Ruined Over High Tea

After I secured a billion-dollar partnership for Horizon Ventures, the sales department celebrated with an afternoon tea spread where everyone got to choose their own order.

When it was my turn, the new hire, Jessica Osborne, suddenly cut in. "Chicken sandwiches for the rest of them. No need to order anything else."

I ignored her and calmly told the admin clerk, "I’ll have a slice of chocolate cake."

The next second, Jessica slammed the menu right across my face and glared at me furiously.

"I said no, so you don’t get to order. Who do you think you are? A princess?"

The hard menu left a stinging red mark across my face, and a surge of anger flared up inside me. Without hesitating, I grabbed the menu and hurled it right back at her face.

Jessica immediately shrieked and roared at me, "Do you have any idea who I am?! My dad is Royce Osborne, the biggest client this company has! Even our CEO, Emily Hopkins, treats me with respect. How dare you lay a hand on me? Believe it or not, I can get your $600,000 bonus canceled and have you blacklisted from this entire industry!"

I froze.

Royce Osborne's my maternal uncle.

He’s forty, famously single, and has never been married.

When exactly did he have such a grown-up daughter?

Seeing me go silent, Jessica Osborne only became more arrogant.

"Intimidated yet?" she sneered. "It's bad enough that we have to share the same air as women like you, who rely on looks to hit their sales targets. Do you honestly believe you're entitled to afternoon tea?"

I almost laughed from sheer disbelief.

Sleep around to hit their sales targets?

I’d spent months surviving on little sleep, running proposals until dawn, then standing on construction sites for eight straight hours under the blazing sun. I’d gotten so tanned that my own father barely recognized me at one point.

And this woman thought I achieved my targets because of my body?

I pushed my chair back and stood up slowly, meeting her eyes head-on.

"Jessica, watch your mouth. I earned my success with actual work. Everyone in this company knows what I bring to the table. You don’t get to run your mouth about things you know nothing about.

"And the afternoon tea isn't just for you. If I’m not qualified to order, neither are you." I gave her a cold smile. "Though honestly, the second you walked in, the whole room started smelling like garbage. Turns out it was just the crap coming out of your mouth."

A few colleagues immediately lowered their heads, trying to hide their laughter.

Everyone in the department had been sick of Jessica for weeks. During her probation, she’d treated the entire office like her servant.

A new hire named Amelia Klein once refused to fetch her coffee. Jessica had dumped an entire cup of scalding coffee over her head without hesitation. As a result, Amelia’s scalp had blistered from the burn.

Not only had Jessica refused to apologize, but she’d even threatened her afterward. "If you dare ask me for an apology, I’ll make sure you’re out of this company by tomorrow."

In the end, the company had quietly reimbursed Amelia’s medical bills to smooth things over.

Back then, I’d wanted to step in, but my colleagues had stopped me.

At the time, I couldn’t understand why everyone was so afraid to stand up to her. Now I finally got it. They’d all been intimidated by her claim of being Royce Osborne’s daughter.

Jessica’s face went bright red with rage. She jabbed a finger at me and shouted, "Everly, quit acting tough in front of me! Without my dad’s support, this company would go bankrupt overnight!

"I’m telling you right now. I call the shots for today’s tea. If I say you can’t order, then you don’t get to!

"Who the hell do you think you are? You really think you can challenge me? Go on, place your order. I’ll have you fired by tomorrow."

The admin clerk who was caught in the crossfire looked at me with a wary expression. "So… do you still want the chocolate cake?"

"Yes," I answered without hesitation.

I refused to believe this nonsense. I’d brought Horizon Ventures tens of millions in revenue from a single project, and now I supposedly wasn’t qualified to order a slice of cake?

"What’s with all the yelling?"

The door suddenly opened.

Emily Hopkins walked in with a dark expression. "Afternoon tea was meant for everyone to relax, not start a fight. What happened here?"

Before anyone could utter a word, Jessica played the victim and began spinning a distorted account of what had transpired.

I barely had time to open my mouth before Emily’s cold gaze landed on me.

"Everly, you’ve been with Horizon Ventures for over a year. Don’t you understand the importance of cutting unnecessary expenses? Jessica was thinking about the company’s budget. Is dessert really so important that you can’t live without it?"