He Pushed Me To Boss, I Showed My Wealth

Chapter 2

But the harder I tried to fade into the background, the more malicious every gaze in the room felt.

Director Parker in particular stumbled over to me, swaying his wine glass in his hand. He slammed the brimming glass down hard on the table. "Come on, don't be a spoilsport... drink up! This is fine stuff, way out of your usual price range."

The private dining room went dead silent, every eye fixed on me.

I glanced at the cheap blended whiskey in the glass and pushed it gently away. "I don't drink this kind of alcohol."

Sneers rippled through the room right away.

"Oh, look who's being picky now?" a female colleague piped up sharply. "That bottle costs over two thousand... almost half your monthly pay, isn't it?"

Florian leaned in close, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper. "Don't push your luck. Director Parker is doing you a favor by even offering this."

I looked slowly around the room, a cold smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. "I said, I don't drink anything this cheap."

Before the words even faded, the room erupted in louder laughter.

"She says 'this' is cheap?" one of them said with a snicker.

Director Parker slapped his thigh hard. "Kid, you barely make a few thousand a month. How many bottles of this could you even afford? You're taking this act way too far... acting like you're above all this."

My boyfriend grabbed my sleeve, his face dark with anger. "Have you lost your mind?"

Just then, my phone began vibrating nonstop.

In the family group chat, our estate manager had sent a photo with a message.

Estate Manager: Miss Sutton, your father asks when you will be home? Dinner is already served.

The photo showed our ten-foot mahogany dining table laid out with exquisite dishes.

But what drew the eye most were the bottles resting casually at the edge.

Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Château Lafite Rothschild, Château Pétrus...

Each one worth hundreds of thousands, glowing with a rich, deep sheen under the lights.

As Director Parker snooped and snatched my phone, showing everybody the message thinking whatever there would cause me humiliation, they saw the pictures that the estate manager shared instead.

The laughter in the room cut off instantly.

Director Parker’s face flushed a deep, mottled red. He threw the phone back to me. "Anyone can fake a photo! Your family could never afford wine like this! You're all just putting on air!"

"Exactly!" the female colleague chimed in. "Ro—manée-Conti? I've never even heard of it. You can't even make up a lie properly! Didn't you graduate from some tiny liberal arts college? That's exactly what you get from places like that."

I met their mocking stares and couldn't stop myself from speaking up. "It's the City Center Institute of Arts and Sciences... better known as the North..."

"Shut up!" Florian cut me off sharply, glaring daggers at me. "Do you want to embarrass yourself even more?"

He turned to Director Parker, plastering a sickly sweet smile across his face. "Please don't take it personally, Director Parker. She's been acting strange lately, always messing around with photo editing. I'll make sure I talk some sense into her!"

Director Parker glanced at me, my phone, and suddenly burst out laughing. "Pretty good editing work, I'll give you that! Fancy house, fancy wine rack... you really think you're some kind of wealthy heiress, don't you?" Harsh, mocking laughter rang out again. "Some girls these days just love lying... they do it so much they start believing their own nonsense... Maybe you should get that checked out, kid. I'm starting to worry you've lost touch with reality."

My boyfriend, who was supposed to have my back, didn't say a single word in my defense.

Instead, he stepped closer to Director Parker and eagerly topped up his glass. "Please be the bigger man, Director Parker... don't hold it against her. She's just a poor student with no exposure to the real world, how would she know what truly fine wine costs?" Then he lowered his voice further, though I heard every word clearly. "Truth be told, she's always looked up to you... she's just too shy to say so. And look at her... she's got the looks, she's got the figure..."

A wave of nausea rolled through me so strong I thought I might be sick.

Director Parker’s eyes lit up. He slapped my boyfriend heavily on the shoulder. "Now 'you' know how to behave! Don't you worry... Project Manager position is yours next month!"

My boyfriend beamed with delight, bowing and scraping like a dog begging for scraps.

He turned to me, signaled sharply, and mouthed silently, 'Go toast him! Now!'

I stood up slowly, cold as ice, and took my phone back. "I'm afraid I don't do toasts for favors. And even if I did... are you really sure you're worthy of drinking with me?"