Chapter 1

"Miss Jones, if your company can’t afford proper gifts, then don’t bother sending them! You’ve humiliated me, and I’m canceling our partnership!"

The furious voice on the other end of the line left me momentarily stunned.

I didn’t understand what was going on, but I kept a polite tone, trying to appease him. “Please, Mr. Lowe, was there an issue with the gift? My sincerest apologies. This must have been a mistake from someone on my team. Don’t hold it against me. Let me prepare two sets of gifts for you. We’ve worked together for so many years…”

He interrupted me angrily. His voice rose sharply, cutting me off.

"Miss Jones, you specifically promised me an authentic premium Darjeeling tea. I presented it to the investors, only for them to call it a cheap counterfeit on the spot! The deal fell through! Tell me, how am I supposed to salvage my reputation? And who’s going to cover my losses?"

All I could do was repeatedly apologize and promise a higher discount margin on future deals. Only then did I manage to salvage the partnership.

“Miss Jones, the client returned the gift and said they wouldn’t work with us anymore…”

Mary Moore stood at my door, holding the gift box with tears in her eyes.

When I opened the box, I nearly exploded with anger.

Fuming, I stormed into the administrative office and slammed the gift box onto Mandy Watsons’ desk.

“What’s the meaning of this?” I demanded loudly.

To my astonishment, she crossed her arms and started yelling back, her tone self-righteous.

"Miss Jones, let me just say this—you act like the company’s money grows on trees, don’t you? How could a single gourmet tea set cost over two thousand dollars? Is it made of gold? How can we afford gifts like that for all our clients?

“I bought this one online for just two dollars, shipping included. It looks exactly the same as the one you mentioned. Who could tell the difference? I saved the company two thousand dollars! That’s two thousand dollars! Honestly, I don’t know how you’ve been wasting company funds all this time.”

She raised her chin proudly, her face full of smug self-satisfaction.

There were moments when I was so speechless, I couldn’t find the words.

“Those clients are crucial to our business! They can tell the difference at a glance. In business, integrity is everything! If you send them counterfeits, how do you expect them to continue working with us? Why would they trust us with their projects?”

Her words pushed me to my limit, and I couldn’t hold back anymore. I snapped at her, raising my voice in frustration.

Mandy blinked, caught off guard by my outburst.

For a moment, she looked genuinely startled, her innocent eyes wide as if she had no idea what she’d done wrong.

After a long pause, she muttered, “But I did it for the company’s sake! It’s just tea, isn’t it? It all looks the same to me...”

As she finished, her lips quivered, and she started crying, her tearful expression so pitiful it made it seem like I was the one bullying her.

“Alright, Yuna, that’s enough. Don’t go too hard on her. Mandy didn’t mean any harm. She was just trying to help, even if it didn’t turn out as planned.”

Daniel Hart, the general manager, had appeared behind me without me noticing. He placed a hand lightly on my shoulder, but his gaze drifted toward Mandy.

To my shock, there was a trace of sympathy in his eyes.

“Mr. Hart, you have to believe me,” Mandy said, her voice trembling. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble. I was only trying to save costs for the company…”

She blinked, and a single teardrop fell, perfectly timed to land right in front of Daniel.

His tone softened immediately. “Alright, Mandy, I know you meant well for the company.”

The tears vanished as quickly as they’d come, replaced by a radiant smile. But then, she turned the conversation around.

“Still, I honestly think spending that much on gifts is unnecessary. Clients choose us because of our company’s reputation and capabilities. Miss Jones only succeeds in closing deals because of the platform our company provides. The gifts don’t really matter.”

Daniel looked thoughtful at her words, clearly considering her argument.

Reputation? Capabilities?

Why did none of this sound familiar to me?

All I knew was that I personally visited every client, cultivated every connection, and closed every deal with my own network and hard work.

Daniel’s lips pressed into a thin line as his gaze shifted to me. He didn’t say a word, but his deep, searching look sent a chill through me.

Standing there, looking at the man I had loved for five years, I felt a coldness creeping into my heart.

Oh, right. I forgot to mention that Daniel was my boyfriend.