Arianna had originally planned to mention her transition to permanent staff while they were grabbing lunch, but it seemed Diana had already caught wind of it.

Arianna blinked in surprise. "How did you find out?"

"Jenna Lawson from your team was gossiping about it," Diana said, biting down on her straw as she shot her a look. "What, were you planning on keeping it from me?"

"Of course not," Arianna replied honestly. "I was actually going to tell you over lunch."

"And then you realized I already knew, right?" Diana’s tone was laced with a touch of smug triumph.

Arianna chuckled. "Yeah."

Diana had joined the company six months before her and had already signed her full-time contract. Though they worked in different groups, they often collaborated, and over time, they had become close friends who clicked on almost everything.

Just then, something seemed to cross Diana's mind, and her expression turned subtle. "Jenna Lawson has been running around all morning telling everyone you got signed early. She’s like a human megaphone. It isn't just our group, either—the Copywriting and Operations teams already know, too. Oh, and probably the customer service department, if I had to guess."

Arianna: "..."

As she spoke, the realization finally hit Diana. "Damn, she is absolutely doing this on purpose. It’s a hectic day; who has the free time to go around announcing someone else’s promotion first thing in the morning? She’s trying to make everyone resent you."

It was true. This was a deliberate attempt to sow resentment.

If she had known, she should have stashed that contract away the second she stepped out of the office. After all, she never intended to broadcast the news to people she wasn't close with, especially not Jenna Lawson. But now, it was too late. There was no way to walk it back.

Arianna took a long sip of her iced latte—loaded with boba, coconut jelly, and red beans—and kept her tone light. "Let her talk. I’ll just ignore her."

"I guess that’s all you can do," Diana said, patting her shoulder in comfort. "Just act like you don’t hear a word they say. Seriously, treat Jenna like she’s invisible. Don’t give her the time of day. With people like that, the more attention you give them, the harder they push."

Arianna smiled. "I know. Don't worry."

...

That afternoon, Arianna headed to the breakroom to refill her mug and bumped into Jenna.

Jenna was filling her water bottle. Arianna stood beside her to rinse out her own cup. She had brewed a bag of herbal tea Diana had given her, and the residue meant she had to scrub a bit longer than usual. During that time, Arianna could feel eyes lingering on her, but she didn’t pay them any mind, focusing entirely on her mug.

Once she was done, Arianna shut off the tap and turned toward the direction of the gaze.

Sure enough, a second later, she caught Jenna trying to sneak a peek.

Caught in the act, Jenna stumbled for a few seconds, her expression awkward, before she forced a smile. "Arianna, here to get water too? Want a coffee?"

Arianna couldn't understand it. They weren't even remotely close, yet every time they crossed paths, Jenna acted like they were best friends. This time was no different.

Arianna looked at her calmly and walked right past her without stopping. "No thanks."

Behind her, Jenna dropped the smile, her face twisting in annoyance. She clicked her tongue, pouted, and stormed out of the breakroom.

—

Back at her desk, Arianna thought about the interaction, which naturally led her back to the news of her promotion.

Grandma knew. Diana knew. Gemma knew. But there was one other person she cared about who didn’t.

Arianna picked up her phone, opened the chat thread with Maxwell, and typed out a message. Just as she was about to hit send, something felt off.

The text read: "Have some great news to share! I got promoted to permanent staff ahead of schedule!"

The excitement practically bled off the screen. But was she making too big a deal out of this?

After all, it was just a promotion. Maxwell had been managing the family business since college; he’d seen real storms and massive deals. Now that he was the CEO of King Enterprises, he probably saw a routine contract update as a trivial, insignificant matter. He wouldn't understand the genuine thrill she was feeling.

Arianna hesitated, then quietly deleted the text.

Just as she was about to close the app, her phone buzzed. A message from Maxwell popped up: "???"

Arianna: "..."

He must have seen the "typing" indicator. How could the timing be so bad? Arianna closed her eyes for a heartbeat, deciding that if she couldn't avoid it, she might as well play it cool.

"???" she typed back.

Maxwell let out a small laugh. He seemed to guess she was playing dumb, but he didn't call her out on it. "When do you get off work today?"

Arianna checked the time. "Still a while. At least two more hours."

"Let me know when you're close to leaving. I'll have the driver head over early, or I can meet you at the Northwest Entrance like last time."

"Okay."

After that, the chat went quiet. Arianna didn't want the conversation to end, but she couldn't think of anything else to say. Stuck in limbo, she scrambled for an excuse to end it. "You go back to work. I’m going to..."

She hadn't even decided what she was going to do yet, when the chat header suddenly displayed "Is typing..."

Arianna’s finger hovered over the screen, frozen. She deleted the text she’d been drafting and waited silently for his message.

Maxwell: "Right, I forgot to ask—when did you actually get promoted?"

Arianna tried to keep her tone as natural as possible. "I already am."

"Isn't your probation period three months?"

Arianna fought to suppress her soaring mood, pursing her lips into a thin line. "Yeah. I finished it a month early."

Maxwell: "When did it happen?"

Arianna: "Yesterday."

Maxwell was currently on his way to a meeting. Cole Parker, his executive assistant, was trailing behind him, tablet in hand, rattling off a status report.

Mid-stride, Maxwell stopped dead, staring at his phone, lost in thought. Cole stood beside him, watching in disbelief as he typed, deleted, and then typed again.

Maxwell was obsessively editing a single line, clearly struggling to find the right way to respond. Yet, the corner of his mouth was curled into a genuine, pleased arc.

Cole hadn't noticed his boss's unusual expression; he assumed Maxwell was in the middle of a delicate negotiation with a business partner. It made sense. When dealing with high-stakes deals, you had to be careful with your words.

But... it had been five minutes. Was the boss being a little too cautious?

Curiosity finally got the better of him. Cole stole a glance at Maxwell's screen.

He immediately collided with the profile picture of a cute, cartoon cat.

Cole: "???"

Which business partner used a cat meme as a profile picture? It looked like a sticker—was that really professional? Was he actually talking business?