You’re a drab mouse with no cash, says my friend. Yet on my birthday she stands by the door holding a tray.
You just dont know how to sell yourself, Christina lazily stirs her cocktail with a straw, a sparkling bracelet studded with gems glinting on her wrist.
She speaks with that breezy, almost careless arrogance that has long become her calling card.
Its not about presentation, Olivia Erington replies quietly, eyeing the crack in her cheap tea cup. I simply lack the experience required for this role.
Experience, experience what a bore, Christina sighs dramatically. What matters is the sparkle in your eyes and a pair of pricey shoes. You have neither.
Christina Bell gives Olivia an appraising look that makes her want to curl into a ball, as if a verdict has been passed: deficient, dispose.
Listen, I want to help, Christina leans in, lowering her voice conspiratorially. Youre my best mate. Who else will tell you the truth?
Olivia stays silent. Best mate sticks in her throat, sharp and foreign.
You need to understand that people judge you by your clothes, but they remember you by your connections. Youre a drab mouse with no cash. Until you realise that, youll wander through endless lowpay interviews.
Each word hits the mark, draining the air from her lungs.
Im launching a new project, Christina continues, clearly enjoying Olivias reaction. Well need people for the simplest taskssorting paperwork, meeting couriers.
She pauses, letting Olivia digest the offer.
I can take you on, temporarily, of course. Until you find something that feels right, she says with a barely noticeable smile.
Olivia lifts her gaze. In her eyes a calm steel glints, as if something inside has frozen into cold stone. She looks at Christinathe flawless hair, the contemptuous curl of her lips, a bracelet worth as much as Olivias annual salary. She no longer sees a friend but a predator relishing her humiliation.
Thanks for the offer, Olivia says slowly. But Ill pass.
Christinas eyebrows shoot up in surprise; she hadnt expected that.
Youre turning it down? From my chance? a metallic edge cuts into her voice. Fine. Just dont come crying later when you cant cover the rent.
She theatrically pulls out several large £20 notes from her bag and flings them onto the table, more than enough to settle the bill.
Your treat, she tosses over her shoulder and, without a goodbye, struts away, clicking her heels on the marble floor.
Olivia remains seated alone. She doesnt touch the money or the cooling tea. She watches expensive cars zip past the window and, for the first time, feels not despair but a spark of excitement.
The next morning that excitement turns into a cold, pulsing energy. She has always been invisible, but she can see and hear what others miss: details, patterns, hidden motivesher only true capital.
Sitting at a battered laptop, she drafts a plan. She lists her services on a freelance platform: search and analysis of unstructured information. The description sounds vague, but Olivia knows exactly what that entails.
The first months are hell: tiny gigs, capricious clients, payments barely covering rent and food. A few times she nearly gives up, tempted to call Christina. Yet the memory of Christinas smile repels her from any retreat.
A breakthrough arrives after six months. A small law firm hires her to gather competitor data for a court case. Olivia tackles the task with desperate determination. A sleepless week later she delivers a report that helps the lawyers win. They pay her three times her usual rate and become regular clients, recommending her to others.
Soon a modest stream of work flows in. Within two years she rents an office and hires an assistant.
Christina calls now and then. Her life sounds like an endless celebration.
Olivia, hi! Im on a yacht in Monaco with some partners. Hows the grind? Still stuck in your little cubicle?
Hi. No, not bored. Im working, Olivia replies, scanning the financial report of a new client.
Youre working? Christina stretches the word. Dont be shy, my girls on the run spot is still open. Youll bring coffee to my new assistant.
Olivia would have shrunk before, but now she just shrugs.
Thanks, no need. I run my own agency.
Agency? Christina laughs from the other end. An agency that cleans floors?
Christinas words no longer carry weight.
Four more years pass. Erington & Partners occupies a downtown office with five analysts on staff. Olivia becomes renowned in corporate intelligence. Then Christina strikes.
Her firm, Bell Group, steals one of Olivias key reports. She recruits a young employee in debt, exploiting his weakness.
Olivia gathers all the evidence, uncovers Christinas financial holes, wastefulness, and fraud, and sends an impeccable analytical report to an investor.
The next day Christina calls, shouting, Youve ruined everything!
I was just doing my job, Olivia answers calmly.
Two more years slip by. At a rooftop restaurant atop a skyscraper, Olivias anniversary celebration bustles with friends, glitter, and laughter. Amid the waitstaff she spots Christina, tray in hand, eyes locking in instant recognition: horror and hatred in Christina, cold composure in Olivia.
Olivia watches her without a trace of glee. She merely nods faintly, acknowledging Christinas presence as something ordinary and expected, then turns back to converse with the guests. That small gesture lands harder than any slap; it signals that, to Olivia, Christina no longer exists as a person. She has become a faceless function with no place in serious affairs.
Christina turns pale, bites her lip, and, trying to preserve the last shreds of dignity, rushes toward the staff exit.
Olivia watches her leave and realizes the world is oddly fair and logical. Sometimes the one who calls you a drab mouse never notices that he ends up in his own trap. It isnt revenge; its natural balance.
Epilogue
Six months later Olivias business goes international, opening new horizons. One evening, while checking her email, she reads a message from a university acquaintance:
Imagine, I just saw Christina Bell. Shes working as a receptionist at a gym on the outskirts. Rumor has it she was kicked out of that restaurant after the scandal She even tried to borrow money from me, complaining that everyone betrayed her and the world is unfair
Olivia finishes the note and closes her laptop without feeling triumph or pity. Christinas life is no longer part of Olivias story.
The next day, walking past a shop window, Olivia sees her reflectiona confident woman accustomed to moving forward, knowing her own worth.
She recalls Christinas line about sparkle in the eyes and pricey shoes. Her shoes are indeed costly, but the real sparkle in her eyes comes from nowhere near them. It originates from the awareness of her own power, the understanding that true value lies not in what you wear but in what you create with mind and hands.
She steps into her office, where a new, complex project waits on the desk. Settling into her chair, a faint smile spreads across her face.
The drab mouse never became a predatory cat. She transforms into who she always was deep insidean astute, unnoticed hunter who values information and patiently waits for the right moment.
And that moment has finally arrived.
