He even took her to the amusement park to watch fireworks on nights when I was working overtime.
The rumors in the department grew more outrageous by the day.
Some said Stacy was the chairman's daughter. Others claimed my perpetually cold demeanor was because I was jealous of Stacy—the real heiress.
Stacy never denied any of it. She'd just blink those doe eyes and coo:
"Stacy doesn't know anything about that~ I just want to do my job well~"
What made it worse was that after the takeout incident, she started deliberately fabricating gossip about me.
"I saw Anita getting into a luxury car yesterday! The license plate had five eights~"
"I heard back in college she used to... I mean, how else could she have gotten into Fox Group?"
"Oopsie, Stacy's just being silly! If she finds out, will she hit me? I'm so scared~"
Soon after, I started receiving harassing texts. One client even asked my manager directly:
"I heard your team leader Lin sleeps her way to contracts?"
The way my manager looked at me changed. Admiration curdled into disgust.
I found Arnold, hoping he'd vouch that I'd been working overtime every night—that I'd never gotten into any luxury car.
He was helping Stacy fix her computer. He didn't even look up.
"Anita, where there's smoke, there's fire. If there really wasn't anything going on, would the rumors have spread this far? Stacy's so innocent—she'd never lie. Besides..."
He finally looked at me, his eyes full of disappointment. "I saw you get into a black car in the parking lot yesterday myself."
That was my father's driver, picking me up for a family dinner.
But I'd promised my father: during the evaluation period, I couldn't reveal my identity.
I couldn't take it anymore. I told Arnold we were done.
He froze for a moment, then visibly relaxed.
"Maybe that's for the best. Anita, you've changed. You used to be so pure, but now you're too complicated. Stacy was right—a woman like you is more than I can handle."
I turned to leave, but heard Stacy's sugary giggle behind me:
"Don't be sad, Arnold~ Stacy will buy you a yummy milk tea and stay by your side forever~"
In the restroom, I overheard Arnold's colleagues teasing him.
They said he'd latched onto an heiress and was about to soar—soon to be a billionaire's son-in-law.
It all clicked into place.
Arnold had agreed to break up so readily because he was hedging his bets.
He thought Stacy was the real heiress. He'd been willing to step on me to elevate her, even turning a blind eye while she spread lies and humiliated me.
I couldn't wait to see his face when the truth came out.
But before that could happen, disaster struck.
The company was bidding on a fifty-million-dollar government contract. I'd pulled three all-nighters preparing the proposal. Arnold, as the sales representative, was supposed to assist with the presentation.
The day before the pitch, Stacy wandered into my office looking dazed.
The next day at the venue, I opened my work USB drive.
Inside was a proposal that had been mutilated beyond recognition.
Every key figure was wrong. The budget had two extra zeros. And at the end, someone had added:
"Baby thinks this project is like a donut—cute enough to win~"
My mind went blank.
Arnold stood beside me, his face ashen.
"Anita Fox, this is your proposal? Do you have any idea this contract could make or break the company?"
I knew this was Stacy's handiwork. I kept my voice steady. "The USB was switched. It was Stacy."
"Enough!" Arnold's voice exploded through the room. Everyone went silent.
He pointed at me, his finger trembling, and shouted for all to hear:
"You blame Stacy for everything! She's so innocent—how could she possibly do something like this? Anita, I never thought you were this kind of person. You can't deliver, so you shift the blame! What, are you going to claim she tampered with your proposal? She can barely figure out a spreadsheet!"
The evaluators exchanged glances, their expressions dripping with contempt.
