My boss’s girlfriend decided I was her arch-nemesis. During a company dinner, she walked right up to me in front of everyone. "I hear you're the queen of kissing the boss's ass," she sneered. "Tell you what. Bark like a dog for me, right now, and I’ll give you a hundred bucks." The room went dead silent. I just smiled, raised my glass, and addressed the table. "Here’s to Liam! May the company be prosperous, may his health be prosperous, and may his future be prosperous. Cheers to prosperity, prosperity, prosperity!" I turned back to her, my smile widening. "That’s six cheers for prosperity. Since you went with the dog theme, I’ll take that cash via Venmo." The team burst out laughing. Even Liam had a slight smirk on his face. Only the girlfriend’s face instantly dropped. 1 "Unbelievable. A true salesperson. Always on script," Hailey said, her smile not reaching her cold eyes as she dragged out the words. "No wonder Liam is always bragging about how many deals you close. You really know how to work a man. Not like me—I’m just too simple to think of such... creative toasts." The atmosphere turned awkward again. Anyone with a brain could hear the venom dripping from her tone. Yet my boss, Liam Hayes, seemed completely oblivious. He just gave her nose a playful, adoring pinch. "Babe, you don't need to worry about that corporate speak," he cooed. "Just stay right here by my side and let me take care of you." "But..." Hailey lowered her gaze, her voice suddenly trembling, on the verge of tears. "People online always say bosses are so easily seduced by the female employees close to them. Liam, you promoted Sarah to VP so fast... I... I just feel so insecure." As she spoke, she actually managed to squeeze out two tears, giving me a pathetic, resentful look. "And... she was so disrespectful just now. I just wanted to do something funny with the dog thing, but she used that 'prosperity' joke to mock me. She completely disregarded me." I almost laughed out loud. She publicly insulted me, asking me to bark like an animal, and somehow I was in the wrong? I knew better than to engage with a woman like this. Trying to prove my innocence would be a waste of breath. I put down my glass and looked directly at Liam. "Liam, your girlfriend has gone in a huge circle, moving from questioning my professional ability to attacking my character. Is this all just... some elaborate excuse to bail on the six hundred dollars she owes me?" "Pfft—" In the corner, a coworker couldn't hold it in. A mouthful of wine almost sprayed out. Hailey’s face instantly turned bright red, like a cat whose tail had been stomped on. "Liam, see! She’s always targeting me! Just because I’m your girlfriend and she’s not, she’s miserable. She tries to humiliate me every chance she gets!" Liam immediately went into damage control, holding her and shushing her, then glared at me with a frown. "Sarah!" His voice was stern. "Hailey is young. She says what she thinks; she doesn't mean any harm. You're a veteran in this company. Couldn't you have just spoken to her nicely? Did you have to make her look bad?" He impatiently pulled out his phone. "It’s just six hundred bucks, right? I’ll cover it for her." He quickly processed the transfer. Hailey tried to stop him but failed, a flash of annoyance and stinginess washing over her face. My phone vibrated right on cue. The screen lit up: [Venmo: You received $600.00 from Liam Hayes.] Six hundred dollars for a single sentence to calm her down? What a deal. I raised my glass to Hailey, locking in a perfect, professional smile, my voice airy and cheerful. "Don't worry, Hailey. I keep my business and personal life strictly separate. When I'm on the clock, I'm only looking for one thing: money. After all..." I paused, letting the smile hit my eyes. "...sleeping with the boss sounds like it would really slow down my earning potential." A few colleagues couldn't hold back their laughter anymore. Hailey froze in Liam's arms, her face turning a ghastly shade of white, then red. The look she gave me said she wanted to skin me alive right then and there. 2 Hailey painting a target on my back wasn't a new development. She was a micro-influencer with a tiny, dwindling following. Ever since she hooked up with Liam, she had acted like she owned the place. In the office, any female employee who dared to speak more than a few words to Liam received Hailey’s signature "death stare." And I was her prime suspect. Simply because I was the Chief Revenue Officer and reported directly to Liam. And because I had been with the company since day one, building it up alongside him. That history of shared struggle was, in Hailey’s eyes, a massive thorn in her side. That’s why she pushed me to bark like a dog in front of everyone. It was the most primal, crude way to assert her dominance as his woman. I had assumed tonight’s drama ended there. I was wrong. As we broke up to leave, a single sentence from Liam put me right back in the line of fire. "Sarah, the client just emailed about the new pitch. There are a few major issues, and it’s urgent." He glanced at his phone. "Get in. I'm heading in your direction; I'll drop you off and we can talk on the way." The words had barely left his mouth. Hailey, standing beside him, instantly went pale. She clutched Liam’s sleeve, her voice trembling slightly. "Liam, you... you even know where she lives? How far has this..." "Where is your head going?" Liam immediately softened his voice, frantically trying to soothe her. "We shared a car after a business meeting last time and the driver dropped her off first. That’s how I know. Hailey, this is strictly business." Hailey bit her lip, putting on a show of a deeply wronged woman forcing herself to trust him. She nodded "forgivingly." I felt my temples throbbing. I wanted absolutely no part of this mess. "Liam, I'll just call an Uber. We can talk about work tomorrow at the office." "No, the client is pushing hard. We need to get a head start tonight." I had no choice but to follow them to the parking garage. As we reached the car, Act Two began. Hailey rushed forward like an Olympic sprinter to claim the front passenger seat, sitting down like she was occupying a throne. Then, she shot a victorious smirk at me through the window. "Sorry, Sarah," she said, her voice dripping with fake innocence. "This is Liam’s 'designated girlfriend seat.' I can't let you have it. You know how some women are... always trying to steal the front seat, thinking sitting here actually means something." She paused, sighing dramatically to emphasize her point. "Honestly, what's the point? Trying to squeeze into a position that isn't yours... it’s just so desperate and sad, isn't it?" Looking at her playing the oblivious "mean girl" act, my annoyance finally settled into cold clarity. It seemed she hadn't learned her lesson at dinner. I pulled open the back door, my voice flat and deadpan. "You're overthinking it, Hailey. I actually hate riding shotgun." I sat down in the seat directly behind the driver, waiting a beat before I added: "You probably don't know this, Hailey, but functionally, the front passenger seat is known as the 'suicide seat' in car accidents. It has the highest fatality rate. In a crisis, a driver's instinct is to jerk the wheel to the left to protect themselves, exposing the passenger to the impact." I looked up, meeting her gaze in the rearview mirror as her face instantly locked up in horror. I gave her a tiny smile. "So, I prefer this spot. The safest. Even if we crash, I have the highest survival rate. Unlike the front seat...啧. Quickest to die." Hailey’s face went dead white. Instinctively, she fumbled frantically for her seatbelt, her movements panicked and clumsy. "Sarah!" Liam snapped, starting the car, his tone accusatory. "What is wrong with you? Hailey scares easily. Stop trying to freak her out." He started cooing at his terrified little rabbit again. I leaned back against the seat, closing my eyes to rest. I listened to their nauseating sweet-talk until I couldn't take it anymore. "Liam, are we talking business or not?" I asked coldly. "If you two are going to keep making out, just drop me at my place. I'll handle it over email, assuming Hailey doesn't decide that's 'evidence' of something untoward." That statement was like a bucket of ice water, putting an instant stop to their cuddling. Hailey was silent for a few seconds. Then, she suddenly turned around, forcing a broad, "gracious" smile. "Sarah, don't be mad. Earlier... I was probably just too sensitive. I misunderstood you." She pulled out her phone and held it out to me, her eyes commanding rather than requesting. "To avoid any misunderstandings in the future, we should exchange contact info. In case... you have an 'urgent business matter' with Liam after hours, you can just contact me first. I can pass the message along. That way, everyone is comfortable." I almost laughed at the sheer absurdity. I have an urgent work issue, and instead of contacting my boss, I have to go through his clueless, micro-influencer girlfriend? I looked at Liam in sheer disbelief, expecting him to say something sensible. Instead, he patted Hailey’s hand approvingly, nodding with a smile. "That’s a great idea. Hailey just wants to understand my work more, to feel more secure. Sarah, just add her. I want my girlfriend and my top CRO to get along." In that moment, a wave of cold disappointment washed over me. To appease his little girlfriend, he was willing to make a mockery of professionalism. Under his watchful eye, I suppressed my disgust and scanned Hailey’s QR code. The friend request went through. A nickname popped up on my screen: [Hailey ❤️’s Liam] Her profile picture was a shot of them passionately kissing. Before I could even process the annoyance of that, my phone vibrated with a ding. Hailey had sent her first message. [Designated Girlfriend seat: Sarah, if anything happens with Liam’s work in the future, remember to tell me first! ~ [Cute Emoji]] 3 That night, I worked on the client pitch until the early hours of the morning. Yet, at six a.m. sharp, my phone began vibrating like crazy. I slid the screen open. A long string of unread messages, all from [Hailey ❤️’s Liam]. [Sarah, are you awake?] [I hear Liam is going to see Mr. Vance today. Are you going too?] [Is Mr. Vance a man or a woman? How old are they?] [Since you claim you and Liam are strictly professional, you better tell me if you see any women trying to hit on him! I’m trusting you as a sister!] [Also, remember to remind Liam to say 'I love you' to me at least twenty times today! If he doesn't hit his quota, I'm going to be very unhappy!] My head was pounding. I threw the phone to the side, reclaiming some peace. I figured not replying would be statement enough. I was wrong. Ten minutes later, my phone began ringing with a relentless call. Caller ID: [Hailey ❤️’s Liam]. I took a deep breath, eventually picking it up. I had to force the tension out of my voice. "Hailey, it is six-ten in the morning. Is there some kind of national emergency?" "You finally picked up!" Her voice was angrier than mine. "Why didn't you reply to my messages? Do you have a guilty conscience?" "I was sleeping." Every word I spoke felt like it was being squeezed through my teeth. "Sleeping?" She sounded like I had just told her a fairy tale. Her voice spiked. "You might be able to sleep, but I can't! Every time Liam goes to see a client, I worry myself to death. You have to keep an eye on him for me!" "Hailey," my voice went cold. "You are an adult. If you want to talk to your boyfriend, contact him yourself. I am not your assistant, and I am certainly not your spy." With that, I hung up. The world was quiet again, but my sleep was gone. I got up, showered, and re-checked all the materials for the Vance meeting. At nine a.m., Liam and I arrived at Mr. Vance’s company. As we stepped into the conference room, my phone vibrated. [Hailey ❤️’s Liam: Sarah, did you see Mr. Vance yet? Snap a picture for me! ~] I glanced at it and ignored it. Messages came flooding in: [Are you ignoring me because of last night?] [I know you’re mad I doubted you, but it’s just because I love Liam so much.] [If you don't have something to hide, you should help me.] [Think about it, if I start a fight with Liam and it affects his work, the company loses money. Can you take responsibility for that?!] I couldn't handle the psychotic logic. I quickly typed four words: "In a meeting. busy." I put the phone on silent and shoved it into the deepest pocket of my briefcase. 4 Mr. Vance was an industry veteran, known for being strict and efficient. Over years of working with him, I had learned exactly how he operated. Off the clock, I had put in a lot of effort with his wife and daughter, too. From limited-edition scarves to concert tickets. When the relationship is solid, the business follows naturally. So, the negotiation, while intense, was going smoothly. As expected, after discussing a few key points, Mr. Vance suggested a short break so his team could do a final internal review. That was the signal. We were about to close. I relaxed my tense shoulders, grabbed my bag, and headed for the restroom. Locking myself in a stall, I pulled out my phone to check for work messages. The moment the screen lit up, my stomach dropped. Over ninety-nine unread messages. Forty-seven missed calls. All from Hailey. Before I could even process the deluge, a video call request slammed onto the screen. Hailey. Again. I instinctively declined it. Within a second, another request popped up, carrying a frantic "I will not stop until you answer" energy. I took a deep breath and accepted the call. On the screen, Hailey’s perfectly made-up face was distorted with rage. "Sarah! You dared to decline my call! You have a guilty conscience!" She was practically screaming, her eyes scanning like radar over me and the background behind me. When she realized the background was the standard white tile of a public restroom, her eyes went wide. "You... you're in a bathroom?!" Her voice spiked to a shriek, pure fury and disbelief radiating from the screen. "You bitch! You shameless whore! You actually seduced Liam... right there in a public bathroom..." "Are you insane?" I was bewildered. "We are at Mr. Vance’s company for a negotiation. We're on a break. I came out to use the restroom. Liam is still in the conference room!" She ignored me. "I don't believe you! You're lying! Turn the camera around! Let me see!" This was absurd. I had had enough. I hung up and immediately blocked her. The face in the mirror looked exhausted. I splashed cold water on it, forcing myself to compose my expression, and walked back to the conference room. The second half of the negotiation was much more relaxed. Mr. Vance didn't haggle much more on the profit sharing. He smiled at Liam. "Liam, to be honest, a lot of companies wanted this project, and some offered better terms. But in business, I trust people. Working with you over the last few years has been seamless. Especially with Sarah. She’s professional, reliable, and addresses any issue immediately. That kind of dedication is rare." This was high praise in the business world. Liam beamed. Just as we were about to shake hands on the final deal and send it to the legal teams—the conference room door burst open. Mr. Vance’s secretary looked panicked. "Mr. Vance, Mr. Hayes, there is a Ms. Hailey Thorne outside claiming to be your 'Chief Brand Officer,' insisting she should be in this meeting. We couldn't stop her..." Before she finished, Hailey barged in. Her eyes were red, her face streaked with tears, the picture of a profoundly wronged woman. 5 "Hailey? What are you doing here?!" Liam dropped his pen, standing up instantly. Hailey didn't answer immediately. Instead, she scanned the room like a hostile radar—taking in the fifty-something Mr. Vance, the table full of serious documents, and the presentation slides still projected on the screen. Every sign pointed to this being exactly what I said: a serious business meeting. The manic look on her face vanished in an instant, replaced by a trembling lip and a fragile, pathetic expression. "Liam..." Her voice was a wail, full of calculated vulnerability. "I was just so worried about you... I sent Sarah so many messages asking about you. But she ignored me, and then she was mean to me, and... and she maliciously misled me, saying... saying you were with her in the bathroom..." She let the implication hang there, burying her face in her hands and sobbing dramatically. "I was worried to death, and then she拉黑 [blocked] me, so I had to come see for myself if you were okay... I didn't mean to interrupt, I’m so sorry..." Total silence. Mr. Vance and his team went from polite smiles to expressions of shock, disgust, and "is this for real?" Liam, seeing her crying so pitifully, immediately softened. His anger at the interruption vanished, replaced by a desperate need to soothe her. "Babe, don't cry, we really are talking business... Sarah just went to the bathroom for a minute, I was in the conference room the whole time, don't imagine things..." He comforted his girlfriend, but as he turned to look at me, his face hardened with blame. "Sarah! What is wrong with you?" He frowned deeply, his tone harsh. "You know Hailey is sensitive. Would it have killed you to just reply to her message? Answer her call? 拉黑 [blocking] her... were you trying to provoke her?" I looked at him, feeling like I was seeing a total stranger. "Liam," I said, my voice dead calm. "We were just about to sign a deal worth millions of dollars, and you're telling me I should have lost my focus to manage your girlfriend's emotions?" "A contract is important, but are Hailey’s feelings not important?" He waved his hand dismissively, irritated. "She just cares about me too much! You're a veteran of this company, my top executive. Couldn't you have helped me out? Calm her down so this didn't happen?" He was actually putting the entire blame on me. Looking at him, hearing this absurd accusation, the last ounce of loyalty I had for him evaporated. I pulled out my phone and held it up for everyone to see. I unlocked it and tapped into her message thread. The screen displayed the avalanche of texts and video calls. "Liam, please tell me," I said, my voice cutting through the room. "How, exactly, was I supposed to 'calm down' over a hundred harassing messages and forty-seven calls? Was I supposed to accept the video call on the negotiation table and livestream our meeting to her? Or was I supposed to give her a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of the restroom stall while I was using it, to prove my 'innocence'?" Every word I spoke felt like a slap to his face. Liam went pale, then red, unable to find words. Hailey, seeing the tide turning, immediately clutched her chest, her voice weak and reedy. "Liam, she’s so mean... she’s targeting me on purpose, she hates seeing us happy... I’m getting so dizzy from being attacked..." She rolled her eyes back, her body going limp. "Hailey!" Liam gasped, forgetting everything else. He rushed forward, sweeping the "unconscious" Hailey into his arms. He held her, hurrying toward the exit. As he passed me, he didn't even look at me. He just spat out a single command: "I have to take her to the hospital. Fix this with Mr. Vance." The conference room was dead quiet. Mr. Vance’s expression had moved past amusement to genuine irritation. "Sarah," he said quietly. "It seems your company’s 'family drama' is much more important than this multi-million dollar contract." The warmth was gone from his voice, replaced by cold business calculation. "Do you even have the authority to sign this? To be honest, Sarah, if it weren't for your professionalism in the past, today's circus would have been enough to put your company on my blacklist." A wave of cold exhaustion swept over me. All the blood, sweat, and tears I had put into this project, all the relationships I had nurtured, were currently in freefall. And it was all because of a stupid woman and an even stupider man. I took a deep breath. But when I exhaled, the anger and disappointment didn't come out. Instead, they were replaced by a startling, icy clarity. I looked Mr. Vance in the eye. A professional, confident smile returned to my face. I reached out and gently pushed the near-final contract to the side of the table. The air seemed to freeze. I spoke, my voice steady and clear. "We are absolutely going to sign this, Mr. Vance." "However... we are going to sign a slightly different version." 6 By the time I left Mr. Vance’s office, three hours had passed. I took a cab straight back to the company. The moment I walked out of the elevator, I knew something was wrong. My team was huddled together, whispering furiously, their expressions a mix of anger and worry. Seeing me, they instantly went silent. "What's up?" I asked. My protégée, Maya, rushed to my side. Her face was flushed with suppressed rage. She shoved her phone into my hand. "Sarah, look. Hailey just posted this. She’s talking about you, isn't she?" I took the phone. It was Hailey’s Instagram. A new post, from an hour ago. The picture was of Liam sitting by a hospital bed, gently peeling an apple for her. The caption was a masterclass in passive-aggressive "mean girl" style: [Some people are so desperate, trying to steal my man under the guise of 'work.' Too bad for them, his heart only belongs to me ~ ❤️ Today, just to rush me to the hospital, he walked away from a multi-million dollar contract. What a hero! ❤️] [It’s just sad, really. Does she not have any shame? Claiming she was 'messing around' with my man in a public bathroom... Good thing I know how to trust my man. Look, he’s right here by my side, right where he belongs. ❤️] [I just want to give her some advice: no matter how hard you work, what’s the point? In the end, your boss still loves me. ❤️ Love you, babe! ❤️] The post already had hundreds of comments, and the engagement was skyrocketing. Hailey had manually liked every single comment calling me a "home-wrecking bitch" or a "slut." I scrolled up and saw her post from yesterday, too. [Had to teach a lesson to a delusional employee who thought she could seduce my man today. Asked her to bark like a dog, and she did it. What can I say? I am the boss’s girlfriend, after all. Employees need to know their place and respect the hierarchy.] [Then she tried to steal a ride in the 'designated girlfriend seat.' So pathetic. Good thing I’m smart and sent her to the back seat where she belongs. ❤️ Shotgun is forever mine! ❤️] It seemed she had tasted the blood of viral engagement and was hooked. She was rewriting reality into a "girlfriend defeats the side piece" fantasy, and she was winning the internet. And I was the pathetic villain getting crushed. "Sarah, this is total bullshit!" Maya snap. "We all know who you are! Every woman in this office has been targeted by her. She’s the one acting like a psycho, and now she’s flipping the script!" The rest of my core team gathered around, nodding. "We’re on your side, Sarah!" "Do you want us to spam her comment section?" "This company is turning into a total joke..." I looked at their angry, supportive faces. The chill in my heart thawed slightly. "Don't spam her comments," I said, shaking my head. "You spam, she blocks, and it just gives her more engagement." "Then what? We just let her drag your name through the dirt?" Maya was desperate. "Everyone一私下 [privately] hates her guts! Liam has truly... I thought he was decent, but he is totally under her spell." One of my braver team members whispered: "Sarah... have you considered... leaving? If you go, we all go with you." The rest of the team looked at me with expectation. My heart warmed, but I just smiled. "Don't be silly. I have a job to do. Let's focus on the work we have." They exchanged looks. It seemed they read something else in my calm demeanor. Hope, perhaps. Just then, my phone rang. Caller ID: Liam Hayes. He must have finally cooed his "little rabbit" to sleep.
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