Chapter 2

The next day, I went to work as usual.

The atmosphere in the office was a little strange. Passing by the break room, I heard people chatting inside.

"Did you hear? Sarah isn't going on the team retreat."

"She's not going? Jessica isn't letting her go."

"Why not?"

"What else? Her husband's the VP. Jessica's probably afraid she'll steal her thunder."

"Pfft, with her sales numbers, *she'll* steal thunder?"

"You don't know? Her sales are actually…"

The voices suddenly stopped. I pushed the door open and walked in. The two female colleagues' faces changed, and they quickly grabbed their cups and left.

I poured myself a coffee, saying nothing.

My phone vibrated. It was Jessica.

"Sarah, my office, now."

I put down my cup and walked over.

Jessica sat behind her desk, a smile on her face.

"Sit."

I sat down.

"No issues with the team retreat, right?"

"None."

She nodded. "Good. Oh, and the Zenith Corp contract is up for renewal next week. Get all the materials ready; I'll handle the negotiation myself."

I looked at her.

"Zenith is my client."

"It's the *company's* client," she corrected me, her smile fading slightly. "You're just the liaison."

"Mr. Edwards only deals with me."

"Mr. Edwards deals with *deals*," she countered, her eyes holding no warmth. "Sarah, you've been at this company for five years. You should understand one thing: clients belong to the company, not to you personally."

I said nothing.

She continued, "You do your job covering. I'll take care of Zenith."

I stood up. "Jessica, are you *sure* you want to handle this yourself?"

She raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing."

I turned to leave. At the door, I paused.

"Jessica, Zenith Corp's annual order is twelve million dollars, accounting for 35% of the company's revenue."

"I know."

"Good that you know."

I pushed the door open and stepped out. Behind me, Jessica's voice rang out: "Sarah, you better not be trying anything funny."

I didn't look back.