Chapter 2

2

The next day when I walked into the office, I felt like I had a brand-new spine.

Audrey, as usual, dropped a half-finished file on my desk. "Chloe, fix this for me. I need to turn it in by 3 PM."

I looked down. It was her usual mess―terrible formatting, missing data, and logic that made no sense. She'd clearly spent maybe twenty minutes on it.

Normally, I'd sigh, stay late, and fix it for her. Today, I pushed it right back to her side of the desk.

"Do it yourself."

Audrey froze, her fake smile stiffening. "Chloe, what did you just say?"

"I said, this is your job. Do it yourself."

The office went silent for a beat. Audrey's expression shifted from confusion to annoyance. "What's wrong with you today? It's just a small favor. You always do this for me."

"Exactly," I said. "And that's why you've gotten so lazy."

Audrey's lips trembled. She looked like she wanted to scream, but she just huffed, grabbed the file, and stormed off.

At 3 PM, she turned in that same mess, completely unchanged.

The next morning, the boss called Audrey into his office. I could hear him yelling through the walls. "What the hell is this? The data is wrong, and the formatting is a disaster! Is this really your best work?"

Audrey came out looking pale. As she walked past my desk, she gave me a murderous glare.

I didn't even look up.

Joanna from Marketing came over next. "Chloe, honey, can you organize these client files for me? I need them by Monday."

"Joanna, those are your clients." I didn't even lift my eyes from my screen. "Organize them yourself."

She stood there stunned for a long time, muttering something about me having a "bad attitude" before stomping away.

Then Chris from Finance sent me a message: "Hey Chloe, can you handle this month's expense report for me? I'm swamped."

I replied with four words: "Do your own job."

Chris sent back a shocked emoji. I didn't reply.

By the end of the day, the atmosphere in the office had shifted. All the people who habitually dumped their work on me were acting like I was a stranger.

When I walked out of the building that evening, the air felt fresher.

Refusing people was actually that easy. Why the hell hadn't I done this years ago?