The Million-Dollar Deal He Said I'd Never Land

1: 1

The day I closed the ten-million-dollar contract with Maddox Group.

I was so excited I went straight to find my boyfriend, Joseph Sullivan.

Then, through the glass window, I saw my best friend, Kathryn Pruitt, shriek and throw herself into his arms.

Joseph, Maddox Group already agreed to meet with me! That contract is as good as mine!

I looked down at the confirmation email on my phone.

Maddox Group had already agreed to sign with me.

So how could they possibly be meeting with her?

I was about to walk around the glass and go in, to tell Joseph I'd already landed the deal.

The next second, Joseph pulled out a whole set: a wedding gown and a gift box with a crown inside.

"I knew our Kathryn could do it."

"See? I bought the gown ahead of time. It's your size."

Kathryn shrieked with excitement. "Isn't this the one I mentioned before? The ten-million-dollar Dream Princess? You're really giving it to me?"

I gripped my phone.

Joseph had promised me, clearly: the moment I landed the ten-million-dollar deal with Maddox Group,

we would hold our wedding.

So it turned out that whether or not I landed the contract had never mattered at all.

The gown I'd dreamed about for so long, he'd already picked out someone else to wear it.

Through the glass, I watched the two of them leaning into each other.

I turned to leave, but a voice behind me called out.

"Isabelle Lawson?"

Kathryn had caught sight of me out of the corner of her eye, and was waving at me frantically.

"Since you're here, come in! I happen to have good news to tell you!"

I had no choice but to steel myself and walk over.

Joseph was gently fixing the strap on Kathryn's bag. When he turned and saw me, his brow furrowed.

"At this hour, shouldn't you be working late?"

I looked down at my watch. It was already nine thirty at night.

Normally, yes, I would still be at the office.

Except today I'd landed the ten-million-dollar Maddox Group contract.

My boss had not only let me leave early, he'd rewarded me with two paid days off.

"Today I"

Before I could get the explanation out, Joseph's frown deepened.

"I've told you. People who don't put in the work don't deserve the best."

"Isabelle, if you want to slack off, you'll never land a deal, and our wedding will just keep getting pushed back."

Joseph always loved to lecture me, to talk down to me from on high.

Any other time, a line like that would have had me lowering my head in shame.

But right now I just looked at him. "And if I've already landed the contract?"

"You?"

Joseph gave a mocking little laugh. "A dim little bird like you? Forget a ten-million-dollar deal like Maddox Group's."

"If you can land even a one-million-dollar order, I'll take your last name!"

That was it. In Joseph's eyes, I would always be a fool.

Always less than Kathryn, who was clever, who caught on with a single word.

But he'd forgotten one thing. People change.

To marry him, I had remade myself completely over these years.

And he never once saw it.

Kathryn was laughing too, hand over her mouth.

"Joseph, Isabelle is your girlfriend. Go a little easy on her!"

"Mocking your own girlfriend like that. Isabelle, let me teach him a lesson for you!"

Kathryn made a show of lifting her foot to kick him, lost her balance, and toppled straight into his arms.

Joseph let it happen, catching her hand.

"Enough, my dear Miss Pruitt. Come on, let's get to your celebration dinner."

"I already booked The Grand Table, your favorite."

Kathryn shrieked with delight. "I mentioned it once and you remembered? Your memory is enviable, honestly."

"When it's about you, Miss Pruitt, I can't afford to forget."

I stood frozen where I was. That restaurant was one I loved too.

For the last three months, I'd begged and coaxed, asking Joseph to take me there just once.

Every time, he refused me coldly.

"Isabelle, you're not a child anymore. Enough of this 'let's go check out this place' all the time."

"You put all your energy into eating and playing around. Any of it left for work?"

He shamed me until I couldn't stand it,

and I never dared bring up going to dinner with me again.

But now, he was sending me back to work late.

While he took my best friend to a candlelit dinner, just the two of them.

Seeing me still standing there without moving, Kathryn hooked her arm through mine warmly.

"Isabelle, what are you spacing out for? Come eat with us!"

I was about to refuse, but Joseph cut in, cold and sneering.

"You're told to go, so go. Don't stand there with that long face like everyone owes you something."

The refusal never made it out of my mouth, and they stuffed me into the car too.

Sitting in the upscale restaurant, at the candlelit dinner.

I stared at the two seats, at a loss.

Kathryn scratched her head and kicked Joseph.

"Joseph, how do you handle anything? Three of us are eating, and you only booked two seats?"

2: 2

Joseph let out a helpless sigh.

"I thought it was just going to be the two of us tonight. How did it end up three?"

There was a note of complaint in his voice.

"You jerk, are you saying your own girlfriend's in the way? You're asking for it!"

Kathryn pretended to be angry and punched him, and Joseph clutched his chest, playing wounded.

I stood there with my lips pressed together, watching my boyfriend and my best friend tease and play with each other.

And I was the unwanted outsider.

"I've got something to take care of. I'll head out first."

I picked up my bag and stood to leave, but my wrist was caught.

"Isabelle, what are you throwing a fit for?"

"You're already here. We'll just pull up a stool for you. It's not like one more mouth makes a difference."

A stool was shoved at me. It was mortifying.

Kathryn and Joseph sat facing each other.

The whole table was covered in the spicy dishes Kathryn loved, plus one very elegant mango-flavored cake.

Kathryn dug in, then tilted her head at me.

"Isabelle, why aren't you eating? Did your boyfriend forget to serve you?"

"Joseph, is that any way to treat a girlfriend?"

Kathryn kicked him under the table.

Joseph peeled a shrimp and set it in Kathryn's bowl.

"She's got hands of her own."

I kept my head down and said nothing.

My stomach was bad. I couldn't touch anything spicy. Joseph had always known that.

And I was allergic to mango cake.

One of them was my boyfriend, the closest person to me. The other was my best friend.

And right now not one of them remembered a single thing I couldn't eat.

From the moment the meal started,

Joseph and Kathryn traded jokes and jabs back and forth, playing off each other.

"Kathryn, I didn't know you had it in you. You actually got the head of Maddox Group to meet with you that fast."

"With a mouth like yours, I bet you had him locked in the second you walked in."

Kathryn lifted her chin, proud.

"Of course. Don't underestimate me."

"Isn't that right, Isabelle?"

I kept my head down and said nothing. My phone screen lit up again.

It was from Maddox Group's liaison secretary.

"Ms. Lawson, the order contract is drafted and sent to your email. Please look it over, and if there are no issues, go ahead and sign."

"Once you sign, the contract takes effect immediately."

I was about to sign.

Then Kathryn snatched the phone right out of my hand.

"Isabelle, that's not cool. Everyone's here chatting and you're the only one staring at a phone."

"You workaholic, isn't putting in overtime at the office every day enough? You have to handle work here too? Let me see what you're looking at..."

My chest went tight and I reached for the phone on instinct.

"It's work stuff. Nothing worth seeing."

The next second, Kathryn held the phone up high.

"The more you don't want me to see it, the more curious I get."

"Let's just see what this is..."

My eyes were nearly stinging with panic. Kathryn had my phone dangling right over the fish tank.

She held it with two rhinestone-studded nails.

One loosening of her grip and my phone would drop straight into the water.

"Kathryn, please, give me back my phone!"

"I still have work messages to answer..."

Kathryn pointed at me and burst out laughing.

"Joseph, look at your girlfriend bouncing around all frantic, she's practically turned into a little rabbit!"

"It's just a crappy phone. Is it really worth getting this worked up over?"

Then Joseph spoke up, his face serious. "Kathryn."

He rose from behind her.

He held out a gift box. Inside was a brand-new iPhone.

"Haven't you been complaining that your phone lags? This is a little gift from me."

"Consider it an early celebration dinner for you."

Kathryn's eyes went wide with excitement, and she let out a shriek, and my phone dropped into the fish tank with a splash.

3: 3

I watched the phone drop, watched it sink all the way under the water in the fish tank.

I lunged to fish it out, and when I pulled it free,

it was dripping wet, water still running off it.

But at my ear came Kathryn's voice, thrilled and giddy.

"Joseph, you're the best!"

"I only mentioned once that I wanted this phone, and you actually bought it?"

"This thing costs a fortune!"

I lifted my head, my eyes red-rimmed.

And saw Joseph looking at Kathryn with something almost like tenderness.

"As long as you like it."

Kathryn was still lost in her own delight, chattering on.

"I always said Isabelle had good taste, going for a real man like you. Honestly, I'm a little jealous of my girl here."

"When I go looking for someone, I'm going to look for a man just like you"

Joseph, meanwhile, noticed a strand of her hair had caught in the cake.

He picked up a napkin and cleaned it off, one strand at a time.

I watched it all, something bitter rising in me.

Kathryn's last phone was still practically new, and now she'd gotten another one.

The one in my hand I'd used for three whole years,

bumped and cracked and dropped more times than I could count, and I'd never brought myself to replace it.

All because Joseph said he didn't like girls who were wasteful.

So I'd just made do, this whole time.

Only now did I understand: it wasn't that he disliked wasteful girls.

He just disliked me being wasteful.

I wiped it down with a dry towel again and again, tried everything, and the phone still gave me nothing.

There was nothing to do but turn to Joseph. "My phone won't turn on."

He was several rounds deep in drinks with Kathryn, and shot me an irritated look.

"Once the party's over, I'll take you home."

So I sat down beside them and waited, obedient, and when I got sleepy I stepped outside for some air.

It was nearly dawn before Joseph came out, half carrying a drunk, whining Kathryn.

"Careful."

I moved to help, but Joseph swept her up in his arms and set her in the passenger seat.

"I'll drop Kathryn off first. You get your own ride."

I stayed quiet a moment, then spoke. "Can I borrow your phone to book a ride?"

Joseph fixed me with a wary stare.

"You're not thinking of using the chance to go through my phone, are you?"

"Isabelle, can you not be so petty? I've told you, even in a relationship, we still have to respect each other's privacy"

I pressed my lips together and held up the soaked phone.

"Did you not see just now?"

"Kathryn threw my phone into the fish tank. It won't turn on."

Joseph's brows knotted tighter.

"You can go ask a server for a hair dryer and blow it dry."

In the end it was Kathryn who lent me her phone.

I booked the ride and noted the plate number.

I was about to close the ride app when the wallpaper caught my eye.

It was Joseph, shirtless, a photo of his abs.

I froze.

Before it could even register, Kathryn snatched the phone back.

"Isabelle, weren't we agreed I'd just lend it to you for the ride? Why are you going through someone's phone?"

The Kathryn who'd been drunk a second ago was staring at me now, sharp and wary.

I looked at her, my face blank.

"Kathryn, don't you think you owe me an explanation?"

"An explanation for what?"

She said it like she had every right.

"For why the wallpaper on your phone is a photo of my boyfriend."

She flared right up at me.

"Isabelle, I treat you like a real best friend, and this is how you suspect me?"

"If you really think there's something between me and your boyfriend, then think whatever you want."

"But let me give you a word of advice. If there really were something between me and your boyfriend, do you think you'd ever have gotten the chance to date him?"

Kathryn leaned in close to leave me with that, and it made every hair on my body stand up.

She'd never had any intention of dating Joseph.

That didn't mean she had no intention of playing with him.

After all, back in college she'd loved having two men on the line at once, and she used to tell me about it.

"Isabelle, you're just too honest, a total good girl."

"You have no idea how good it feels to have a man wrapped around your finger like that."

Watching her climb into the passenger seat that should have been mine, I spoke, cold.

"So right now you're keeping Joseph wrapped around your finger, aren't you?"

Kathryn turned to look at me and gave a sly, wicked smile.

"Isabelle, I'd have thought you'd have gotten a little smarter over the years."

"As long as it's never said out loud, we're still best friends, and we can still have a good time together."

"Once it's said out loud, it stops being any fun. Don't you think?"

She let out a cold laugh and rolled up the window.

In that moment, cold ran through me head to toe, and I was almost certain of it:

Kathryn had been doing it on purpose all along.

Six months ago, my mother, seeing Joseph and me six years into a relationship, kept pushing us to get the marriage license first.

Better not to leave room for things to go wrong.

The day Joseph and I were supposed to go get the license,

Kathryn suddenly messaged: "My stomach hurts so bad, I can't get a ride to the hospital. Is there any kind soul who can take me?"

And he dropped me and left.

Later, furious, I demanded an explanation from Joseph:

"We waited five hours in line at the county clerk's office, we were almost up next, and you dropped me and walked out. Don't you owe me some kind of explanation?"

Joseph was the one who lost his patience first.

"The license, the license, is that all you've got in your head?"

"Isabelle, your best friend's stomach was hurting bad enough to land her in the hospital. Do you have any empathy at all?"

After that, whenever I brought up the license, his answer changed.

"Kathryn said the best order is to have the wedding first and then get the license. She's worried I'll take advantage of you."

"You should thank your lucky stars you have a friend that good."

Kathryn was despicable and hateful, no question.

But the one I hated more was Joseph.

If he hadn't been a willing fish on the line, Kathryn never could have pulled it off.

The day we were supposed to get the license, he was the one who stood me up.

That gown worth millions, the "Dream Princess," was one he'd handed me himself.

There's no whitewashing it.

And I won't be forgiving him either.

4: 4

The next day was supposed to be paid leave.

But I went into the office anyway.

While I was there, I mentioned to my supervisor that once the contract was signed, I planned to take two months off.

My coworkers all gathered around, teasing me with grins.

"Isabelle raked in a huge bonus and doesn't have to work overtime every day anymore. Going off to live the good life, are you?"

"Obviously. The bonus off this one deal alone is enough to keep us fed for three years!"

"Come on, let her go have fun for two months. Honestly, a trip around the world wouldn't even be too much."

My supervisor came over too, smiling.

"All of us have seen how hard Isabelle works. She's earned this."

"The rest of you could learn a thing or two from her."

That day, my boss brought me along to a bar to greet a few clients in one of the private rooms.

On my way out, I heard a familiar voice coming from the room next door.

"The Maddox Group's ten-million-dollar deal is mine, no question about it!"

It was Kathryn, claiming she knew CEO Maddox of Maddox Group.

Thumping her chest, swearing up and down she had it locked in.

A few mutual friends were there too, exchanging uneasy glances.

Then someone, I couldn't tell who, spoke up.

"That big Maddox Group deal?"

"Wait, isn't Isabelle Lawson working on that one too?"

Joseph frowned and let out a cold snort.

"With a dull brain like hers, she'd probably stammer and choke on her words if she ever met CEO Maddox. Better if she doesn't go and embarrass her whole company."

The room burst into laughter around him.

Six years ago, I was chosen as the top scholarship recipient to give a speech. I stepped up to the stage and saw that the businessman donating to the school was my own father, the one who'd walked out on my mother and me.

My face went pale, then flushed. I stammered out a few words and ran off the stage.

After that, I was famous, in the worst way.

Everyone assumed I got nervous under pressure, that I was a coward.

I'd explained the real reason to Joseph, and he still stood at the front of the crowd making a joke of me.

This time I didn't bother explaining.

I just picked up my bag, turned, and walked out.

Behind me, one of his friends egged him on.

"Joseph, your girlfriend just heard all that from the doorway. She's going to be upset. Aren't you going to go after her?"

"She's been your obedient little shadow all these years, trailing right behind you."

"What if she really gets mad? What if one day she decides she doesn't want to marry you anymore?"

Joseph gave a smug, cold laugh.

"Even if aliens invaded Earth tomorrow, she'd never leave me."

And I left the private room, rested for two days, then went to sign the contract.

As it happened, on that very same day, Kathryn marched into Maddox Group brimming with confidence.

"I know CEO Maddox here. He agreed to give me that finalized deal. I'm here to talk terms."

The receptionist glanced at her and answered politely.

"Ma'am, you'll need an appointment to see Mr. Maddox. Do you have one?"

"I don't need an appointment!"

Kathryn's chin lifted. "Your CEO said I could go straight in the moment I arrived."

"And what business are you here for?"

Kathryn's nose was practically pointed at the ceiling.

"To sign a ten-million-dollar deal, of course. What would a receptionist like you know about that? Why are you even asking?"

The receptionist smiled politely. "That deal you're talking about, Mr. Maddox already signed the contract with another firm this morning."

Kathryn's head snapped up.

"That's impossible!"

"Your CEO Maddox already agreed to meet with me. How could he have already signed a contract with some other company?"

"Is this some kind of joke you're playing on me?"

And right then, contract already signed, I was walking out of Maddox Group.

Mr. Maddox was shaking my hand in farewell, his eyes full of approval.

"Miss Lawson, you're young and full of ideas. I hope this won't be the only time we work together."

I shook his hand with a smile. "A pleasure doing business with you."

Just then, two disbelieving stares turned toward me from behind.

"Isabelle Lawson! What are you doing here?"