Chapter 2
I had hidden my identity because I didn’t want to flaunt my status, but I never expected someone would exploit that loophole to impersonate me.
Mr. Davies rushed out of his office, yelling at me. “Are you kidding me?! Only two interns started today. If it’s not Miss Ashley, then who is it? You, some broke nobody who rides public bikes?!”
So that was it. This morning, I had grabbed a public bike, afraid that if Julian and I commuted together, we’d be recognized. That’s how Ashley got her chance to pretend to be me.
Ashley crossed her arms and threw a hundred bucks at me. “Broke people will always be broke. She can’t even buy a decent coffee without my money. Go on, get me another one.”
I wasn’t about to put up with her. I picked up the extra coffee I’d bought and splashed it right on her. “This is hand-ground! Can’t you taste it?!”
Ashley gasped in shock, but the colleagues behind her were even more frantic.
They scrambled, grabbing tissues and wiping her down.
“Chloe! Are you insane?! How dare you pour coffee all over Mrs. Sterling!”
Mr. Davies knelt on the floor, wiping Ashley’s shoes. “Ma’am, please don’t be angry. Blame only Chloe, this has nothing to do with us!”
“Oh my God! Isn’t Mrs. Sterling’s dress a designer haute couture from Versace? I remember this set is custom-made, it must be worth at least a few hundred grand!”
Brenda stood there, gloating, looking at me.
“Chloe, that’s over a million bucks! How are you going to pay for that, huh?”
“Hilarious! With her salary, she’ll never be able to pay that off, even if she worked her whole life!”
The office burst into laughter, Brenda practically crying with mirth.
Ashley looked incredibly pleased. “Fine, I won’t make things difficult for you commoners. Just apologize to me. Kneel before me, sincerely, and say you’re sorry. Then we’ll let this go.”
I was so infuriated I almost laughed. I pulled out my phone and transferred a few hundred bucks to her. “This cheap knockoff of yours? You think I need to work my whole life to pay for that?”
Brenda got even more hyped. “Are you saying our Mrs. Sterling is wearing a fake? You bumpkin, have you ever even seen real luxury?”
“Our Mrs. Sterling is Mr. Sterling’s wife! You know Mr. Sterling, right? He’s not just our company’s CEO, he’s the richest man in Westport!”
I tugged on Ashley’s dress hem, turning it over to examine. “The label’s all wrong, and you’re claiming it’s over a million?”
Ashley visibly panicked, her eyes darting around. “What nonsense! How could you tell if it’s real just by looking?”
Brenda pulled at the hem to see. “It does look a little different…”
“But I remember fashion bloggers saying this year’s new logo has some variations, and Mrs. Sterling’s is the latest style, isn’t it?”
I shook my head. “Fine. I’m not going to argue with you. If you really think I owe you that much, go ahead and take your dress to the police. I’m ready whenever you are.”
“You!” Mr. Davies was about to argue further, but Ashley stopped him. “Forget it. I’m getting married in a few days, I don’t want this to spoil my mood. It’s not that much money anyway.”
Immediately, everyone started praising Ashley, saying how beautiful and kind-hearted she was, just letting such a large sum go.
It was truly laughable. She was clearly just guilty.
Mr. Davies suddenly waved his hand, stopping everyone. “Everyone, listen up! Mr. Sterling’s wedding is in a few days. How about we all chip in a thousand bucks each, and our department can give Mr. and Mrs. Sterling a combined gift?”
The office fell silent. No one wanted to fork over that kind of money. With salaries of only a few thousand bucks a month, after rent and commuting, there wasn’t much left. Now they had to give a gift to the boss?
“What? You don’t want to?”
“Of course not! I’ll go first!” Brenda was the most eager. “Mr. Davies, I just transferred it to you!”
The remaining colleagues grudgingly coughed up the cash.
Mr. Davies counted the people, then turned to me. “Chloe, what’s your deal? You’re the only one in the whole department who hasn’t paid up.”
This was beyond ridiculous! “It’s my wedding, so I guess I don’t need to contribute to the gift, right?”
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