They Called Me a Nobody, Then I Became Their CEO

Chelsea blinks, then covers her mouth with a laugh. "Oh, sweetie. Titan's security is insane. Outsiders can't get in without a badge. Tell me before you come and I'll walk you in myself. Give you the grand tour." I don't bother explaining. "We'll see." Something about my flat tone gets to her. Or maybe it's the fact I didn't gasp and beg for the tour. Her eyes suddenly get wet. "Nora... are you still holding a grudge over that flash drive? Really? After three years?" "We're supposed to be best friends." Grayson's face darkens. "Nora. You said losing the flash drive cost you your internship. But be honest. Even with the drive, would you really have made the cut?" "Are you seriously this petty?" He glances at Chelsea like she's a wounded puppy. "Apologize to her. Now." I can't help it. I laugh out loud. "Wow. Three years, and you two are still exactly the same." She plays victim. He plays knight in shining armor. He was supposed to be my boyfriend. Somehow he became her personal bodyguard. Chelsea's voice cracks. "I knew it. It's been three years and you still hate me..." I raise an eyebrow. Fine. Let's do this. "Hate you for what?" "Hate you for 'accidentally' sitting next to Grayson every single dinner?" "Hate you for grabbing his sleeve every time we crossed the street?" "Hate you for squeezing between us at the movies and then screaming 'oops, wrong guy!' while falling into his lap?" I shake my head. "I hated you at first. But by the time I left? I was over it." My ex-best friend and my ex-boyfriend basically did me a favor. Showed me exactly who they were. Chelsea's tears vanish in half a second. "See? I knew Nora was the bigger person!" "So where do you work now? Not still at some little nothing company, right?" "Girl, don't stay at a small shop. The pay's garbage, no future. It's honestly embarrassing to tell people." She's getting loud. I hang up. Slide into the car. Phone lights up again. Three messages from Chelsea. "Wait, that car you got into looks expensive?" "Damn, airport pickups are getting fancy these days huh?" "Anyway, gotta go, Grayson's been nagging me. Nora, can you please control your boyfriend LOL." I type back one line. "We broke up three years ago. He's all yours now." She sends a "???" I don't answer. Someone wants my leftovers? Knock yourself out. --- Saturday afternoon. Downtown flagship mall. Third floor. French luxury boutique. I walk in. On my left, a familiar whine. Chelsea. Snapping at a sales girl about how the shoulders don't fit right. Then she gasps. "Twenty-three hundred?! What is this, a robbery? Forget it. Grayson, let's go." She grabs Grayson's arm off the couch. Turns. Locks eyes with me. Her jaw drops. "Nora?!" I give her a small nod. Her eyes rake over my face, thinner than she remembers, then down to the brand-new Burberry trench I'm wearing. Her lips move. Her voice comes out dry. ---

"Nora, wow. I almost didn't recognize you." Grayson's eyes are glued to me. Lit up. "Nora, you got so thin. And this whole vibe... you look like a different person." Chelsea catches the way he's looking at me. Her smile barely holds. "Nora, your style really leveled up, huh? That knockoff you're wearing actually looks pretty convincing. Send me the link later." Her voice is loud on purpose. "Of course, I'd never wear fakes myself. But we've got this gold-digger at my office who buys stuff like this to hook rich guys. I'll pass it to her." "Not saying that's you, obviously. I know you're not that type." A few customers glance my way. Their looks shift. "The fabric doesn't look fake, though." "Yeah. Honestly she carries herself like a client-side executive I met last week." "Who knows. Posers can fake anything these days." I watch the tiny smug curl at the corner of Chelsea's mouth. Same trick. Three years, no update. A few light words. Push someone into a corner. Watch them squirm. But I'm not interested in defending myself. I keep browsing. The sales girl is French. I switch to French without thinking. "I'll take this one, please. My size." The room goes quiet for a second. She smiles and hands me the coat. I step out of the fitting room. The whispers turn into open praise. "Oh my God, the cut on her is unreal!" "Miss, I want one too. My size, please." Suddenly three customers are pulling at the sales girl. Chelsea's smile locks up. "Nora, actually... this coat kind of makes your head look big. Maybe try a different one? Right, Gray?" Three years ago, she pulled this same crap. Always sliding in "little suggestions." "That top's frumpy." "That lipstick makes you look sallow." "You have zero social skills." Grayson always backed her up. Always. I lost sleep for weeks. Got skinny in a bad way. But now? Grayson is staring at me like I'm a magazine cover. "That coat was made for you." Out of the corner of my eye, I see Chelsea's nails digging into her palm. I smile. "Yeah, I like it too." Grayson pulls out his card. "How much? Put it on mine." The sales girl switches to English. "Sir, that will be thirty-eight hundred." Chelsea sucks in a breath. Grabs the card out of his hand. "Grayson! That's like a whole month's paycheck! You're really gonna buy this for her?" Then she catches herself. Fakes a laugh. "I mean, buy it if you want. It's just... this coat is really high-end. Nora's company and her clients aren't really on that level." "She'd be dressed nicer than her own boss. Wouldn't that make things awkward?" Here we go again. I watch the show. My mind drifts. Three years ago. My birthday. Grayson bought me a necklace I'd been eyeing for months. I lit up. Decided to forgive him for going cold on me the whole month. I reached for it. Chelsea stopped me. She shook her head, all disapproving. "That necklace is like a grand! Nora, come on. If she wears that, she'll need a matching dress, a matching bag. Her salary's what, thirty grand a year? Gray, you're just gonna feed her vanity." The necklace went back in Grayson's pocket. That was the first time I ever blew up at Chelsea. "Can you please back off? Stop telling me and Grayson how to date?" Chelsea covered her face, shocked. "I was just trying to help you!" She ran out crying. Grayson didn't hesitate. Dropped me at the table. Chased after her. His parting shot: "Eat the cake yourself. Chelsea's only ever cared about you. You're being ridiculous." They shared an umbrella outside. Turned. Looked back at me. Smiled at each other. Like they'd finally ditched the deadweight. My tears hit the birthday cake. That was the moment I stopped lying to myself. And the last time I ever cried over either of them. I snap back. Pull my card out. "Wrap it up. I'm in a hurry." The black card tucked in my wallet slips out an inch. Lands on the counter. The girl next to me sees it. Actually gasps. "Oh my God. Is that a Kingsley Black Card? There are only about three hundred in the world. You can't just buy one, even if you have the money." The whole room shifts. Every eye on me. "That card isn't about money. It's about the connections, the access. You can't put a price on it..." The woman who muttered "poser" earlier suddenly finds the floor very interesting. "It's her friend who kept steering the conversation. Making her look bad." Someone snorts. "Obvious. That girl's just jealous." Chelsea's face is thundercloud gray. The sales girl hands the card back with both hands. Actually bows a little. "Ma'am, please keep this safe. We'll have your coat ready in a moment. Anything else you need, please let us know." I nod. Head for the door. Chelsea's voice stops me. "Nora, you've really come up in the world. I'm so happy for you." Then the flip. "It's just... this kind of money? You didn't take some shortcut, did you?" She rushes to add, "Don't take it wrong! You just changed so much. It's a little worrying." I turn. Face her. And suddenly I know. I should've done this a long time ago. "Chelsea." "You shove people in the dirt, then wrap it up as 'I care about you.' You've been running this act for years. Aren't you exhausted?" Her smile freezes. Eyes go red on cue. "Nora, I was just worried... we're best friends." I laugh. Once. "Best friends throw themselves at each other's boyfriends?" "Best friends take your flash drive, the one you needed for your review, and just lose it?" "Best friends stand in a store and hint that you're wearing knockoffs and sleeping around?" You could hear a pin drop. Chelsea's lip trembles. "Nora, those were misunderstandings..." Muscle memory. She reaches for Grayson's sleeve. "Gray, look. She's being paranoid again." Three years ago, every time she pulled that move, he'd shield her. Fight her battles. Grayson looks down at her. And for the first time ever, he doesn't say a word. I speak slowly. Every word clear. "Chelsea. You never treated me like a friend. Not once." "I'll say this now. You do you. I do me. Don't ever come at me pretending we're sisters again. It makes me wanna throw up." I turn and walk. Behind me, Chelsea starts sobbing. The whispers follow. "She grabbed her friend's boyfriend's sleeve. Like muscle memory. Wild." "Some people can't get anywhere themselves, so they just decide everyone else must've cheated to get there." I push the glass door open. Grayson comes running out. All warm smiles. "Nora, where are you headed? Let me give you a ride." Sunlight hits me full in the face. I squint. Shake my head. "Don't bother." Three years ago, every fight with Chelsea ended with Grayson taking her side, and me crying myself sick. But I've got my own armor now. My own sword. Who needs expired feelings from a guy like him? ---

Back home, my phone lights up. Chelsea's added me and Grayson to a group chat. She's already dropped a novel. The gist was simple: "Nora, what you said today really hurt. But I forgive you." "Also, I looked up that Kingsley Black Card of yours. You can buy fakes online for twenty bucks. Super convincing." "We've been friends for years. I really don't want to see you go down a bad road. Drop the vanity thing and just work hard, okay?" Attached was a referral form. Grayson chimes in. "Nora, Chelsea called in a lot of favors for you. Fill it out." I misclick and open the doc. Read the job title. I laugh. "Wow. So even Titan's janitor spots need favors now?" Chelsea fires back instantly. "What did you expect me to do?" Her tone drips fake sympathy. "I wanted to hook you up with an office job, I swear. But you've got a three-year gap on your résumé, zero experience. If you want to work at Titan with us, janitor is all I can pull." Before I can respond, Grayson sends a sighing sticker. "Nora, I was buying into your whole 'glow-up' act." He drops three photos into the chat. They're photos of "me." Sprawled on a couch, gaming, empty takeout boxes all over the floor. Grayson: "Chelsea's friend is your landlord. Otherwise I actually would've thought you changed." "Even that little run-in today? Staged. You set it all up so I'd think you'd made it." "Tomorrow. Eight a.m. Interview. Don't be late." I put it together in about two seconds. Almost start laughing. "Two pieces of advice for you both. One, see a therapist. Stop projecting your garbage onto other people's lives. Two, book an eye exam. And maybe a brain scan while you're at it." I send it. Leave the group. Block. Block. It was the best night of sleep I'd had in years. ---