9
I crossed my arms, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “Mr. Evans. I hear you’ve been buying me watches. And
a lot of bags, too?”
He struggled to suppress a wave of panic, turning back to Amber, then back to me, as if to confirm that she was, in fact, pointing at me. The real me.
The last shred of hope he had died.
“Ms… Ms. Kim… what are you talking-”
Amber grabbed his hand, which was already slick with sweat, and started shaking it petulantly. “Mark, tell
them! This bitch has been lying to my face, making me look like a fool!”
Mr. Evans–Mark Evans–looked at me, his eyes pleading.
But Amber kept spewing venom. “She’s a liar and a slut!”
He snapped.
“You’re fired!” he roared at her. “Spreading rumors, causing trouble for your colleagues! You’re done here!”
Amber froze, utterly bewildered.
A second later, she let out a hysterical shriek, tears gushing from her eyes. “You’re taking her side?! After everything? I’m carrying your child! You make her apologize to me, you give me back everything you bought her, and you fire her! Right now! Or I swear, I will get rid of this baby!”
Mark Evans’s forehead was beaded with sweat, which he wiped away with a trembling hand.
I watched Amber’s pathetic meltdown, then turned to him with a cool, mocking smile. “What do you think, Mr. Evans? Amber’s been wanting me fired for a while now. When do you think would be a good time?”
My words seemed to jog his memory. He remembered Amber coming to him, asking him to fire a coworker. He’d thought it was just some petty office drama and had brushed her off.
He never imagined the coworker she wanted fired was Mia Kim.
Him, a general manager, firing the owner’s daughter? Not even in his wildest dreams.
Amber was still screaming, and something in Mark Evans finally broke. “Will you shut the hell up!” he bellow- ed, spittle flying from his mouth. “Get out of this company! Pack your things and get out! Now!”
Amber, splattered with his spit, just stood there, stunned. The entire office was speechless. The normally
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Chapter 2
mild–mannered Mr. Evans had just exploded.
Then, with a speed that was almost comical, his face transformed. He turned to me, his expression now fawning and obsequious. “Ms. Kim, I am so, so sorry. I had no idea my… personal affairs would cause you this much trouble. I’m firing her immediately. I will handle this, I promise.”
Seeing his completely different attitude toward me, Amber lost it again. “Why are you protecting her?! Why are you treating me like this?! I’m getting an abortion!”
Ignoring her, I addressed Mark. “Amber says she’s pregnant with your child and is going to marry into your wealthy family. It seems you’re quite the catch, Mr. Evans.‘
He felt a jolt of pure terror. He’d skimmed a little off the top over the years, sure, but he was middle–class at
best, far from a “wealthy family.” Was Ms. Kim launching an investigation into his finances?
He wiped more sweat from his face. “Ms. Kim, I’ve been a loyal employee for years. I’m no tycoon. I still drive a ten–year–old Volkswagen…”
Amber grabbed his arm. “What about your luxury car? You told me you were rich!”
I chuckled. “You mean the Aston Martin?”
Amber looked at me, then back at him. “Mark told me he keeps that one at home to save on gas. He only drives it on special occasions.” She stepped in front of him, shielding him from me. “Mark is my boyfriend!
You stay away from him!”
I smiled. “But the luxury car you saw… that was my best friend’s.”
“What?”
Amber stared at Mark, who just gave a weak, awkward laugh, not denying a word.
“So… the boyfriend you were talking about…”
I couldn’t help it; I laughed. “I was kidding, you silly girl. A joke. Jessica and Gita didn’t believe it for a seco-
- nd. Only you.”
