn't reply.

He tagged me in the group chat.

【Cecily Joyner, what's going on? The whole department's here, plus family members. Is this how you arranged it? Get over here and bring us in.】

A few coworkers tagged me too.

【Cecily Joyner, everybody came out for your family's restaurant. This is pretty low, isn't it? It's just one meal. Don't make us look bad.】

【Right, what's with playing dead? We all agreed on this. If you won't come out, we're going in ourselves.】

The messages dropped into silence.

Oliver's face went black as the bottom of a pot. He shoved the server blocking the door aside.

"Everybody in. Let's see who dares stop me!"

At his word, more than a hundred people charged in like a stampede.

In seconds every empty seat was taken.

The manager rushed forward to stop them and Oliver kicked him flat to the floor.

"You blind piece of garbage. I'm the boss of your little owner, which makes me your boss. Who gave you the right to defy your boss?"

The manager clutched his stomach and explained patiently.

"Sir, there really is a private booking tonight. The client spent a million dollars on this setup. If you ruin it, you'll have to cover the full cost…"

"Cover this!"

He went over and slapped the manager across the face.

"What the hell are you, talking back to me? I'm Cecily's boss. What I say goes here!"

He threw the printed menu in the manager's face.

"Serve everything on this menu. Leave off a single dish and I'll have you thrown out of this restaurant!"

My mother called me, her voice shaking with anger.

"Cece, what do we do? Should I call the police?"

I looked at Oliver's face on the live stream, arrogance cranked to its absolute peak, and let out a cold laugh.

"Not yet. Give him whatever he asks for."

Ten minutes later the food started coming out, one course after another.

Aileen snapped photo after photo of the big Maine lobster and posted them to show off.

【Family, thanks to our director we get to eat a top-tier feast like this. The Maine lobster tastes incredible. Long live the director.】

The coworkers all photographed the dishes and posted them, showing off and singing his praises.

Fine wine and fine food swept away like a storm, and then they started boxing up the leftovers.

They even took the proposal balloons from the private booking.

When they reached the door and tried to leave, a row of tall, broad security guards in uniform blocked their way.

The manager carried the bill over and held it out to Oliver.

"Sir, tonight's tab comes to six hundred and eighty thousand, plus a hundred thousand for the private booking and two hundred thousand in penalty fees. That's nine hundred and eighty thousand. Cash or card?"