Chapter 1Years of Kindness Repaid with Insults, Now I’m Destroying the Maynards

I only took two plastic bags from the Maynard family’s deli, yet Patricia Maynard stormed into my office and publicly accused me of stealing, forcing me to pay her.

I’d supported their business for years and even asked my father to hold off on raising their rent, and this is how they repaid me.

Fine. From today on, the Maynard family will face the consequences—starting with the lease for the storefront they rent from my family.

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I’d stayed up too late the night before and overslept. I scrambled to get ready for work, throwing on whatever I could grab, and ran out the door. The Uber driver was already waiting, but my stomach reminded me I hadn’t eaten breakfast.

I rushed into Maynard’s Deli and told Russell to pack me a $30 sandwich to go. I was running late and couldn’t waste time.

When he rang it up, the total came to $56.90. Fine. I didn’t argue. I paid, grabbed the bag, and was about to leave when I noticed the torn bag leaking sauce onto my hand.

Russell was busy, so I didn’t want to bother him. I grabbed two extra plastic bags myself and left.

Twenty minutes after getting to the office, I hadn’t even had time to eat before Mia Carter, my coworker, told me someone was there to see me. I thought maybe a client had arrived early.

Adjusting my blazer, I stepped outside—and was face-to-face with none other than Patricia Maynard.

“You ran off without paying!” she barked, her voice dripping with venom. “How can someone who works at such a big company be so shameless?”

My mind raced. Did my payment not go through?

I quickly pulled up my payment history on Venmo—everything looked fine.

“Mrs. Maynard,” I said, keeping my tone polite, “I just checked, and I definitely paid. Maybe there was a delay on your end?”

I showed her the transaction receipt on my phone. “See? I paid. This must be a misunderstanding.”

“You paid for the food,” she sneered. “But don’t forget about the extra plastic bags you took! Five cents each, and you just walked off with them like I owe you something!”

The misunderstanding wasn’t cleared up; if anything, she doubled down.

“Walking around all polished and proper, working at a big company, but you still can’t resist taking advantage of us small folk.”

“Doesn’t your company care about hiring people with integrity? Call your boss out here and let him see your true colors.”

“You think because I’m an old lady, you can bully me? Taking things without paying just because I’m too polite to stop you? You’re disgusting!”

By now, her shouting had drawn the attention of my entire office.

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