Chapter 4After My Boss Smear My Reputation, I Got Her Fired

Her little display of power worked instantly.

The coworkers who had just been snickering at her suddenly went dead silent, their faces draining of color.

A few of the women who had always hated my success were the first to jump back onto her sinking ship.

"That is so vicious! Audrey is dirty herself, so she tries to drag our manager down with her!"

"Exactly! Trying to ruin another woman's reputation with a fake video is pure evil!"

"And she calls herself a professional? She just hates women! She wants us all to be desperate for male validation like she is! She is the ultimate pick-me!"

I didn't even bother looking back at the flock of pathetic kiss-asses buzzing around her.

I packed up my personal laptop, grabbed the printed contracts, and walked out the door to go finalize my thirty-million-dollar deal.

The meeting went incredibly smooth. As we signed the final page, the client's representative offered me a sympathetic smile.

"Miss Sinclair, we have heard some of the nasty rumors floating around your office. But let me assure you, your expertise and the brilliant strategy you pitched speak entirely for themselves. It is a pleasure doing business with you."

On my drive back to the office, I pulled out my phone and called my dad.

"Hey Dad. Mission accomplished. I officially crossed the hundred-million mark today. Time for you to keep your end of the bet and start the handover, right?"

His booming, proud laugh echoed through the car speakers. "Hahaha! That's my girl! A promise is a promise. I am getting the paperwork ready now!"

I paused for a second, then casually threw a curveball. "Hey Dad... you never stepped out on Mom, did you?"

My dad's voice instantly shot up an octave, dripping with pure survival instinct.

"What?! Absolutely not! I swear on my life, your mother is the only woman I have ever loved! Who the hell is filling your head with that garbage?"

"Nothing, just checking." I hung up the phone, a frigid smile pulling at the corners of my mouth.

The second I stepped off the elevator and back onto my department floor, I could hear Valerie holding court, surrounded by her loyal subjects.

"The executive board is holding a leadership transition meeting in a few days. I am pretty sure they are going to announce my promotion to General Manager," she said, coyly tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Do not worry, I remember exactly who stood by me today. There will be plenty of perks for all of you once I am in charge."

The flattery rolled in like a tidal wave.

"You are amazing, Valerie! This is what it looks like when a strong woman rises on her own merit, without needing a man!"

"Exactly! So much better than certain people who have to use the casting couch to get ahead!"

"We will follow you anywhere, Valerie!"

She caught me walking past and shot me a triumphant, mocking glare.

"What is wrong, Audrey? Jealous? Girls who rely on men will never, ever reach the top floor."

I ignored her completely, walking to my desk to focus on polishing my final executive report.

Keep dancing, I thought. The higher you climb, the harder the concrete is going to feel when you hit it.

Over the next few days, the office turned into a minefield of petty sabotage.

My morning coffee suddenly tasted like dirty dishwater. Dead cockroaches mysteriously appeared on my keyboard. Important printed documents vanished into thin air.

I didn't waste energy fighting invisible ghosts. I simply packed my laptop and worked out of the coffee shop downstairs.

Soon enough, the day of the executive board meeting arrived.

I chose a razor-sharp, immaculate designer suit. My makeup was flawless, my heels clicked with authority, and I walked into the lobby radiating absolute control.

I barely made it past the security gates before Valerie stepped into my path.

She looked me up and down, a flash of pure envy in her eyes before she forced her face into a scowl.

"Audrey! How many times do I have to tell you?! You are forbidden from dressing like a cheap escort in this building! Who exactly are you trying to seduce today?"

I looked at her. She was wearing a highly extravagant, incredibly expensive dress that practically screamed for attention. I smiled coldly. "Manager Harrington, you seem pretty dressed up yourself today."

She lifted her chin, practically suffocating on her own superiority complex.

"Me? I am entirely bare-faced! I am all natural. Unlike some people who have to spackle on chemicals to hide how ugly they are on the inside!"

I laughed. Without a moment of hesitation, I unzipped my tote bag, pulled out a small travel bottle of micellar cleansing water, popped the cap, and splashed it directly into her face.

Valerie let out a bloodcurdling shriek.

The liquid cascaded down her cheeks, instantly melting her meticulous eyeliner and thick mascara into black rivers. Her heavy foundation washed away in patches, leaving her face a blotchy, disastrous mess resembling a ruined oil painting.

"Bare-faced, huh? Then what exactly is melting off your chin right now?"

"Audrey Sinclair! I am going to kill you!" she screamed, her body trembling with absolute fury as she lunged forward, claws out, aiming for my face.

Director Collins materialized out of nowhere and grabbed her arms, pulling her back. "Valerie! Stop! The board meeting is starting in ten minutes! Go to the bathroom and fix your face, right now!"

She let herself be dragged away, throwing a look of pure, homicidal hatred over her shoulder that could have burned a hole through my chest.

I calmly adjusted my lapels and stepped into the private elevator, taking it to the top floor executive suites.

As I approached the grand mahogany doors of the main boardroom, a receptionist stepped in front of me with a tight, practiced smile.

"I apologize, Miss Sinclair. Today's executive transition meeting is strictly by invitation only. Your name is not on the clearance list, so I cannot let you inside."

Valerie, having scrubbed the worst of the disaster off her face, arrived down the hall with her little entourage just in time to hear it. She immediately started gloating.

"Well, well. Look who had the nerve to show up."

"You really don't know when to quit, do you? Did you actually think they would let trash like you into the boardroom?"

I looked at the receptionist, a calm, amused smile playing on my lips. "Why don't you make a quick phone call upstairs and double-check that list?"

The receptionist's smile faltered into annoyance. She clearly thought I was just being difficult.

With a dramatic sigh, she picked up the internal phone on her podium and murmured a question to the executive secretary inside.

A few seconds later, the color completely drained from her face. She slammed the phone down, practically jogged out from behind the podium, and bowed to me at a perfect ninety-degree angle, her voice shaking violently.

"Miss Sinclair! I am so sorry, please go right in! Your seat is at the absolute head of the table. Let me escort you!"