“Laurel,” Jeremy replies hesitantly.
I exhale, my grip tightening around the stem of my glass. Laurel is my boss and mentor. And she’s way too gracious. She once shared dreams with my mother back in a dorm room with cheap wine and endless ambition. Laurel rose through the ranks, and my mom wrote stories that changed people. Until she traded deadlines for bedtime stories.
Now Laurel writes my checks. And sometimes, I wonder if she’s only doing to it to keep a promise to the friend she buried rather than investing in that friend’s daughter and her potential.
That’s what cuts the deepest.
“I needed that win. Vanguard was supposed to be the rebound. My redemption. The clean slate.” I fall back against the seat, cross my arms. “Instead, it was just another door slammed in my face. It’s been months since I landed a client that mattered. The little ones keep the lights on. But no headlines. No momentum.”
Maya’s voice cuts in. “So… who landed Vanguard?”
I uncross my arms, swirl my drink. “Big Stream.”
“Shut up.” She straightens. “Again?”
“Yep.”
“I don’t get it. How do they keep edging you out?”
“Because apparently,” I deadpan, “they give amazing head in pitch meetings.”
Maya raises an eyebrow. “Better than you?”
Jeremy nearly snorts rosé out his nose. “Honestly? If true, then I respect the hustle.”
“Wow. You’re both fired from friendship. I don’t get on my knees for a contract.”
Jeremy holds up a hand. “That’s fair. But I don’t think competitive dick sucking is why they’re winning.”
My brows knit together. “What do you mean?”
He shrugs. “I heard a little something from someone at Vanguard.”
I pause, glass halfway to my lips. “What kind of something?”
“They undercut your rates.” Jeremy waits a few seconds before delivering the next blow. “By thirty percent.”
I gape at him. “Theywhat?”
“Took a loss to win,” he says, grim. “Locked the deal. Made sure you never had a shot.”
Maya’s expression ices over. “That’s shady asfuck.”
It clicks.
I thought I was losing because I wasn’t good enough. Brilliant enough. Creative enough. Or ruthless enough. But it was never about talent.
It was about leverage.
Power.
Control.
Greed.
Corporatefuckeryin its finest form.
“That’s not just winning,” Maya mutters. “That’s clearing the goddamn board.”
