๐๐ฎ๐ฒ๐ธ ๐ฌ/๐ก had two things going for her: A convincing smileโฆ
And a talent for faking
it till she made it.
After being kicked out of her last job as a baristaโover something she totally didn't start (okay, maybe she accidentally told a rude customer where to shove their low-fat soy vanilla whatever)โ
she needed a fresh start.
Rent was due. Bills were piling up. Pride? Long gone.
So when she stumbled on a job listing for a ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ with benefits that made her eyes water, she didn't hesitate.
She forged. She faked. She Googled how to lie on resumes and not get caught.
And somehowโฆ it worked.
Now she was ๐๐ฎ๐ฒ๐ธ ๐ฌ/๐ก certified, qualified, and definitely not in danger of being exposed.
Or so she thought.
Because just as she was starting to settle into the officeโmaking small talk with coworkers, pretending to know what "internal operations optimization" meantโthe elevator dinged.
She turned, expecting just another suit.
Instead, she froze.
๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด-๐บ๐ถ๐ป.
Tall. Cold-eyed. Sharp suit.
And still carrying the same arrogant smirk he used to wear in high school every time he beat her in a debate, test, or full-blown shouting match in the hallway.
Her ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐.
The same ๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด-๐บ๐ถ๐ป who made her blood boil back then.
The same one who definitely wouldn't forget her face.
Especially not if he dug too deep and found the forged qualifications tucked beneath her perfectly edited resume.
Her smile faded. Her heartbeat skipped. And her carefully built lie began to crack.
Now, she wasn't just trying to survive this job.
She was trying to ๐ต๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ต, from the one person who would love to ruin her all over again.
And worst of all?
He looked like he was already suspicious.
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