7
My birthday was approaching, but Alex had been dragged out of town by her father for a business deal. Worr-
ied she wouldn’t make it back in time, and knowing I was stuck at the office all day, she had my birthday pre-
sent delivered directly to me, cash on delivery.
I carried the box back to my desk. The sender’s name read: “To Mia, from your loving husband.”
Alex, you goof.
I smiled and tore open the package.
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Gita, who had been peering over my shoulder, let out a low whistle. “Wow, Mia, what is that? It’s beautiful!
want one!”
Inside the exquisite box lay a watch with a white face and an 18k rose gold case. A Patek Philippe. The rece- ipt was still inside.
n
Gita glanced at the price and gave a weak laugh. “Never mind. A good knockoff will have to do.”
Hearing Gita’s comment, Amber hurried over. “A corporate drone like you could never afford a watch like that,” she muttered under her breath.
Then her eyes fell on the shipping label. Her face changed in an instant. She snatched the box from the desk and ripped the watch from my hands.
Gita instinctively tried to shield it. “Amber, what are you doing? That’s Mia’s! It’s incredibly expensive, be car-
eful!”
My face hardened. “I don’t remember telling you to touch my things. Give it back.”
Amber inspected the watch, a satisfied smile spreading across her face. Then she glared at me, her voice rising to a shout. “Your things? Mia Kim, you have no shame! Did you even read who sent this?!”
“You swore to me you’d break up with Mark, and now you’re seducing him into buying you gifts? What is wro-
ng with you?!”
Jessica and Gita were stunned. They scrambled to pick up the discarded shipping label.
Jessica looked at me, her eyes wide with disbelief. “Mia,” she whispered, “it says it’s from your ‘loving husb-
and‘… You didn’t actually…”
I sighed. “Seriously? It’s from my loving best friend husband.” I put heavy emphasis on the words “best friend.
Jessica nodded in understanding. She had a friend like that, too; they were so close they joked about being a couple all the time.
I reached for the watch. Having this idiot’s hands all over my gift from Alex was making my skin crawl. I was
not being gentle.
When she realized she couldn’t win the tug–of–war, Amber let go and burst into loud, theatrical sobs.
Someone walking past the office heard the commotion and poked their head in to see what was happening. Seeing an audience, Amber seemed to have an idea. She ran out into the main office area, her wails attracti- ng a crowd of coworkers.
“Mia Kim is sleeping with my husband!” she shrieked. “She gets him to buy her designer bags! I’m pregnant with his child, and I begged her, I begged her to leave our family alone!”
She pointed a trembling finger back at me. “And today, he sent her a watch worth tens of thousands of dolla- rs! I confronted her, and she denied everything!”
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She held up the shipping label like a trophy. “But the proof is right here! It says it’s from my husband!”
Tears streamed down her face. “I’m pregnant! What am I supposed to do?”
Most of the people out here were junior employees who had no idea who I was. Seeing Amber’s pathetic, tear–streaked performance, they immediately took her side. A few of the older women, trapped in their own
unhappy marriages, looked at me with daggers in their eyes.
“So that’s the kind of person Mia is. A homewrecker! She deserves to die alone!”
“Shameless. Stealing a coworker’s husband.”
“I always thought she came from a good family. Turns out all her nice things came from being a mistress.”
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Chapter 2
