Chapter 1

My parents forced me into a summer job just three days after I finished my high school finals.

Maybe it was because of some connection they had, but I could make a hundred and twenty bucks a day just by slacking off for eight hours.

I was so thrilled that I shared the news with my best friend, Yara, immediately.

"Come work with me, it's eight hours a day and super easy!" I told her.

Yara interviewed and started the very next day.

By her second day, the atmosphere at work was better than ever.

I watched it all with a smile, happy to have her there.

But the boss, Victor, who usually stayed hidden in his office, suddenly appeared behind me.

I followed him into his office, and he locked the door at his gesture.

While I was standing there feeling anxious, he finally spoke.

"Hey Lexi, do you think Yara would agree if I offered to be her... Godfather?"

1.

It felt like a bolt from the blue, and even in the air-conditioned room, I felt a sudden chill.

I thought I had heard him wrong, so I took a few steps forward.

"Boss, what did you just say? What do you mean by that?" I asked, unable to believe my ears.

"Exactly what it sounds like," he replied calmly.

"I can tell you two are close. Asking you is the same as asking her, so just tell me if she'd be down for it."

I frowned, as his question clearly crossed the line of professional conversation.

Facing such a sensitive topic, I decided to take a indirect approach.

"To be honest, my friend's family isn't doing great. Her parents divorced years ago," I said.

"Her mom remarried ten years ago, and they're just a normal, quiet family now."

The implication was that she didn't need some creepy guy trying to play father figure.

But the man in front of me acted like he didn't understand, adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses with a fake smile.

"You girls are still young, you don't understand how the world works yet..."

"One more powerful connection means one more way out in life."

His calm expression suddenly felt predatory.

I felt a surge of horror and stumbled back a few steps.

I wanted to say more, but a business partner arrived, and he got up to open the door himself.

When I got back to the workshop, Yara was handing out iced coffees to the other employees.

I looked down at myself and then at her.

Growing up, I was always the overweight one, the plain girl standing next to the beautiful Yara.

Yara was cheerful, gorgeous, and a total social butterfly.

She had been there for less than a day, and she already had everyone wrapped around her finger with a few kind words.

Even the boss was making ridiculous requests about being her "Godfather."

I thought about the horror stories of workplace harassment I had seen in the news.

My skin crawled, and I pulled her away, ignoring the fact that she was mid-conversation.

"Listen to me, from now on, you stay wherever I am. Whether it's getting water or going to the bathroom, you don't go alone!"

She started to ask why, but I cut her off immediately.

"Don't ask anything, don't say anything. We just need to survive until the end of the shift today."

Yara nodded hesitantly, sensing my panic.