The Billion-Dollar Bid That Killed Me Once

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Bidding on the ten-million-dollar project.

I turned in the intern's messy, slapdash proposal exactly as it was.

I wasn't worried. Everyone else in the company was.

Because in my last life, the new intern had eagerly volunteered for the job.

Then, the day before the bid, she handed me a garbage proposal.

I lost my temper: "Even the basic formatting is wrong."

"We encourage new hires, but that doesn't mean you get to blow me off like this."

To my surprise, she argued back without a shred of guilt.

"After I finished, I asked a public AI chatbot about it. It said my proposal was unmatched, worth over ten million."

"Where do you get off tearing it down like that? If you ask me, you're just jealous."

Even my boyfriend, always so calm and controlled, took her side and rounded on me.

"So I got a little close to Alice. Does that mean you have to crush her at work?"

"How did I never notice you're a power-abusing shrew?"

In the middle of the fight, my asthma flared up.

And the two of them just watched me, cold-eyed.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the day before the bid.

...

"Amelia, did you look at the proposal I turned in?"

"I studied under a famous professor. You'll definitely be happy with my work."

Intern Alice Barber gave me a sweet smile.

Her eyes were pure smugness.

The words were identical to last life, and a chill ran through me before I could stop it.

I had actually... been reborn.

I gave the proposal a lazy glance. The title on the cover was already misspelled.

I handed it right back, indifferent.

"This isn't my area. If you think it's done, take it straight to Mr. Pruitt. You don't need to go through me."

Maybe she hadn't expected this from me.

Alice's face froze. She was clearly caught off guard.

"Amelia, you're not going to look it over yourself?"

I couldn't blame her for being surprised.

I built this company with my own two hands.

If my mother hadn't fallen seriously ill a year ago and needed someone by her side around the clock,

I never would have handed the top job to my boyfriend, Zachery Pruitt.

Even so, I still handled every matter in the company myself, big or small.

Terrified that all my years of work might collapse in a single moment.

And this bid especially had cost me half a year of blood and sweat, countless all-nighters to finally see it through.

The bid was tomorrow.

The more critical the moment, the more careful I should be.

And yet I didn't even give it a second look.

Alice refused to give up.

"Amelia, why don't you take a look? What if something's off?"

At that, I lifted the corners of my mouth into the most sincere smile.

"You graduated from a top school, and proposals are your specialty. How could there be a problem? Isn't that right?"

"Besides, Mr. Pruitt trusts you so highly. I'm sure he'll be very satisfied."

Faced with my flattery, an unmistakable flicker of guilt crossed her face.

Seeing me about to leave, she suddenly lunged forward and grabbed my wrist.

"Amelia, you can't go!"

"I'm confident in myself, but you have to see this proposal."

With that, she shoved the proposal into my hands, no matter what.

A trace of eagerness as she tried to flip it open.

But the next second I snapped it shut again, hard.

"No need. I trust you."

I said it in the fewest words possible, and yet completely firm.

The words Alice had ready died in her throat.

She looked at me, opening her mouth and stopping several times.

And in that instant, my mind went suddenly clear.

Last life, I always thought Alice was simply stupid, and that was why she'd made such a garbage proposal.

But now I could see. She did it on purpose.

She wanted to bait me into losing my temper and starting a fight.

That was what led to the tragedy afterward.

Thinking of it, I clenched my teeth and swept a cold look over her.

"Do you have something else? If not, get out of my way. I still have work to do."

Alice said nothing, but she stayed planted right in front of me.

"You can't go!"

"I spent a whole week on this proposal. I won't rest easy until you've taken a look."

Alice made it sound so reasonable, as if I were the one being unreasonable.

But before I could get a word out, a familiar reproach came from behind me.

"Tsk. Amelia James, is it really so much trouble just to look at a proposal?"

"Isn't Alice doing this for the company's sake?"

I gave him a cold glance, my voice flat.

"So now trusting her makes me the one in the wrong?"

Zachery's face went colder as he listened. He was about to say something more.

But right then Alice suddenly caught hold of my hand.

"Amelia, it makes me so happy that you trust me this much."

"But please, just take one look at the proposal. You've always been my idol, and this involves the whole company's hard work. I can only truly rest easy if you've seen it."

Hearing that, Zachery's eyes filled with doting affection.

"Alice, you're so thoughtful."

Watching the two of them so cozy together, my heart turned cold as ice.