“You hitting her—that’s way over the line. Right now, you’re going to apologize to Sadie and pay her a ten-thousand-dollar emotional damages fee. Then we’ll call it settled.”
I couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief and stared straight at him.
“Sir… you’re seriously telling me to apologize and pay her?”
Cody’s face darkened, and Meg quickly tugged on my sleeve.
She quietly persuaded me, “Phoebe, don’t push it. Sadie is Mr. Modine’s daughter; you can’t mess with her. And Sir Cody is counting on her to secure the deal with their company this time.”
I let out a scoffing laugh.
“So just because she says her dad is Wesley Modine, you guys believe her? Did she even bring any proof when she joined?”
Meg pulled out her phone and opened Sadie’s social media.
“Totally legit. Mr. Modine himself personally brought her in on her first day.”
I looked at the picture and nearly dropped my jaw. There was my upright, sharp-dressed man standing in front of a luxury car—and next to him… was actually Sadie.
Sadie even added a caption.
[Thanks Dad for taking time out of his busy schedule to see me off for my internship. Promise, I won’t let you down.]
I immediately called my uncle—only to hear the cold, mechanical sound of a disconnected phone.
Seeing me refuse to apologize, Sadie gave me a wicked look.
“Phoebe, don’t regret this. I’ll make sure you pay for it!”
The next day, she made good on her words.
At the awards ceremony, the top sales award and the 70,000-dollar bonus that should’ve been mine… went to her.
The slides still showed my name in the acceptance speech; it hadn’t even been updated.
This was blatant robbery, and my chest burned with rage.
I immediately demanded an explanation.
“What’s the criteria for determining top sales? My projects this month totaled over one hundred million in revenue, generating tens of millions for the company, and I outperformed the second-place by five million in profit. Sadie didn’t even make a single order. So, may I ask all the leaders here… Why is the top sales award going to her?”
The room fell completely silent.
The finance director and sales VP exchanged glances, neither daring to speak.
Sadie looked at me arrogantly.
“Of course, your projects weren’t exactly… clean. The company can’t condone such lowly behavior.
“Right now, we’re just stripping you of the award. But if you keep using shady tactics to ruin the company’s reputation, you’ll be fired next.”
I was shaking with anger, my eyes scanning every leader on the stage. Those who had once praised my skills and potential now avoided my gaze, heads down in submission.
I looked at the top executive, Cody.
“Sir… is this really your decision, too?”
Being called out publicly clearly annoyed him; he frowned impatiently.
“Phoebe, the company has its considerations. Don’t let a small thing ruin the awards ceremony. You need to see the bigger picture.”
“The bigger picture?” My eyes burned red, and my voice shook.
“So the bigger picture means I work non-stop all year, stay until midnight every day, pour myself into projects—and all those achievements go to someone else?
“Because of some baseless rumor from her, all my hard work gets erased, and you all remain indifferent?
“Let me ask you. Where’s the fairness? Where’s justice? Don’t you feel any guilt treating someone who’s made huge contributions to this company like this?”
Cody was left speechless. Sadie, however, showed no shame, tilting her chin up at me.
“Fairness?” She sneered. “Phoebe, don’t be so naive. In this world, whoever has the power… that’s where fairness lives.”
