Filed to story: Watch Out, I’m The Lady Boss (Eleanor & Sebastian) Book PDF Free
“That’s cute,” I said.
“But if I were the lead, I’d rather rope in Paul the Octopus to help me sketch than let you anywhere near my project. At least he had better accuracy. And taste. Besides, I don’t need this job badly enough to play your stooge.”Violet didn’t expect me to hit back that hard.
Her eyes narrowed, and she slithered closer.
“Elean, come on, we both know you need this job. You’ve got no family backing you, and I heard the wedding with Daniel Granger got called off. If you lose this job too… how are you gonna survive?
I barked a laugh.
“Worried about me? Thanks, but save it. What you really need to worry about is yourself. When Eliza Black shows up in your design looking like a cautionary tale, you won’t just be losing face like you did at the Laurent party. This time, it’ll be international. Front row, high-def, full-on global humiliation. Should be fun.”That shut her up.
Then my phone buzzed on the table.
I picked it up, expecting some spam or another passive-aggressive group chat message.
Nope.
It was a text from the bank.
Account balance update.
I blinked.
Counted the zeroes.
Twice.
Two. Million. Dollars.
What the actual-?
I figured the bank had glitched or something.
Like, maybe it accidentally thought I was Alice Walton for the day.
(
Then another message buzzed through, this time from Dominic Everett, Sebastian’s assistant.
[Mrs Laurent, Mr Laurent has requested a new card be issued in your name. A monthly deposit of one million will be made as agreed. An additional million is Mr Laurent’s personal gift to you. Please confirm receipt.]
I stared at the screen for two whole minutes Not blinking. Not breathing.
“As agreed”?
When had I agreed to receive a million dollars from Sebastian?
And from the sound of it, this was going to be a monthly thing.
I didn’t marry Sebastian for his money.
Hell, I barely listened to whatever he said in the dark hallway that day; I was too busy ogling.
But now, with two million just chilling in my account like it was pocket change, I couldn’t lie-I felt it in my bones. Money really did slap different.
Sure, I’d always known Sebastian was rich, but this was the moment it truly hit me.
I was now officially one of those people who could buy a whole boutique just because the salesgirl looked at me funny.
Across from me, Violet Lin waved a hand in front of my face.
“Earth to Elean. Why are you staring at your phone so hard? Trying to find another job already?”I blinked out of it, shoved my phone into my bag, and got to my feet.
When Violet tried to block my path, I shouldered her aside.
Everyone in the studio turned to gape at me.
I shot them all a look, grabbed my bag, and announced: “I quit, bitches!”It wasn’t until I’d strutted out of the building that I realised maybe’d been a tad impulsive.
But holy shit, it felt good.
I was halfway down the street when my phone rang.
“Mrs Laurent,” Dominic greeted.
I physically flinched.
Hearing it out loud was way worse than seeing it in a text.
“Mr Everett.”
“Please, just call me Dom. I just wanted to remind you,” he went on all polite and corporate, that if there’s no activity on the card, the account will be frozen before the next monthly deposit.”I stopped dead on the pavement.
“What do you mean “frozen”?
“I mean you must spend the funds. There needs to be a transaction history, or the account locks automatically.”I stared at my reflection in a shop window.
My mouth opened.
Nothing came out.
What the hell kind of bougie, dystopian Barbie card needed “mandatory spending”?
“Um, got it. Thanks, Dominic.”Just as I was about to hang up, he added, “When will you be moving in with Mr Laurent?”Oh, right. The move.
That little formality I’d been pretending didn’t exist.
“I’m free this week, so-“
“Perfect. Let’s do today. I’ll bring the team to Oakwood Apartments now.”.
“Wait, I don’t need-“He hung up.
I bolted straight back to Oakwood.
When I got there, Dominic was already outside the building, standing next to three strangers.
“Mrs Laurent,” he said with a smooth smile, “this is Mr Laurent’s housekeeper, and these two are household staff. They’ll assist you with the packing.”
“Right. Cool. Thanks, everyone,” I said, giving them a nod like I did this sort of thing all the time and wasn’t screaming internally.
They moved like a corporate SWAT team-efficient, silent, scarily precise.
Within an hour, my entire life was bubble-wrapped and boxed.
The place was scrubbed clean like I never existed.
Not a stray sock, not a rogue bobby pin, not even a ghost of last night’s takeaway.
I’d planned on keeping the tlat for a rainy day escape,
But nope, Dominic’s crew went full Marie Kondo on it, and now the vibe was less backup home” and more “sterile Airbnb.
“Mrs Laurent, shall we?” The housekeeper, Geoffrey Croft mid-ferties, crisp accent, dressed like a high-end funeral planner- stood at attention by the SUV, ready to cart me off to Sebastian’s lair Man had manners like he’d been downloaded straight from Downton Abbey.
I nodded.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”I already knew Sebastian didn’t live in the main Laurent mansion-the one that hosted that horror show of a party.
Geoffrey told me his boss preferred a more low-key residence.
Well, Sebastian’s version of “low-key” turned out to be a three-storey white villa thrat looked almost humble from the outside- right up till the gates opened.
There was a driveway.
A parking lot.
An actual swimming pool.
A tennis court.
An outdoor barbecue area.
Even a bloody vegetable garden. 1
Dominic gave me a curt nod.
“I’ll head back to the office, Mrs Laurent. Geoffrey will show you around.”
“Right. Thanks. See you.”Geoffrey led me around the grounds.
The backyard had a swing hanging from an old oak tree.
It looked just like the one from my childhood home.
“Mr Laurent has been living abroad for several years,” Geoffrey explained.
“He purchased this property some time ago but only started living here this year. It was just me and one other housekeeper until recently. More staff have joined since. If anyone falls short, please do let me know.”I gave him a nod.
“Noted.”Inside, the house was ridiculous.
Each floor felt like it had its own postcode.
Spa room, indoor cinema, security control hub, panic room.
But I nodded along as Geoffrey prattled on.
Couldn’t have the staff thinking I was just some pretty face who didn’t know the difference between a wine cellar and a weapons vault.
By the time we wrapped the tour, my feet were dead and my brain was mush.
I crawled into bed for what was meant to be a ten-minute lie-down and passed out like a corpse.
When I woke up, the sky was pitch-black and someone was knocking on the door.