Five Bucks for a Million-Dollar Lunch

"You'd better not twist the facts here, Julia! You ought to know that taking someone else's thing without permission is considered theft! How can you steal my food and act like you did nothing wrong?

"I'm warning you—if you fail to issue a public apology and provide compensation, I won't let you go!" I bellowed before I tossed my lunch box into the trash can. I then grabbed my handbag, turned on my heels, and walked away.

I ate a freshly made meal once I returned home, but I was still absolutely furious.

I unlocked my phone, ready to blast Julia publicly in the company-wide group chat. But at the last second, I realized that even though I didn't care about keeping the job, making a massive scene would only end up causing more trouble for me in the long run.

I messaged Julia privately with that in mind. "You'd better fully reimburse me for the food you stole at lunch and make a public apology by tomorrow morning. Otherwise, I'll contact the police and file a report."

I hadn't even set my phone down when a bunch of voice messages started rolling in. Julia's over-the-top, annoying tone filled the room. "You've got to be kidding me! You should be flattered that I even ate your lunch. Who do you think you're dealing with?

"Do you think I'm just some average person who doesn't know any better? You can go ahead and call the police—let's see who gets arrested and who gets fired from this company!"

It turned out that my attempt to play things down was mistaken by Julia as a sign of weakness.

She immediately took the screenshots of our private chat and posted them right into the company group chat. "Do you see this petty person at our office? She's bitter about her own life, so she expects others to cater to her every whim.

"I only helped her because I felt bad that she had nobody in her life, and now she's trying to frame me for it.

"In the future, everyone should refrain from doing charity needlessly. After all, there's a reason these miserable people end up the way they do. She's got no family, no ties, nothing at stake—we do, so don't get dragged into it."

Those who were normally close to Julia immediately stepped in to stir up trouble before most people even understood the situation.

"I know, right? She never once reciprocates when we share snacks or fruits in the office. She claims that she's allergic to them. How can anyone be allergic to so many things? She could at least come up with a better excuse."

"What do you expect? She's a miserable orphan, so she's bound to be petty and selfish. Julia only got the short end of the stick because she was too kindhearted."

"You shouldn't let it get to you, Julia. You're the heiress of the family behind Grand Epoch Capital, so these absolute nobodies aren't even worth your time."

Those one-sided flattery comments in the group chat finally made me realize why Julia acted so brazenly.

It turned out she had been dropping hints ever since her first day of internship that she was only working there for the "experience" and that she was the successor of Grand Epoch Capital, which just happened to be the company's biggest investor.

In addition, combined with Julia's arrogant attitude and her head-to-toe luxury brands—which I could tell were knockoffs, though regular people never noticed—it worked perfectly with her lies. After all, as long as one appeared sufficiently confident, even a fabricated persona could trick others.

That was precisely why the whole group was dogpiling on me at that moment.

I sneered as I quickly typed out the message. "If she's the actual heiress, then we're really screwed. If you're all so eager to bootlick and power-trip, then don't blame me for not playing nice.

"You guys had better not back down when the police arrive at the scene tomorrow. We're going to lay everything out on the table and see who's the one who should actually be ashamed."