chapter 4

After saying that, I didn't hold back and rolled my eyes at Zachary.

He'd been playing CEO for so long in his past life that he really started believing he was some big shot.

The sales assistant was the first to snap out of it.

She said apologetically to me, "My sincerest apologies, miss. Is there anything else you'd like? I'll ring everything up for you."

As she spoke, she knelt to pick up the bank card I'd thrown, her fawning expression making me nauseous.

Before I could ask for another assistant to handle my purchase, Mia cut in.

"If it's not Zachary's money, then it must be someone else's. Yvonne, have you no shame? How could you seduce a rich man just for money?"

She even feigned surprise, covering her mouth as if she'd accidentally revealed some shocking secret.

She whimpered, "Don't worry, Zachary, I would never leave you for some wealthy guy."

Not only did Zachary's dark expression instantly brighten into a grin, but I almost laughed out loud myself.

One thief yelled "thief!", the other treated that thief like a gem.

They were really a match made in heaven.

I thought the farce would end there, but Mia said something more astonishing.

"I'll take everything she wanted. I'll pay double."

No one turned down easy money.

The sales assistant muttered a half-hearted "sorry" to me, and all the items meant for me were handed over to Mia.

Mia sneered, "I'm doing this for your own good. If the wealthy man you're sleeping with finds out you spent this much, he might just dump you."

With that, Mia picked up a necklace I'd chosen, a birthday gift for my mother, and snapped the chain with a sharp tug.

I cried out instinctively and lunged to stop her, but Zachary kicked me hard in the stomach.

The impact sent me crashing into a display case, the pain so intense my vision went black.

Mia shouted at Zachary, "Zachary, hold her down! Let me teach her a lesson for you."

Zachary grinned and said yes. Then he pinned me against the counter, his hand gripping the back of my neck.

No matter how I struggled, he wouldn't let go.

I could only watch helplessly as Mia cut, tore, and destroyed every item I'd selected.

When she threw the last handbag at me, a metal accessory on it sliced open the corner of my eye.

If I hadn't reacted quickly, it might have blinded me.

Bored, Mia pouted and prepared to leave.

Just before they left, Zachary yanked my hair, forcing me to look at his phone.

This time, it was my turn to stare in shock.

His bank balance showed over 75 million dollars!

He scoffed at me, "Bet you didn't see that coming. That project with Pierce Corporation ended up being hugely profitable. Seems like once you, the jinx, were gone, good luck started pouring in."

Watching them walk away, I let out a cold laugh.

No wonder Zachary had let Mia waste money so freely.

But he'd forgotten that if I hadn't been managing that project from the start, it was far from certain whether it would have turned a profit at all.

Zachary always believed success was due to his own brilliance, while failures were my fault.

So, in his mind, the recent cash inflow was purely thanks to his talent, with no credit to my earlier efforts.

Mia, too, seemed to think she'd hit the jackpot, flooding her social media with boasts about her lavish lifestyle.

One day she'd be strolling down Wall Street, the next taking selfies in front of the Eiffel Tower.

Her latest post showed Zachary leasing a new office space, prime location, top-tier design, impeccable environment.

The rent alone was enough to make most people weep.

But it was not a problem, because Mr. Shaw was rich.

Meanwhile, I was on the verge of being forced to go home and inherit the family fortune because I couldn't find a job.

Even someone as steady as Ron couldn't help but scowl after several all-nighters of work went down the drain.

He said annoyingly, "Your former company snatched another one of our new orders. If this continues, we'll all be out of work."

The team I'd trained myself was just too good.

Even under new leadership, they could still outcompete a small company like ours.

I told him reassuringly, "Don't worry. Once I poach their key technical staff, we'll be industry leaders in no time."

Ron was my new business partner, a future internet prodigy known worldwide.

After I left, Zachary had spread rumors everywhere.

He claimed I'd leaked company secrets or that I was incompetent and had caused massive losses.

No company would hire me.

So, I started my own.

Using my knowledge of the future, I recruited Ron before he became famous.

But I hadn't expected Zachary to be so persistent.

Every project I showed interest in, he'd swoop in to interfere.

Even if he couldn't snatch it away, he'd do his best to ruin it for me.

He asked curiously, "And how do we poach them? Offer higher salaries? Boss, we can barely make payroll as it is."

Ron managed to sound like he was whining, even when complaining.

Like Zachary, he came from a modest background, but he lacked any trace of arrogance.

When I found him, he was fixing computers in his neighborhood for extra cash.

He joked casually, "Even geniuses need to eat." His words reminded me of Zachary in the early days of starting up his business.

Zachary used to complain that the projects we took were beneath him, an insult to his genius.

Back then, I thought it was just a top student's pride. I focused on growing the company, hoping to land bigger, better contracts.

Looking back now, it's just ironic.

I patted Ron’s shoulder and told him,

"Relax, your boss is loaded. I'm going home to ask for money."

To introduce me to more contacts and resources, my father specially organized a business banquet.

This was also my formal debut as the heiress of the Hayes Group.

I even had my father's assistant send an invitation to Zachary.

In the last life, he'd been desperate to cozy up to the Hayes family. With an invitation coming directly from them, he had no reason to refuse.

Zachary asked,

"Yvonne? What are you doing here?"

Zachary had arrived.