Chapter 2

After sending that, I ignored the supervisor's bombardment of phone calls and turned off my phone.

The next day, Lily Cooper came over to my desk and slammed her hand down so hard the whole thing shook.

"Who gave you the nerve to turn off your phone? You said you'd treat everyone to dinner. What's the meaning of this?"

"Everyone treated people when they were interns. Are you trying to be special?"

"Or do you want us seniors to pay?"

The surrounding colleagues became restless when they heard this.

Splitting fifty thousand dollars wasn't as simple as a few hundred bucks each.

"Hazel, what do you mean by this? Coming in on your first day trying to shake up the workplace and intimidate us?"

"That's right. Everyone else treated people, so why shouldn't you? With this attitude, you still want to become a full-time employee?"

"Today you're paying no matter what, or you can pack up and get out!"

I calmly turned on my computer and poured myself some water.

"Lily, you were the one who said you'd treat everyone to dinner, not me."

"Besides, you said yourself it was an April Fool's joke. Of course jokes shouldn't be taken seriously."

"And when did I ever say I was an intern?"

When the others heard this, they all burst out laughing.

"You're pretty confident, aren't you? One day here and you already think you're a full-time employee?"

"If you're not an intern, what are you? Don't tell me you think you're that tech expert the company hired."

"That person doesn't arrive for another week. You should've drafted your lies better before bluffing."

Everyone laughed uproariously.

I didn't continue to engage with them but turned and went into the break room.

Ten minutes later, a message came through SnapChat.

"You have been removed from the Cloud Technology Department group."

Shortly after, I saw a post on Lily's timeline.

"Some people at this company are really something. Just got here and already acting like they own the place, trying to pull that Gen Z workplace revolution nonsense.

Too bad you ran into me. Don't expect any good days at this company from now on."

All the surrounding colleagues were cheering her on in the comments.

I gave her post a like and left the break room.

When I tried to return to my desk, I froze.

My original workspace was piled high with junk, and my belongings had all been thrown by the bathroom door like garbage.

Next to it sat a wobbly wooden table without even a chair.

Seeing me standing there dazed, Lily laughed smugly.

"Hazel, we have too much stuff with nowhere to put it, so we're borrowing your spot for a bit."

"You'll be leaving soon anyway, so you don't mind, right?"

I shrugged indifferently and walked forward, sweeping all the junk they had piled onto my desk onto the floor.

Various items clattered to the ground.

Lily's eyes went wide, her face flushing red with anger.

She tried to push me, but I grabbed her wrist firmly.

"How long I stay here is my business. Mind your own."

After saying that, I acted as if nothing had happened and reorganized my belongings.

After settling back down, Mr. Wilson sent me a message.

"Ms. Matthews, you arrived early without telling me. I'm still abroad, but I'm heading back now."

"Please forgive the poor reception. I'll have someone arrange a private office for you right away."

Looking at Lily's resentful gaze, I messaged back.

"You're too kind, Mr. Wilson. Let's discuss the office later."

"I'm fine out here. It's a good chance to get to know my new colleagues better."