Chapter 3

Word got around fast.

"Ruby bet her whole career against Sienna."

"Bare Theory can't even get their product off the ground."

"She'll be working for free by next month."

I let them talk.

Leo stopped checking in on me. He didn't ask how Bare Theory was going. He didn't ask anything. That told me everything I needed to know about where his money was.

Every day I showed up at Bare Theory's lab. Nate kept saying the formula "wasn't quite there yet." He barely looked at me half the time.

But on his desk, a bottle of the new serum had a different opinion.

"My formula is already stable! This perfectionist keeps running more tests. I'm better than anything those big brands are selling and he still won't let me out of here!"

I hid a smile. The formula was done. Nate was just being Nate.

Back at the office, Sienna was everywhere. Ordering people around, name-dropping Leo in every conversation, acting like the Creative Director title was already hers. Even Leo's assistant had started bringing her coffee before anyone else's.

Nobody gave me a second look.

One afternoon I walked past Sienna's private makeup room. Door open. She wasn't there.

A bracelet on her vanity table spoke first. Cartier. The kind you don't buy yourself.

"A hundred and eighty thousand. Company account. The receipt says 'brand partnership sample procurement.' I'm a Cartier and they wrote me off as an office supply. Last week he sent her money for cosmetic work—also on the company card. Filed under 'streamer image maintenance.'"

The lipstick next to it couldn't keep quiet.

"The bracelet only cares about money. You want to know what I see? Every single time Sienna comes back from meeting Victor, she has to reapply me. Not because I've faded—because she chews her lips raw when she's nervous. She promised him that once she gets Creative Director, she'll help him clean up some money he moved through the company books. And every time they get off the phone about it, she stands in front of the mirror fixing me with shaking hands."

My right eye twitched. The pressure around my temples clamped down hard—worse than before.

I had to step out. Leaned against the hallway wall, pressed my palms over my eyes, and waited for it to pass.

I hadn't caught everything. But I'd caught enough.

Company money. Fake receipts. And Sienna was in on it.

That night I texted Lena, my college roommate. She'd gone freelance doing data work after graduation—the kind of person who could pull public records apart in her sleep.

I needed two things. An analysis of Sienna's streaming data—follower growth patterns, anything that looked off. And whatever public spending records she could find connecting Victor Langford to Sienna.

Three days later, Lena delivered.

Forty percent of Sienna's followers had been created in bulk. Same registration dates, same behavior patterns—bots, obviously. And she'd found location tags showing Victor and Sienna checking into the same hotel on four separate dates.

I opened an anonymous email account. Attached everything—the data report, the screenshots. Sent it to one address.

The public contact page for the Langford Family Trust.

Then I waited.

The final review landed on a Tuesday.

That morning I'd barely reached my desk when Sienna showed up with a coffee and a smile that said she'd already won.

"Ruby, got your resignation letter ready? Or do you need help writing one?"

Dylan leaned over. "Two hours till the meeting. Where's that Bare Theory contract? Come on, let's see it."

I kept my eyes on my papers.

Sienna sighed. One last round of the caring big sister.

"Ruby, listen. Don't be stubborn in there today. Tell Leo you got in over your head, and I'll put in a good word. Maybe he'll let you stay."

Her freshly glued false eyelashes trembled with excitement.

"It's the big day! She broke out the full glam set—the ones she only uses for major events. Last time I got worn was the year-end gala. Oh, and there's a new set of underwear in her bag. She says it's for 'celebrating tonight.' Celebrating with who? Like I even need to say it."

I looked up at Sienna. Smiled.

"Worry about your own look today. It's going to be a long afternoon."

Two o'clock. Main conference room.

Leo sat at the head of the table. Two seats down—Victor Langford, Halo Digital's biggest investor. I'd been hearing his name from lipsticks and setting sprays for weeks. This was the first time I'd seen him in person. Fifties, expensive suit, the easy confidence of a man who thought he had everything under control.

Sienna stood at the front of the room, presenting Velour's final contract.

"Leo, this is Velour's best and final offer." She handed the documents over. "We've locked in their top commission tier, a two-year exclusive window, and—"

She looked at me.

"—Velour will cover all production costs for year one."

A murmur ran through the room. Leo turned the pages, nodding.

"Strong work, Sienna."

Then he looked at me. The warmth left his face.

"Ruby. Bare Theory. Do you have anything?"

I didn't move. My eyes went to the glass door, to the hallway beyond it.

Dylan jumped in. "She's got nothing. She spent two weeks in a lab pretending to be a scientist."

Sienna tilted her head. "Ruby, a deal's a deal. Come work with me—nobody will hold it against you."

Then the conference room door flew open.

A woman in diamonds and a designer coat strode in, two assistants in black right behind her. The whole room went still.

Leo half-rose from his seat. Victor went white.

Her eyes swept the room—past Leo, past Dylan, past me—and locked on Sienna.

Sienna's face lost all its color.

"You're Sienna Blake?"