Chapter 1
Three months into my new job, I found out all my coworkers were calling me "old maid" behind my back.
The nickname came from Adrian's stuck-up secretary, who acted like she was better than everyone else.
The joke? I was 32 years old, eight years into a relationship, still waiting for a ring and a wedding that never seemed to happen.
I confronted Adrian and demanded, "Do you know your people are calling me old maid?"
He didn't even bother lifting his eyes from his work.
"Sabrina's always been like that, she just speaks her mind and was messing around. You're 32, are you really going to bother arguing with a girl her age?"
Then he glanced up at me and chuckled. "Come on, though, it's actually kind of fitting."
An ice-cold hand squeezed my heart so tight I could barely breathe. All eight years of my youth were nothing but a silly little joke to him.
I turned and walked out right then. I handed in my resignation and blocked him on every single platform I had.
But that man who was always so cool, so unflappable, panicked.
"Evelyn, wait! I'm begging you, come back—"
The first time I heard "old maid" out loud was during the company's Monday weekly meeting. Sabrina was staring at the floor while I reprimanded her, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.
When we took a short break, someone off to the side muttered under their breath.
"Told you she's an old maid, always picking on pretty young girls."
My brain short-circuited for a second.
That one comment opened the floodgates. The whispers behind me got louder and louder.
"Thinks every little scrap of power she has gives her free rein to boss people around, taking it all out on a kid."
"She's 32, still clinging to that eight-year relationship like it's gold. Talk about stubbornly clinging on."
I set my mug down on the table with a sharp clink, and the whole room went dead silent for a beat.
Every pair of eyes in the room locked on me, like I was the one who'd done something wrong.
Sabrina dabbed at her red, puffy eyes with a tissue. "Director Sterling, I'll go over the data again more carefully."
"Don't just go over it. Redo the whole thing."
I shoved the sharp, stabbing pain in my chest down as far as it would go, my voice cold as ice. "I want a completely error-free analysis report and a solution plan on my desk before the morning meeting tomorrow."
My gaze swept over her, then over all the rubbernecking onlookers waiting for a drama.
"Meeting adjourned." I stood up first and walked straight out of the conference room.
Behind me, the quiet chatter swelled again like a rising tide.
This time, they didn't even bother trying to keep their voices down.
"Who does she think she's fooling putting on that tough act? Everyone knows she only got the director job because of President Pierce."
"Whoa, old maid's mad. Think she's hitting menopause early?"
When I got back to my office, my computer pinged to notify me of a new email from the internal system.
I opened it, and the subject line blared out at me.
Proposal on Optimizing Management Communication Methods and Prioritizing Employee Mental Health
The sender was the HR director, but I knew exactly who was really behind this little stunt.
Turns out Sabrina's tears carried way more weight than any of my performance reports ever could.
I huffed and clicked the browser tab shut hard, right as Adrian's internal line started ringing.
His voice carried that lazy, offhand lilt he used when he wanted to calm someone down.
"Evelyn, you were pretty fired up in the meeting just now, huh? Made the poor girl cry. Sabrina's young and still green around the edges, it's only natural that she makes mistakes sometimes. Cut her some slack, yeah?"
Faint, sniffling sobs drifted through the line from his end.
I fought to clamp down on the rage bubbling up in my chest, keeping my voice as even as I could. "Sabrina's basic data was riddled with mistakes this time. It directly compromises the company's quarterly financial report."
"Aw, c'mon, it's work. Small slip-ups happen to everyone." He brushed off my concern like it was nothing. "Sabrina's on her period, she's not feeling her best. Just be understanding, okay? Oh, right, want to get dinner with me tonight? I booked a table at that new Japanese restaurant everyone's talking about."
