Chapter 1
On my first day, I—Tessa Vance—could tell my three new colleagues weren’t exactly delightful people. It wasn’t about me being judgmental; their acting was just abysmal.
During orientation, a girl in a white shirt sat across from me and flashed a smile. "Hi, I'm Ivy Merritt." Her smile was sweet, but I soon realized it was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Another one, wearing a ponytail, was named Claire Hartwell. She spent the entire training session sizing up my resume. "Where did you work before? Did you change jobs?"
I chuckled. "I was in e-commerce operations."
She let out an "oh" that dragged on for an eternity.
The third one, Viola Ashford, wore black-framed glasses and seemed the most harmless of them all. History proved, however, that the quiet ones are usually the fastest to shove their way through the probation period.
For the first month, we maintained a facade of peace. We ordered lunch together, sat through team meetings, and I even treated them to Starbucks downstairs.
The turning point came during the permanent staff confirmation review. While we all passed, I received the highest rating—Outstanding—and Ivy only got "Meets Expectations."
After the ratings were released, her expression shifted instantly. She stopped asking me to lunch, and they formed a private group chat. Whenever I walked near their desks, their conversation would shift, perfectly synchronized as if they’d rehearsed it.
A typical rookie might feel anxious: Did I do something wrong? Should I try to talk to them?
Not me. I just opened my laptop and binged two episodes of "The Big Bang Theory." They had their group chat; I had my show.
My mom always taught me, "Tessa, you're not a gold coin; you can't please everyone. If they don't like you, fine. You don't live for their approval."
My dad was even more blunt: "If someone makes you uncomfortable, make them more uncomfortable."
So, if they wanted to ignore me, I wasn't going to lower myself by chasing after them. Whenever they were chatting and laughing at their desks, I’d just put on my noise-canceling headphones. They probably thought it bothered me, but really, I was listening to online courses on product management. Before clocking out, I submitted an optimization proposal to the director, securing yet another bonus point for my performance rating. My time is valuable; wasting it on petty drama with them would be a loss for me.
In the second month after our permanent staff confirmation, Ivy upped her game. First, she blocked me on i********:, then she started taking passive-aggressive jabs at me in person. "Hey Tessa, how come you always eat alone? Are you a bit of a loner?"
The pantry fell silent for a second. The other colleagues nearby looked over. I capped my coffee mug and stared straight at her. "There's nothing wrong with my personality. But my time is quite tight. I'm involved in three projects this quarter and currently revising a technical proposal. When it comes to lunch, I just need to eat. I don't see the need for the four of us to sit in a row like we're in an all-hands meeting."
Her face stiffened. Claire chimed in, "We're all colleagues here. Isn't that a bit harsh?"
"Harsh? In what way?"
"I mean... that didn't sound very nice."
I chuckled. "Let me rephrase that, then. I value efficiency. When four people sit together, it’s supposed to be lunch, but it turns into a digestion of gossip. My stomach is too sensitive for that."
The office temperature dropped to freezing after that day. But that's fine—I don't live in a fridge.
