Take The Damn Dog

The next morning, as soon as I walked into the office, I heard coworkers gossiping all around me:

"Emily is such a manipulative vixen. I can’t believe she actually locked down Mr. Sullivan! Word is, he’s already confirmed publicly that he’s her boyfriend!"

"I heard it was love at first sight. Not only did he admit to the relationship, but they’re apparently getting married really soon!"

"Holy crap! How did Emily pull this off? Why is she so lucky? She’s actually marrying into high society? Is the bar that low now?!"

…

Right in the middle of their chatter, Emily walked in, decked out head to toe in designer labels, her sunglasses perched glamorously on her nose. Behind her trailed a man who looked like a bodyguard.

She pulled off her sunglasses and looked around the office with smug superiority.

"I told you all I’d marry rich. None of you believed me. You better show some respect now. I’m the CEO’s fiancée!"

Then, she strutted right up to me.

"Mia, you must be dying of jealousy. We used to be the same low-level grunts, and now look at me; I’m your boss’s future wife. Go get me a glass of water."

I stood up and looked at her with a blank expression.

"You’ve only met Silas Sullivan once, and he already wants to be your boyfriend? Doesn’t that seem a little strange to you?"

"What’s so strange about that?" she snapped. "Beautiful women attract successful men. You wouldn’t understand, being the plain little nobody you are."

The more she talked, the more riled up she got. She deliberately stepped closer, lifted her hand, and jabbed a finger hard against my forehead.

"And just so you know, I’m getting married to Silas in two weeks. I’ll officially become Mrs. Sullivan. If you know what’s good for you, you’d get down on your knees and start kissing up to me right now. Otherwise, I could have you fired in a second!"

I wasn’t afraid of getting fired. What I wasn’t ready for was letting Emily off easy without seeing how she’d fall.

After a moment of thought, I went and got her a glass of water, then handed it to her with an apologetic smile. "Here you go, Mrs. Sullivan."

Emily was absolutely thrilled to hear me say that. She burst into arrogant laughter, then tipped the water right onto me before turning and walking away.

Our coworkers were furious on my behalf and tried to speak up, but I just smiled faintly.

Two more weeks. I wanted to see how long she could keep acting this high and mighty.

Finally, the day of Silas and Emily’s wedding arrived.

To show off, she video called me. The moment I picked up, she flipped the camera to face herself.

"Mia, I bet you’ve never even seen a wedding dress this beautiful before, or a diamond this huge! Well, what can I say? You’re just poor and tacky, always meant to be under my heel. You’ll be relying on me just to survive at work. How pathetic is that?"

I ignored her taunts and stared closely at the background of her video. There was no altar, no garden ceremony, and no grand piano. There was just a black crucifix.

The eerie setup was exactly like what I’d seen in my past life.

So, it was finally happening: the scene I’d waited so long to witness. And the truth behind Snowy’s so-called "good luck" was about to be revealed.

As I focused on the screen, a soft female voice came through from off-camera, "Silas, is this the gift you prepared for me?"