I was counting my paycheck at the kitchen counter when my father looked at the cash, looked at me, and decided my hard work belonged to everyone except the person who did it.

Five minutes later, the glass door to my suite opened.

Walking in front was Julian Vance, a high-strung account director for BrightLine Creative, clutching a leather briefcase. Right behind him was Ava.

She was wearing a designer blazer that still had the faint crease marks of a recent purchase, carrying a brand-name bag, her hair styled in effortless beach waves. She was looking around the high-end office with an air of absolute triumph, clearly viewing this corporate office as the backdrop to her arrival in the big leagues.

"Good morning," Julian began briskly, stepping into my office before glancing down at his iPad. "We’re here for the final clearance stamp on the Apex Lifestyle file. We have talent ready for the secondary shoot tomorrow, so we need the payout authorization released to our escrow by noon—"

He stopped speaking because Ava had frozen in the middle of the room.

Her eyes locked onto me. She looked at my nameplate—NORA BENNETT, SENIOR OPERATIONS MANAGER—and then looked at my face.

The color drained from her cheeks so fast it was as if someone had pulled a plug.

"Nora?" she squeaked, her vocal confidence instantly collapsing.

Julian paused, looking back and forth between us. "You two... know each other?"

"She's my sister," Ava stammered, her voice high and panicked. "What are you doing here? Why are you sitting in that chair?"

I didn't answer right away. I calmly closed the folder on my desk, crossed my hands over the surface, and looked directly at her.

"I run media compliance for Vanguard Global, Ava," I said, my tone as flat and professional as a balance sheet. "Which means every dollar allocated to your agency’s production budget requires my personal authorization."

Ava blinked rapidly, her arrogance battling with sudden terror. "You... you’re the manager? But Mom said you were just doing data entry somewhere!"

"Mom was misinformed," I replied. "Now, Mr. Vance, let’s talk about this file."

Julian, picking up on the sudden toxic shift in energy, stepped forward nervously and set his tablet on my desk. "Miss Bennett—manager Bennett—as you can see, the campaign is fully produced. We just need your signature on Form 8-B to release the $185,000 disbursement."

I pulled up the file on my dual monitors and turned one screen toward them.

"I’ve audited the submission," I said smoothly. "And I’m flagging this entire contract for non-compliance."

Julian gasped. "What? On what grounds?"

"First, your agency exceeded our talent expense threshold by thirty-five percent without prior written approval," I said, pointing at the screen with my pen. "Second, twenty-four thousand dollars in wardrobe expenses are unitemized. Third, the talent indemnity clause relies on a personal guarantor note that fails our credit verification checks."

Ava’s face turned bright red. "What are you talking about? Dad signed that!"

"Your dad’s credit rating is below our vendor risk baseline," I said, looking her dead in the eye. "His guarantee is worthless to this corporation."

"Nora, stop it!" Ava hissed, taking a step toward my desk and dropping her refined persona entirely. "You are doing this on purpose because you're bitter! You’re getting back at us because you had to sleep on some cheap couch for a week!"

"I am doing my job," I corrected her coldly. "If I approve a non-compliant $185,000 invoice, I get fired. I don't compromise my career for anyone. Especially not for people who think my income is public property."

Julian was sweating now. "Miss Bennett... if this invoice isn't authorized by three o'clock today, our production house revokes the campaign. BrightLine will have to seek immediate reimbursement for the $72,000 holding costs from the talent's family."

Ava looked like she was going to throw up. "Nora... you can't do this. Dad put the house up as collateral for the advance loan to pay the agency deposit! If this contract falls through, the bank will start foreclosure proceedings!"