Chapter 1

1

It was near the graduation. My boyfriend, Luca Thomas, said he knew someone at a Fortune 500 company and insisted I apply with him. Sure enough, everything went smoothly, and we both got internship offers.

But when I received the offer letter, I realized the company I applied to was owned by my brother. I was the second-largest shareholder.

I hadn't noticed earlier because I have too many companies under my name to keep track of.

Besides us, there were eight other interns. A total of ten interns joined the company. After a month-long internship, we had to pass various assessments to become full-time employees.

Luca accepted the internship offer and excitedly hugged me, saying, "Emily, you must secure a full-time position! That way I can take you to meet my parents. We'll get married after graduation. Then, with the company's benefits, we can take paid leave and have a baby!"

His words sounded a bit odd, but I didn't think much of it. I just smiled sweetly and agreed, saying, "It's okay, even if I don't get the full-time position, I'll still go with you to meet your parents. I want to be with you."

I had been with Luca for more than three years. I kept a low profile, and he didn't know I was actually wealthy.

He came from a modest family, but we were each other's first love. He was diligent and ambitious, and I thought highly of him.

"As long as we truly love each other, isn't that all that matters? We'll be happy together for the rest of our lives!" I thought. After all, I had plenty of money. Once we got married, life wouldn't be hard.

But my words suddenly made Luca's expression change.

He let go of my hand and said, "Emily, you're too naive! Without financial stability, how can we live a happy life? No matter what, you have to secure that full-time position."

Getting a full-time position wasn't hard for me. I didn't take his harsh words seriously. I was still immersed in the sweetness of our relationship.

But I didn't expect that we were already being manipulated by the supervisor on the first day of work.

With a loud "smack," a stack of documents was thrown in front of all the interns.

I jumped in surprise and frowned as I looked at the person who threw the documents.

It was Lily Moore, my direct supervisor.

"Everyone listen up! You may have been selected through a rigorous process, but you'll be evaluated based on your performance! This month, you all have to work well!

"Newbies need to work hard! How else can you create a future? Overtime is the norm and a symbol of your dedication! You're paving the way for your future!

"Good luck! Welcome to Robinson Group!" she said.

Her motivational speech was rousing, but it didn't sit well with me.

I frowned and asked, "Is there overtime pay? Do we have to stay and work overtime even after finishing our own tasks?"

I was really just here to accompany my boyfriend, not to actually work.

Besides, as the second-largest shareholder of the company, I knew the company's policies. We didn't have a cutthroat culture.

We prided ourselves on a culture of care, but things seemed different under Lily.

"Did Jason change the policies?" I wondered.

Unfortunately, he was on vacation abroad with my sister-in-law and didn't have time to deal with these small issues.

"Your name is Emily, right?" Lily narrowed her eyes. She crossed her arms. She looked down her nose at me, saying, "How can you be so selfish? You finish your work and don't help others?

"The company is already paying you a high internship salary, and you still greedily ask for overtime pay?" she asked.

Her series of rhetorical questions left me stunned.

This was obviously an abuse of power to bully new hires.

I finally understood. From the moment I entered the company, she intended to treat me like a workhorse.

I felt a bit angry and wanted to argue, but Luca pressed my hand under the table to stop me.

I turned to look at him, and he signaled me to stop. Then he quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Lily, she didn't mean it that way. She just didn't understand and was asking."

Hearing Luca being so humble, I had to swallow my pride. Under his constant prompting, I reluctantly said, "Yeah, I didn't mean it that way."

At that, she gave me a cold look before turning and leaving.

After that, she dumped a pile of tedious tasks on me.

It was clear that my bold question had angered her, and she had decided to target me with a series of tasks.

At noon, Luca pulled me into the hallway and lectured me.

"Emily, how could you talk to Lily like that? She's our supervisor, and she decides who gets a full-time position. If you offend her, how will you secure a position?" he said, sighing heavily. He continued lecturing me, saying, "Robinson Group doesn't hire just anyone. You were lucky to get in. If you can still secure a full-time position, I'll take you to meet my parents. Got it?"

I was a bit confused. What did getting a full-time position have to do with meeting his parents?

Why did he keep emphasizing this?

2

Moreover, how did he so quickly start calling Lily's name on our first day?

This side of Luca felt unfamiliar to me.

Seeing how stressed he was about this internship, I nodded and agreed. I said, "Okay, I get it. After work, should we..."

Before I could finish my sentence, he suddenly covered my mouth and warned, saying, "By the way, don't tell anyone we're dating. I've got to get back to work."

With that, he immediately turned and left.

I had no choice but to follow him out. As soon as I stepped out, I saw Lily glaring at me as if she had been waiting to catch me doing something wrong. She said, "It's only your first day, and you're already slacking off?!"

"Isn't it lunchtime?" I said. I was confused, showing her the time on my phone. I also pointed to the other interns and said, "They're still napping over there."

"Did you finish your work? How dare you rest without finishing it?" Lily snorted coldly. Her expression was displeased. She said, "It seems you're ready to pack up and leave tomorrow, huh?"

With that, she turned and walked away in her high heels, leaving me with just a glimpse of her retreating figure.

She dumped several people's worth of work on me and demanded that I finish it all today.

But I promised Luca I wouldn't let him down, so I tolerated her for now.

Luckily, I was quite capable and managed to organize all the files she assigned to me into categories and sent them to her inbox by the end of the afternoon.

It was exactly 5:30 PM. It was time to get off work.

Lily walked out of her office. Seeing everyone still busy, she said with satisfaction, "Let's all go out for dinner tonight! The company's treating!"

"Emily, did you finish your work? Do you want to come to the dinner and finish later?" Jack Harris, the intern sitting next to me, leaned over and asked.

Before I could answer, Lily coldly said, "Anyone who hasn't finished their work doesn't get to join us for dinner."

Out of the ten interns, I was the only one with a workload. So I was the only one she could be referring to when she said someone hadn't finished.

"I'm done," I shrugged. I was indifferent. "I've already sent them to your inbox. I sorted them by year and month. They're all outdated business plans from ten years ago," I said.

Those were all discarded files. It was obvious that Lily wanted to give me a hard time by making me do such pointless and tedious work.

I accepted my bad luck, thinking I had just upset her on my first day.

But my main goal was to spend time with Luca, so I didn't take her seriously.

I took out my employee card and clocked out in front of everyone. I turned to Jack, who had kindly invited me to the dinner, and said, "I'd like to go with my boy..."

Unfortunately, I was cut off halfway through by Luca, who excitedly turned to Lily and asked, "Lily, where are we going for dinner?"

3

I had to stop mid-sentence and quickly gave him a look, signaling him to check his phone. I sent him a message.

Me: [Are you going to the dinner with them?]

Me: [Wouldn't it be nicer if just the two of us had dinner?]

Luca: [Emily, dinners are part of team building and are important for networking with colleagues.]

Luca: [Lily insisted we join. We should play along.]

Luca: [Besides, didn't she single you out today? You should use this dinner to toast her and smooth things over.]

He sent me a bunch of messages, urging me to attend the dinner. He suggested that I toast Lily and try to get on her good side so I wouldn't be isolated and targeted like today for the rest of the month.

I usually listened to him because he was polite, well-educated, and always seemed to make sense. I had been born into a wealthy family, so I didn't understand these social nuances. So, I accepted his advice, treating it as an experience of corporate life.

The dinner was set at Theodore Restaurant. It was a five-star hotel I owned. It was a gift from my father on my 18th birthday, who told me to learn how to manage finances.

No wonder they said it was on the company. Since my brother's company was footing the bill, I would waive all the charges.

But my father was old-fashioned. He didn't realize that I didn't need to learn business or finances myself. I could just hire people who were good at it. That's why only the top management knew I was the owner of this place.

"I bet none of you get to eat at a place like this often," Lily said, leading the group to a large private room. She was full of pride and showing off. "Once you secure a full-time position, you'll have plenty of chances. Theodore Restaurant is the top choice for all Robinson Group's events and team-building dinners.

"Robinson Group offers so many opportunities. If you work hard, you could afford a house within a few months," Lily continued, painting a rosy picture while boasting about her own success. "I can make a down payment on a house with just a month's salary now," she added.

Her words left the interns in awe, and even Luca couldn't help but be envious. His eyes showed a new determination as he secretly messaged me: [Emily, we must secure these positions. Once we do, I'll work hard. Within three years, I'll save enough to marry you!]

When I saw his message, I couldn't help but feel happy. All the frustration from being targeted earlier went away.

I was thrilled that I was part of his plans. I even considered taking him to visit relatives a month later. That way, he could marry me in no time.

While enjoying the thrill of secretly texting Luca, a shadow suddenly appeared on my screen.

Someone was peeking at my phone!

I looked up and saw that it was Lily peeking at my phone!