"You’re so silly. Who actually wants to be a workhorse? Wouldn’t a vacation be nice? I’m ready to just take a break and laze around at home." Grace Winslow couldn’t help but laugh as she pinched Joanne Chase’s cheek.

But jokes aside, the work still had to be done.

Because she was placed in the Ministry of Diplomacy on short notice, Grace Winslow was what you’d call a "parachute hire."

Few people in the department welcomed her arrival.

Every spot was already taken, and promotion opportunities were limited. One more person meant one more competitor.

What’s more, Grace Winslow was young, and rumor had it she was a top student handpicked by the higher-ups. That made her a thorn in everyone’s side.

It was Grace Winslow’s first day, so she naturally arrived at the office early.

This was technically her second job, but it was a world away from her previous one at the textile factory.

At the textile factory, she had May Callahan looking out for her, and Oscar Osborne would take care of her as well.

The people at the factory weren’t in direct competition with her, so they were reasonably polite.

Aside from some gossip sparked by Ivy White, everything else had been fine.

The moment she stepped into the office, Grace Winslow could clearly sense the atmosphere wasn’t exactly harmonious.

And it was all directed at her.

She was a bit surprised, but she greeted her new colleagues anyway.

’If I join the Ministry of Diplomacy after graduation, these people might be my colleagues. It can’t hurt to build a good relationship now.’

However, in response to her greeting, they just rolled their eyes disdainfully, turned away, and went back to their own tasks.

Grace Winslow was left utterly bewildered.

She went to check in first, but when she returned, she found there was no desk for her in the office.

She tried to ask around, but after approaching several people, no one would give her the time of day.

Grace Winslow had no choice but to go find the staffer from the personnel department.

"No desk for you? That can’t be right. A spot was definitely arranged for you in advance. Hold on, I’ll go with you and take a look." Frowning, the staffer from personnel got up and followed Grace Winslow.

Indeed, there were no spare desks in the office.

The staffer walked a lap around the room and stopped at the spot where a desk should have been. His brow furrowed. He knocked on the adjacent desk and demanded, "What’s going on here? Where is the desk that was here?" 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"How many times have I told you people not to bully your colleagues? What is this?"

"Director Colton, it’s not that we’re trying to push her out. Our office is already cramped, and now she’s being squeezed in. There just isn’t enough space, is there?"

"And as for that desk you mentioned, we weren’t trying to make things difficult for her. It was just an unlucky coincidence. The day before she got here, one of its legs broke. You can’t expect us to leave a broken desk here, can you? What if the new girl didn’t know, hurt herself, and then blamed us?"

"That’s why we had it taken away."

"I guess the new colleague will have to trouble herself to go to Logistics to pick up a new desk and bring it over."

"That’s right, Director Colton. We aren’t giving her a hard time. Why is she trying to drive a wedge between us the moment she gets here?"

The people in the office chimed in one after another, completely cornering Grace Winslow.

At this point, Grace Winslow finally understood what was going on.

These people were clearly determined to give her a hard time.

’I don’t know why, but it must have something to do with their own interests.’

A smile played on her lips. "In that case, it seems I’ve wronged you all. My apologies."

"But really, if you have something to say, you can just tell me directly. I asked several of you just now, and no one responded. I was starting to think you were intentionally shutting me out because you don’t like your new colleague."

"I’m so sorry, Director Colton. I apologize for making you come all this way. Thank you for your help. I can just get the desk and chair myself. Sorry to have troubled everyone."

Grace Winslow’s words made the expressions on many faces in the room shift. Their impression of her soured even further.

But Grace Winslow had no intention of coddling any of them.

’I’m here to work and learn, not to make friends, and certainly not to curry favor with anyone.’

’Frankly, these people aren’t even worthy of my effort to please them.’

’All they think about is scheming and backstabbing. They’re experts at office politics, but I doubt they have much real talent.’

She saw Sean Colton out and then went to the Logistics Department to request a new desk and chair.

The staff in Logistics, seeing that she was new, pretty, and silver-tongued, offered to help her move the desk.

But when they got there, they hesitated. "Um, Miss, it... it doesn’t look like there’s any room for your desk in here."

Grace Winslow took a look. Indeed, there was no space left.

She had been gone for less than twenty minutes, and the spot that had been empty was now occupied.

She smiled and pointed to the space right outside the director’s office. "Isn’t there a spot right there? Just help me put the desk and chair there. I’ll work from there."

The logistics staff were a little confused, but the spot was indeed spacious enough, so they helped her move the desk and chair into place.

Now it was the other colleagues’ turn to be dumbfounded.

Grace Winslow walked over, sat down, and began taking out her water bottle, pen, and notebook from her bag, arranging them neatly on the desk.

Unable to restrain herself, one woman stomped over to confront her. "Hey, do you have any idea where you are? How dare you put your desk here? Get out of this office right now. We don’t welcome you here."

"Excuse me, which manager are you? Are you the one who decides whether I stay or go?" Grace Winslow asked politely, sizing up the woman before her.

Her simple question made the woman’s face turn livid.

She had no authority to decide whether Grace Winslow stayed or left.

If she had that kind of authority, Grace Winslow wouldn’t have been there in the first place!

Grace’s question made several people in the office almost burst out laughing.

But they quickly remembered they were supposed to be on the woman’s side and stifled it.

"This is the door to the director’s office! You—you’re going to be in his way! Get out of here, now!" the woman shrieked after a moment of stunned silence.

Grace Winslow simply ignored her and continued arranging her things.

The next second, the notebook was snatched from her hands, thrown violently to the floor, and stomped on several times.

Grace Winslow stared at the notebook on the floor for a long moment before speaking, her expression unreadable. "Pick it up."

"I won’t. Don’t think I don’t know how you got this job—with your pretty face. Let me tell you, a useless bimbo like you is going to be kicked out sooner or later! You might as well leave on your own now and keep some shred of dignity!"

Hearing this, Grace Winslow stood up, looking down at the woman. "Who told you I got in just because I’m pretty?"

"I don’t know what rumors you’ve all been hearing, but I’m a student from the Department of Foreign Languages at Crestwood University. I’m here for an internship. It’s true that I won’t be here for long—my internship is only twenty days. After twenty days, I’ll be gone."

"You’re all targeting me like this. Has it occurred to you that you’re just being used? That you’re someone’s attack dog and you don’t even know it?"