Chapter 021

I arrived at work, still shaken from the morning’s meeting with Mr. White. Just as I stepped inside, I spotted Harper leaning against my desk, her arms crossed, lips pursed, and that trademark scowl already in place.

"Well, look who finally decided to grace us with her presence," she sneered. "The Queen of the office."

I swallowed hard and forced myself to apologize. "I’m really sorry, Harper. Traffic was—"

"Save it," she cut me off, her tone icy. "I’ve heard that same excuse too many times."

I barely had a chance to respond before she continued, clearly on a roll. "You need to straighten up if you want to keep your job around here."

I nodded, biting back another apology. It was common knowledge that if I wasn’t the best editor she had, she’d have fired me ages ago. But still, she didn’t make things easy.

"I'm serious," she continued, her voice dripping with disdain. "You’re going to have to prove your worth if you want to stay."

I braced myself and asked, "How?"

She folded her arms t