From Nobody to His Boss

Jasmine's POV

The call came while I was stitching up a shrapnel wound in South Sudan, a lawyer telling me my grandfather William Caldwell was dead and I'd inherited one hundred and twenty billion dollars. I didn't even know I had a grandfather, and my father's family was one of the most powerful in America.

Now I was flying back to New York to claim an inheritance and cancel an engagement to some businessman named Oliver Jennings that my grandfather had arranged before he died.

Theodore, my grandfather's secretary, had me come straight here from the airport to try on the custom jewelry for tonight's dinner. He's planning to out me at tonight's party and announce that I'm getting all of grandfather's money.

I stood in front of the mirror at the jewelry store, still wearing my cargo pants and dusty boots. The store manager carefully put the gemstone necklace on me, and I gotta say, I was pretty happy with how it looked. But right when I was gonna tell the manager to send it over to the estate, this sharp female voice cut me off.

"I want that one."

I turned. A blonde woman was pointing at me, or rather, at the necklace I was wearing.

"The one she's wearing," the woman said. "I need it."

The store manager stepped forward quickly. "I'm sorry, Miss, but this is a custom piece—"

"I don't care whose it is." The woman's voice was sharp and entitled. "I need it for tonight. I'm attending a very important event with my boss, and I need jewelry that matches his status."

"This piece is already spoken for," The store manager said nervously.

The woman moved closer. "Do you know who I am? I'm Elise Sinclair, executive secretary to Oliver Jennings." She pulled out a Jennings Tech employee badge and waved it in the store manager's face. "Tonight, he's taking me to an important gala. I need to look the part, so this necklace, I need it more than whoever she is."

I stared at her. Oliver Jennings? My supposed fiancé? He was taking his secretary to my inheritance announcement?

"This is mine," I said.

Elise laughed. "Yours? What are you, exactly?"

Before I could answer, she reached out and grabbed the necklace, yanking it hard. The clasp on the necklace cut into my skin and I felt this sharp pain. I right away put my hand up to check, and yep, I was bleeding.

"What the hell!" I shoved her hand away.

She stumbled back, her face twisted with rage. "You bitch! Do you know what you just did?"

"You tried to steal from me."

Elise pulled out her badge again and shoved it in my face. "See this? I'm Oliver's right hand. He trusts me with everything. Tonight, he's taking me to the Caldwell inheritance gala, and I need to look appropriate. So give me the damn necklace."

I pulled out my phone and dialed the number Theodore had given me.

"Who is this?" A man's voice, deep, irritated.

"Mr. Jennings, your secretary is assaulting me and trying to steal my property."

"What? I'm in a meeting. I don't have time for—"

"Your secretary's behavior reflects on you."

"I don't know how you got this number," he snapped, "but I don't have time for petty complaints. Don't call again."

The line went dead.

I stood there staring at my phone, fury rising in my chest.

Elise burst out laughing. "See? Oliver only cares about what I tell him. You think calling him will help? Look at you! you got his number from somewhere and thought that would matter?" She looked me up and down with pure disgust. "Look at yourself. Covered in dirt, no makeup, smelling like disinfectant. You probably crawled out of some construction site. Or wait—" She wrinkled her nose. "That's antiseptic. You work at some third-rate clinic? A nurse?"

Other customers had started gathering, whispering.

"That's Elise Sinclair. She's Oliver Jennings' favorite."

"Who's that dirty woman? She looks like she just came from a work site."

The store manager leaned in close to me, wringing her hands. "Miss, I'm very sorry, but Miss Sinclair is connected to Jennings Tech. We really can't afford to upset them. Perhaps you could choose a different piece?"

I reached into my bag and pulled out the black card Theodore had pressed into my hand. I hadn't looked at it closely until now. I placed it on the counter.

The store manager's face went white.

"This necklace is mine," I said quietly.

Elise's eyes narrowed. She lunged at me, hand raised to slap me across the face.

I caught her wrist and twisted. She yelped. My other hand came up and I slapped her hard. The sound cracked through the store.

Elise shrieked, clutching her face. "You hit me!?"

"You tried to hit me first."

"You're finished!" She grabbed her phone with shaking hands. "Oliver? You need to get here right now. Some psycho just attacked me!"

The crowd pressed closer, phones out, filming everything.

"She's dead."

"Oliver's going to destroy her."

"She should just apologize before it's too late."

I turned to the store manager. "Pack up this necklace and all the other jewelry for me. I'm taking them with me right now. Let's see who dares to steal my jewelry."

After the store manager finished packing, I was ready to leave. Elise grabbed my hair from behind and yanked as hard as she could. Pain exploded through my scalp. I spun around, raising my hand—

The door slammed open.

"Stop!"