Chapter 1

At our morning briefing, Brad Davis, our head of security, suddenly went for my throat.

"An intern making barely three grand a month, wearing a limited-edition watch and custom designer sunglasses every single day."

"Should I assume he comes from oil money, or that he’s just a dirty thief?"

The conference room went dead silent. People started exchanging looks.

Brad smirked, deliberately pausing for dramatic effect.

"Kids these days are so obsessed with clout! They’ll do whatever filthy thing it takes just to show off!"

"The rest of us bust our asses serving guests, while some people just reach right into the guests' luxury bags!"

"I don't get it. Is doing honest work really that hard? Do you really have to resort to being a lowlife criminal?"

He slammed his hand on the table, dripping with self-righteous fury.

"To that shameless little thief: I'm watching you."

"Don't think you covered your tracks. Our hotel cameras aren't just for decoration!"

I couldn't take the garbage anymore, so I raised my hand and pushed back.

"Accusing someone without hard proof is called defamation. As head of security, you should learn the law."

The next second, Brad pointed his finger straight at my face.

"I was trying to give you a shred of dignity, but you just had to jump out yourself. Still playing the victim, Julian Sterling?"

I was completely dumbfounded. He was actually talking about me!

Didn't this idiot know that the entire Sovereign Hotel chain literally belongs to my family?

"What? Cat got your tongue? You were pretty cocky just a second ago!"

"Did I hit a nerve? Shaking in your boots now?"

Brad assumed my silence meant guilt, and his arrogance skyrocketed.

I took a deep breath, keeping my temper in check.

"Mr. Davis, back your words with evidence."

"You claim I stole. Who did I steal from? When? And where is the stolen property?"

Brad scoffed. Before he could speak, a sharp, mocking laugh came from beside him.

It was Leo Parker from the front desk.

He had hated me from day one, always convinced I was stealing his spotlight.

"Oh, please, Julian, drop the act."

"Everyone at the front desk knows your watch is a customized, discontinued Rolex."

"It’s totally out of production. The secondary market has it going for deep into six figures."

"With your measly paycheck, you couldn't even afford the screws on the bezel."

He paused, his eyes scanning me with dirty implications.

"Or maybe you used some sketchy tricks to 'borrow' it from one of those wealthy older guests."

The room burst into snickers.

Someone whispered, "I knew it. He always acts so proper, turns out he's a hustler."

"Can't judge a book by its cover. Looks clean on the outside, completely dirty on the inside."

Listening to them talk trash, I almost wanted to laugh.

The watch was indeed a custom Rolex.

My parents gave it to me for my eighteenth birthday.

"Leo, that's slander," I said, looking at him coldly.

"What proof do you have that my watch wasn't acquired legally?"

Brad walked over, throwing an arm around Leo's shoulders.

"Leo is the witness!" Brad barked.

"He saw you taking forever to leave the penthouse suite when you were doing the inspection for that VIP businesswoman."

"Right after she checked out, she reported an expensive watch missing."

"We didn't call the cops back then to protect client privacy, but we all know what went down."

"Julian, you dare tell me you had nothing to do with that?"

I scoffed, totally disgusted.

That VIP woman?

The one who tried to put her hands all over me, whom I dropped to the floor with standard self-defense moves, sending her packing in shame?

Back then, General Manager Richard Vance chewed me out for 'lacking customer service flexibility' and nearly docked half my paycheck.

And now that turned into "hard evidence" that I was a thief?

"I didn't steal a thing. Believe whatever you want," I said flatly.

Right then, the conference room doors swung open, and Richard Vance walked in with a scowl.

He scanned the room and locked his eyes on me.

His gaze was dripping with disgust and annoyance.

"Julian Sterling. My office. Now."