Chapter 1After My Boss Smear My Reputation, I Got Her Fired

The moment the conference room doors closed, I knew the thirty-million-dollar contract was in the bag.

I had barely snapped my laptop shut when my department manager, Valerie, marched over. She crossed her arms, her eyes raking over me with a sneer dripping in condescension.

"Nice battle armor," she mocked. "But honestly, as highly educated women in the corporate world, we really shouldn't be subjecting ourselves to the male gaze."

I paused, genuinely confused, and offered a polite explanation. "I was hosting VIP clients. Dressing professionally is just basic respect, isn't it? Besides, it was the pitch itself that won them over."

She immediately raised her voice, making sure the entire floor could hear. "Respect? The clients were all men, and you are the only woman in the office wearing a fitted dress today. Do you really think your little motives aren't obvious? Stop being such a pick-me and wake up!"

A male colleague tried to diffuse the tension. "Come on, Valerie, that is a bit harsh. Her presentation was completely flawless today..."

She cut him off with a sharp glare. "Of course you men are defending her! This is textbook internalized misogyny. She has been completely conditioned by the patriarchy, and yet she stands there thinking she is just being a dedicated professional!"

"If we women want to be taken seriously in this industry, we have to shed this toxic mindset." She turned her venom back to me. "I suggest you come in bare-faced next time and let your actual skills do the talking. Stop embarrassing the rest of us."

...

* * *

When you reach a certain level of sheer, unadulterated disbelief, you really cannot help but laugh out loud.

I had put on a little light makeup and worn a perfectly tailored, modest pencil dress, and suddenly I was the poster child for setting women back a century.

"Valerie, I think you need to spend a little less time scrolling through internet buzzwords," I said, my voice cool and even. "You just regurgitate whatever you hear online without actually understanding what the words mean."

"With your binary, black-and-white way of thinking, you are the one who desperately needs some corporate retraining."

Her face instantly mottled into an ugly shade of plum. Clearly, she had never been talked back to by a subordinate in public before.

"Audrey Sinclair! How dare you speak to me like that?!" She slammed her hand on the desk, her manicured finger pointing inches from my nose. "I am your superior! Have you completely forgotten your place?"

I didn't back down an inch. I threw her own logic right back in her face. "My place? Didn't you just say we should let our skills do the talking? I just closed a thirty-million-dollar deal. Mind showing me what your skills have accomplished lately?"

She was a nepotism hire dropped into the manager role out of nowhere. She had absolutely nothing to show for her time here.

Furious and entirely out of arguments, she raised her hand and slapped me hard across the face.

The crack echoed through the silent office. My cheek instantly burned, the sting radiating down my jaw before I could even process what had happened.

Having resorted to violence, she suddenly seemed to find her twisted sense of confidence again. She stood over me, panting heavily as she shrieked.

"Let me tell you something, Audrey! I know you bring in numbers! But every single person in this office knows exactly how you get those numbers!"

"While you are in this building, I am your boss! You will learn some respect! Do not think for a second that just because you use a pretty face to seduce men into signing a few contracts, you can parade around my department acting like you own the place!"

The moment the words left her mouth, a few coworkers who were always deeply jealous of my commission checks swarmed in like vultures, eagerly backing her up.

"Exactly. Who knows what kind of 'skills' she is using behind closed doors. Gutter tactics will never earn real respect."

"Who was she even dressing up for? Valerie was trying to do her a favor by calling her out, and she just threw it in her face."

"Right? The rest of us make a living on actual talent, not by throwing ourselves at clients. You should be thanking her, Audrey."

I pressed a hand to my burning cheek. A hot, suffocating rage clawed up my throat, and I was about to tear into all of them, consequences be damned.

Suddenly, Director Collins grabbed my arm, his grip tight.

"Alright, alright, that is enough. Audrey, just let it go for now. You worked hard today. Come on, let's grab some lunch and cool off." He practically dragged me toward the elevators, lowering his voice to a frantic whisper.

"Why are you going head-to-head with her? She is Richard Harrington's only daughter! We are just employees here, Audrey. We cannot afford to piss off the CEO's kid!"

Richard Harrington's daughter?

That was funny. When exactly did my father have another daughter without telling me?