Chapter 2

Allie Valenzuela POV:

Kasey' s smirk widened as I ended the call. She clearly thought my silence was an admission of guilt, a sign of her victory.

"Oh, what' s wrong, Allie?" she cooed, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "Did I hit a nerve? It must be hard, trying to keep up appearances. All that work pretending to be smart when you' re really just... available."

She gestured vaguely at my face. "You' re not even that pretty. A little plain, actually. It' s a wonder you got this far."

Every word was a carefully chosen dart, aimed to wound. She wasn't just attacking my career; she was attacking my worth as a woman, my intelligence, my very being.

"You know, a company like this needs a certain image," she continued, circling me like a shark. "Fresh. Clean. Your presence here... it' s just dragging down the whole vibe. Benjamin should fire you. In fact, I' m going to tell him to fire you."

The door opened again, and this time it was Benjamin. He looked tired, but his face lit up when he saw Kasey.

"Kasey, baby, I told you to wait in the car," he said, his voice soft. He walked over and wrapped an arm around her, completely ignoring me.

Kasey immediately melted against him, her voice turning into a pathetic whine. "Ben, she was being mean to me! She' s just so... aggressive. It' s scary."

Benjamin sighed, a long-suffering sound I knew all too well. It was the sound he made when he was about to give in. He looked at me, a flicker of his old self, the sharp entrepreneur I once admired, showing in his eyes.

"Allie," he began, his tone weary. "Kasey is just... young. She doesn' t understand the pressure we' re under."

He was making excuses for her. Defending her.

"Ben, she just accused me of sleeping my way to my position," I stated, my voice flat and devoid of emotion.

Benjamin winced. He glanced at Kasey, who pouted up at him. "Baby, you can' t say things like that." He turned back to me. "Allie, you know that' s not true. Your professional record is... well, it' s as good as mine. You' re brilliant."

He thought that was enough. A simple platitude to smooth over a vicious, public insult. He was so blinded by this girl he couldn't see the blatant manipulation, the poison she was injecting into the heart of his company.

"Your work for the past five years has been impeccable, Allie. Nobody can question that," he said, as if that closed the matter.

Then he did the unthinkable.

"I have an idea," he said, a horribly bright smile on his face. "Kasey, you' re interning in marketing, but you' re interested in the business side, right? Why don' t you shadow Allie for a while? Learn from the best."

He wanted me to mentor my own executioner. He was handing her a knife and asking me to show her where to stab.

Kasey' s eyes lit up with malicious glee. "Oh, Benny, that' s a wonderful idea! I' d love to learn from... Allie." She drew out my name as if it were something distasteful. "Though I' m not sure what I can learn. I' m already getting my degree from UCLA. What was your degree in again? From some state school?"

She was trying to belittle my education. My Stanford MBA. The degree I had earned with honors while simultaneously helping Benjamin build this company from a garage-based fantasy into a nine-figure reality.

The air in the room grew thick and still. Even Benjamin, in his infatuated fog, seemed to realize Kasey had crossed a line. Her ignorance was staggering.

Kasey, however, mistook the silence for my intimidation. She puffed out her chest, looking smug. "See? Nothing to say. Probably bought your diploma online."

Benjamin finally broke the silence, his voice tight. "Kasey. That' s enough."

He looked at me, a hint of embarrassment in his eyes. "Allie graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. It' s one of the top business programs in the world."

He turned back to Kasey, his tone softening into that of a patient teacher explaining a simple concept to a slow child. "You should try to be a little more humble, baby. There' s a lot you don' t know."

Kasey' s face soured. The validation she expected had been denied. But her arrogance was a weed that grew back instantly.

"Stanford, UCLA, whatever," she scoffed, waving a dismissive hand. "Who cares about old-school stuff like that anymore? It' s all about who you know, not what you know. And I know the CEO."

She shot me a triumphant glare, her message clear. Your credentials mean nothing. Your hard work means nothing. I have him. I win.

Benjamin just sighed again, pulling her closer. He was completely neutered.

The man I had helped, the man I had respected, was gone. In his place was a fool, led by the nose by a vindictive child.

And he wanted me to teach her.

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