Once I was suspended, my situation in the office only got worse.
Workplace culture had always been about sucking up to the powerful and trampling on the weak.
Those male colleagues who had laughed along with Vanessa became even more brazen, piling on relentlessly.
"Hey, Macy, take this report and shred it."
"Macy, go downstairs and pick up my package for me. Oh, and bring me back a coffee too—one sugar, no ice."
I used to be the department's top sales performer. Now, I'd been reduced to everyone's errand runner.
These people had always been jealous of me and had finally found an outlet.
Without a word, I took the trash and documents they handed me.
If I wanted to bring them down, the best thing to do was to let them run wild first.
During the lunch break, Todd snuck into the supply room to find me, looking guilty.
"Babe, are you still mad at me?" he asked, reaching out to grab my hand, but I pulled away in disgust.
He sighed. "You're just too stubborn. Vanessa has Mr. Studdard backing her, and Mr. Studdard has the VP. I'm sure you understand what that means, right?
"When I publicly told you off yesterday, it was to protect you. If I joined you in talking back to Mr. Studdard, how would either of us survive in the company? Just swallow your pride for now. Once things calm down, I'll put in a good word for you—"
"Are you done?" I cut him off, rolling my eyes.
"Todd Westman, you trampled all over your own girlfriend to suck up to management. You did something so shameless, and you still have the nerve to show up in front of me?
"Do you really think I don't know about you flirting with the other female colleagues? I couldn't be bothered to deal with it before, but if you keep causing trouble, I can't guarantee what might come out of my mouth next."
His expression stiffened. "Why are you so stubborn? I'm doing this for your own good! You think your pride is actually worth something?
"I never should've pursued you in the first place! You're always acting all high and mighty, and you don't have a single feminine bone in you. Do you really think you're some kind of catch?"
With that, he stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
I stared at the closed door and let out a cold scoff.
Having grown up surrounded by power and ambition, I'd seen plenty of people approach me with ulterior motives.
Back then, I'd agreed to date Todd because I liked how he didn't care about a person's family background or status and just quietly treated people well.
I'd even started to develop genuine feelings for him.
Who knew he would turn out to be such a great actor, fooling even me? Still, it wasn't too late to cut my losses now.
A moment later, I pulled out my phone and sent a text.
After putting it away, I stepped out of the supply room and just so happened to run straight into Vanessa, dressed to the nines. She was wearing a Chanel couture outfit that clearly didn't match her salary, holding the project proposal I'd stayed up several nights to complete.
Today was the day to meet the Gilla Group client.
When she saw me, she stopped, waved the proposal in front of my face, and smiled smugly.
"Just finished refilling the water, Macy? Thanks for working so hard. But working hard alone won't get you far in the workplace. You young people need to know how to navigate relationships and play the game.
"Gilla Group's Mr. Kapowsky is notoriously difficult. You would've just hit a wall if you went. This kind of thing needs to be handled by someone experienced like me."
I looked at her, at that smug, self-satisfied expression, and the corners of my lips curled into a meaningful smile.
"You're right, Vanessa. Navigating relationships is important. I hope your people skills will be enough to answer Gilla Group's questions regarding the core data."
Her expression flickered for a split second, but she quickly regained her arrogance.
"That's not something an errand runner like you needs to worry about. I've got the proposal right here, so why wouldn't I be able to answer the questions? You just stay here and keep fetching water for me."
