Mannie’s POV
By noon, I was a walking rumor.
Not a person. Not a mother. Just a story.
“She’s so gorgeous, the CEO couldn’t resist her…”
“I heard she sprayed water on him—on purpose! To seduce him!”
“No way, I heard he was so flustered, he ran out the cafeteria. That woman’s dangerous.”
It was like I couldn’t breathe without someone twisting the air around it.
Every hallway I walked through felt like a tunnel of stares.
Every corner held whispers.
Every elevator had people turning their backs or pretending to be busy just so they could eavesdrop better.
And worst of all?
I had to keep my head up.
I had to act like it didn’t bother me.
But it did.
God, it did.
The lies weren’t even smart. They didn’t have to be.
It was enough that I was a woman. Enough that I was new, th
