Chapter 2

2

Back at my desk, the first thing I did was organize all the evidence.

Greg was involved in a mess of illegal activities, and I spent half the night sorting through the different charges.

He was only this bold because no one had ever fought back.

One threat about arbitration was usually enough to make his employees back down.

The employees were innocent, but the kids who signed up for these classes were even more so.

Most of them were students from small rural towns. For many, this exam was their only shot at a better life.

I gripped the USB drive in my hand and made a silent vow.

I was going to put him behind bars.

Just as I was about to head to the accounting office, Greg suddenly appeared behind me.

"Chloe, what are you up to?"

The hair on my neck stood up, and I reflexively tightened my grip on my bag.

After a second of thought, I stood up and kept my distance.

"Just reaching out to clients, Mr. Young. I've got that twenty-five thousand dollar goal to hit, remember?"

"Where's Jade? I thought you two left together."

Greg sat right down at my desk, his eyes scanning me up and down.

He picked up my water bottle and took a long swig.

"You know, Chloe, you're working way too hard. How about I give you an easier job? I might even forget about that twenty thousand you owe me!"

"Jade treats you so badly. Don't you want to get back at her?"

Looking at the man before me, a man so disgusting I wanted to vomit, a wave of rage took over.

He kept pushing my boundaries. I was reaching my breaking point.

I looked around for anything sharp I could shove into him, but my eyes landed on a photo by the computer.

It was a photo of me with those ten students.

Seeing their bright, smiling faces, I forced myself to calm down.

No, I couldn't ruin things now. They were still counting on me.

I pinched my thigh hard and forced a smile that felt more like a grimace.

"Are you saying you want me to take over more classes or just take Jade's clients? Don't worry, boss. I'll get the job done!"

Seeing that I wasn't taking the bait, Greg violently kicked a pile of student artwork next to him. Watercolor paper scattered everywhere.

"You don't know what's good for you! Since you want to play it this way, your sales goal just doubled! You'll be working for me for the rest of your life!"

He slammed the door as he stormed out.

I wanted to check the financial records while no one was around, but the files were all encrypted. I had to give up for now.

When I got back to the crappy dorm Greg provided, I found Jade frantically shredding my LV bag with a pair of scissors!

Seeing me, Jade whipped around and charged at me with the scissors.

"You little bitch! You think you can mess with my money?"

"I'm going to freaking kill you!"