Chapter 3
I met Rachel’s eyes that were almost spitting fire, slowly curling my lips.
“Why are you so worked up about me stopping orders?”
The colleagues around also looked at each other in confusion, the fire of gossip burning in their eyes.
“Yeah, Rachel,” Lily couldn’t help but speak up, “Olivia isn’t in a hurry, why are you reacting so strongly?”
“Right, anyone would think you’re the one stopping orders.”
The chatter of the crowd was like cold water, instantly waking Rachel from her outburst.
The ferocity on her face quickly faded, and she squeezed out an extremely concerned expression.
“I… I’m just worried for Olivia!” She raised her voice, as if that would make her seem more sincere.
“Didn’t you say you were just a few orders away from having enough for the down payment? The South City No. 1 orders are so hard to get, if you stop now, how much money will you lose! I’m just feeling bad for you!”
She was on the verge of tears, acting as if it were real.
I laughed.
“I’m tired and want to rest,” I said casually, picking up a lobster and slowly peeling off the shell.
“Besides,” I paused and up at her, my gaze pure and innocent, “didn’t you just win big? A few hundred thousand, right? If I really end up short on the down payment, you… wouldn’t refuse to lend me some, would you?”
The air froze again.
All eyes focused on Rachel.
The color drained from her face in an instant, her lips trembling, unable to utter a word.
I put the peeled lobster meat in my mouth, adding leisurely.
“Our Rachel is so generous, she definitely would, right?”
Caught in my trap and scorched by everyone’s gazes, she finally squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.
“Of… of course I would.”
Afraid I might really ask, she quickly added: “But I didn’t win that much, it’s just… just pocket money.”
I looked at the new Celine dress she was wearing, the limited edition Chanel bag beside her, and this table of food that could feed an ordinary person for half a year.
Indeed.
My $50,000 really wouldn’t last her long at this rate.
I enjoyed this meal thoroughly.
Before leaving, I had the waiter pack up all the untouched king crab and lobster.
I heard a few colleagues whispering behind my back.
“My god, taking leftovers home, how unsightly.”
“Yeah, acting like she’s never eaten before, so embarrassing.”
I heard them but pretended not to, just smiling at Rachel.
“Rachel, look how much you’ve spent, it would be such a waste not to take all this good food home. I’ll take it back to eat, you don’t mind, right?”
Rachel’s face had become a palette of colors.
But in front of everyone, she could only grit her teeth and nod.
“I… don’t mind.”
Back at the company, I nonchalantly put the taketakeout boxes in the communal fridge, perfectly ignoring my colleagues’ strange looks.
In the afternoon, I knocked on the door of the finance office.
“Emily, I want to withdraw half a month’s salary in advance.”
Emily, the finance manager, looked up at me: “According to the rules, it needs the manager’s signature, and it’s usually transferred to your account at the end of the month.”
I handed over an application form that I had prepared earlier, already signed.
“The manager approved it.”
“And, I don’t want a transfer.”
“Just cash.”
If money in the card would mysteriously transferred away, then cash should be safe, right?
An hour later, I was back at my desk, holding an envelope with a thick wad of bills.
This was my base salary for this month and part of last month’s commission, $1,500 in total.
I stuffed the envelope into the deepest compartment of my bag and zipped it up.
In my previous life, it was from this $50,000 that I began my descent into the abyss, step by step.
In this life, I would climb up from this $1,500.
But I hadn’t even sat down for five minutes.
My right eyelid started twitto twitch uncontrollably.
Thump, thump, thump.
Each twitch more violent than the last.
An extremely ominous feeling instantly gripped my heart!
I hurriedly unzipped my bag and reached into that compartment—
Empty!
The envelope was still there, but the thick wad of cash inside had vanished!
My blood instantly ran cold, every hair on my body standing on end.
I hadn’t expected that Rachel’s method of transferring my deposits would have no limits!
Was she trying to cut off all my options?
I looked towards Rachel not far away, just in time to see a flash of glee on her face.
I clenched my fists tightly. Luckily, I had already thought of a way to break this deadlock!