Chapter 1

Right before the state inspectors came to our small coastal harbor, the manager of our Fishermen's Co-op ordered me to hand over my wholesale accounts to a well-connected newcomer.

He claimed I was pocketing too much commission from selling our dried seafood, and that the local fishermen were growing resentful.

He told me it was only fair to let someone else take over the pending contracts.

Within a few days, mountains of unsold cured seafood piled up in the harbor, rotting under the sun and reeking of decay.

Panic-stricken, the manager begged me to step in and clear the backlog.

I just smiled and shook my head.

"I think I will pass on those commissions," I told him. "We wouldn't want the locals getting upset again."

...

I had just finished dispatching a major outbound shipment when I noticed the manager staring at me with a calculating look.

He walked over with a greasy, genial grin.

"Brenna, you fulfilled quite a few wholesale orders this month, didn't you? How many contracts do you have left on your desk? Can you still handle the workload?"

"I can handle it just fine. Thanks for checking in, Vernon," I replied with polite cheer.

His smile thinned at my answer, clearly dissatisfied that I hadn't taken the hint.

He let out a heavy, patronizing sigh.

"Brenna, look. In the year you've worked here at the Co-op, you've made a small fortune brokering our village's seafood."

"The fishermen risk their lives at sea and spend weeks curing the catch. You just make a few phone calls to connect buyers, yet you take a hefty cut. People are bound to feel bitter. Besides, you're not even originally from our harbor."

Vernon paused, fixing his eyes on me as if waiting for me to step down willingly.

I gave a light nod, playing dumb. "You're completely right, Vernon. I'll make sure to take fewer orders next month."

His face instantly darkened, all traces of warmth vanishing.

"Brenna, we can't afford fewer orders! What I mean is, you should hand over your current pending accounts to someone else and go scout new leads."

"Cassidy Drake just joined us, and she's sharp. Her family has roots in this town, and she has big business ties in the city. Handing these ready orders to her would be great practice, and you can always guide her if she stumbles."

I sneered internally, but kept my face entirely calm.

"No problem at all. Whatever you think is best, boss."

Vernon stared in surprise before his expression turned into sheer delight. "I knew I could count on you, Brenna! Pack up the paperwork and hand it over to Cassidy this afternoon."

Once Vernon retreated to his office, the rest of the Co-op staff began throwing strange, mocking glances my way.

I brushed it off. But at lunchtime, the moment I sat down at a communal table, everyone immediately grabbed their trays and moved away.

The sneers on their faces were now completely undisguised.

"Look at her. She used to strut around the harbor like she owned the place. Turns out she's nothing special after all."

"She only made that money because our smoked seafood is top quality. Anyone could sell it. She was just freeloading off our hard work."

Before long, some of them even started spreading vicious rumors about how I supposedly landed those deals.

Cassidy came over, setting her lunchbox across from me with a sweet, innocent smile.

"Thank you so much for letting me take over these accounts, Brenna. I'm new to the harbor business, so please look out for me from now on."

Yet the smug triumph gleaming in her eyes betrayed every word.

"Don't thank me," I said, not even looking up. "Thank Vernon."

Cassidy turned pale on cue, looking utterly wronged. "Are you blaming me, Brenna?"

I ignored her, but the surrounding workers couldn't stand it and rushed over to console her.

"Cassidy, you don't need to apologize to her! She wasn't the only reason the seafood sold. If anything, she should be thanking our harbor for lining her pockets!"

They ushered Cassidy to another table, praising her to the skies while loudly throwing shade at me.

They conveniently forgot every single bonus and holiday cash envelope I had secured for them in the past.

I simply smiled, finished my meal in silence, and ignored their petty chatter.

After lunch, I handed every single contract file over to Cassidy. Then, I found a quiet bench behind the warehouse to relax and listen to a radio talk show.

Vernon found me there with my eyes shut.

"Brenna, have you been sitting here listening to the radio all afternoon?"

His brow was furrowed so tightly it could crush a fly, his fleshy face red with irritation.

"Don't worry, Vernon. Every single file has been fully transferred to Cassidy."

With that, I closed my eyes again.

Vernon sighed in exasperation. "Once you hand them off, you're supposed to find new buyers! Bring in the contracts, let Cassidy handle fulfillment, and once she gets the hang of it, I'll assign you other tasks!"

"Understood," I said with a smile. I stood up, clocked out, and left the Co-op.

Instead of scouting for clients, I walked straight home.

Before heading inside, I stopped by the public harbor office to make a quick phone call.

"Mom, tell Uncle Jack and the rest of our family's distributor network to hold off on picking up seafood from our harbor. Wait for my word."