Chapter 1

My husband, Vincent Mitchell, was obsessed with the whole boss-and-subordinate dynamic, so after we got married, I went to work at his company.

He was the CEO, and I was a bottom-rung employee.

The fourteenth time his assistant, Tanya Dawson, rejected my maternity leave request, I slammed down my badge.

"Tell Mr. Mitchell. I'm done playing this game with him."

The assistant pulled me back as I was stepping into the elevator.

To make an example out of me, she slapped me three times, right in front of the entire office.

"It's not my baby you're carrying, so what does your pregnancy have to do with me? Don't think being pregnant gives you the right to hold the whole company hostage!"

She looked down at me from her high heels, eyes full of contempt.

"You'd better figure out what matters. Is the company more important, or is your baby?"

I stared at her blankly and actually laughed. I wasn't even angry.

Vincent had really picked himself a ‘great’ assistant.

——

My phone buzzed. A message from my doctor popped up.

[Ms. Harper, you're two weeks from your due date and could go into labor at any time now. Please get as much bed rest as possible. If you have regular contractions, bleeding, or your water breaks, come to the hospital immediately.]

I'd just finished reading it when a work notification popped up on my screen.

[Your maternity leave request has been denied.]

And below that:

[Denied by: Executive Assistant Tanya Dawson.]

The fourteenth time!

I stared at the notification and let out an incredulous laugh.

Two weeks ago, the doctor had already told me to start my maternity leave.

The first time I applied, Tanya said the project was at a critical stage.

The second time, she said they were short-staffed.

After that, she came up with one excuse after another: the handover wasn't finished, my work attitude was a problem, the company didn't pay people to sit around.

All the way up to today. And now here I was, just two weeks from my due date, and she still refused to approve my leave.

I was about to call Vincent when I heard heels clicking behind me.

Tanya walked past with a stack of files and tapped on my desk. "Meeting in the conference room. Ten minutes."

She took two steps, then turned back and pointed at me. "And you—that report you’re holding. Finish it before the meeting."

I frowned. "Miss. Dawson, I—"

Before I could finish, she'd already turned away.

As I lowered my head, her voice stopped me.

"Oh."

She looked back at me.

"You want to talk about maternity leave, right?"

I nodded.

"The doctor told me to start resting from today. And I finished my handover yesterday."

Tanya scoffed. "Who told you to hand anything over? The project isn't even finished—how do you have the nerve to take time off?"

The office was getting quiet, so she raised her voice for everyone to hear.

"You think this company is your home or something? You can't just come and go whenever you please!"

"Save the pampered-wife act for someone else. Today it's back pain and morning sickness." "Tomorrow it's a checkup and another day off. What, does the whole company have to bend over backward just because you're carrying a baby?"

She slapped the files against the desk. "Everyone listen up!"

"In my project team, I don't care if you're throwing up. Keep it to yourself. And if you go into labor, you'd better keep that to yourself, too."

"It's just a baby. If you can't even hold it back, how are you going to do your job?"

Everyone looked at her. But they were all just rank-and-file employees. They were furious, yet none of them dared to say a word.

Maggie tugged at me from behind. "Chrissy, let it go."

"Wait until Mr. Mitchell's back from his trip. He's been gone for two months, and Miss Dawson's been like this the whole time. You're about to give birth—don't get into it with her."

I didn't move.

Vincent could be away for two months. But my baby couldn't wait that long.

And besides, all of this had only ever been an absurd little game between Vincent and me.

After we got married, he suddenly became fixated on this so-called "boss-and-subordinate dynamic."

He went on being the company's untouchable CEO.

And meanwhile, I hid my identity and came to the company as a low-level employee.

By day, with a perfectly straight face, he called me Christine Harper.