Taking Down the Impostor: A Story of Vindication

ispers slithered through my colleagues-snide conjectu

er so-called connections-how the company president was her boyfriend, t

came the cente

r "boyfriend" the company president and "brother"

enough fun, you n

he will co

.

t on tempering my skills-deliberately barr

ed my boyfriend Sha

s made by my housekeeper to

ruits have mastered the art of ingratia

ly in my cookie

impeccably, glancing at what I held

bered her name

exclusively imported delicacies-I'd hate to r

ring her mouth with a light lau

n with an air of superiorit

hovering over the plainly wrap

ite envious of you, having survived this long without getting into troubl

xpressio

gs of snacks with foreign

mbered our family had bought sever

d brought back from abroad.

easantly surprised and accep

use for self-neglect, darling. Those unregulated products could

"Sorry, but I have a strict policy against consuming counte

I added, "No offen

.

m fell

ped chewing t

isted smile at me, "Even if you can't afford it

It's obviously counterfeit goo

ues gave he

must blame my boyfriend who is so devoted to spoiling me with lu

was the e

essaged me, offerin

e nature of our relation

uxury cars were parked

ealing my brother Alfred Cox wearing sun

down, and Shane asked with a stern

bicycle past them

the company, a car

ashed all over me, leaving me c

a stepped out in high he

wept over me. "Well, well," she purred, the edge of mockery slicing through ea

I asked, "Do you eve

ou that blocked my way with your

aughed at

adept at playi

someone call a bike worth hund

.

etort, a Maybach

r license plate, I inst

as S

econd, Cor

e and I exchanged a gla

n't he see I am st

her meticulously made-up face

s at the car, every vulgarity im

he Maybach logo,

broken traffic light, I couldn'

iery gaze on me, snapping, "It'

olently pushed my bi

h, the pedal and

of junk but acting all high

ing, "Junk? Do you know h

ed? Here, keep the change." She pulled out several hundred-dollar bills from her wallet a

ng, a small crow

nced at my bike and exclaimed, "880 gra

e? Exactly the same. It's reall

his, Cora

k? Come on, at least try to

ghed mo

urchase record and sh

handlebar 50, 000, two broken

.

xpression fro

ne screen, staring

I could never afford s

Who'd you sweet-talk into buyin

demanding, "Cut your crap.

watched her wi

ushed beet-red then went pale-her glare so v

p in long-term deposits-"completely inaccessible"-and

e bike worth over 800, 000, but her biti

messaged me to co

tive elevator to

pened thi

is stern demean

arm around my waist, p

ending with a compliment, "You

furrowed a

id, "I'll contact HR to f

conflict. If she leaves as soon as I arrive, everyone will start

artment, hearing everyone gossiping, "An entire hour in the boss'

llege-a designer bag here, a luxury watch there. That 880K bi

s rate, if she has a few more executive sleepo