Chapter 1To win our bet, I went undercover as a intern at my husband Christopher Kane's company for a week.
On my very first day, I walked right into a woman waving a marriage certificate around, bossing everyone at the front desk.
"Do you fucking understand what a marriage certificate means? This makes me the one and only Mrs. Kane!"
"Quit slouching—back straight! Is your spine broken, or can you just not see me standing here? Keep your head down! Don't move until Mr. Kane gets here!"
"This cafeteria garbage is what you're serving? I'm having Michelin-starred chef come spice things up for you people!"
I was about to march over there when a coworker yanked me back.
"That's Mr. Kane's first love. I heard he had to propose like 99 times before she finally said yes..."
She nodded toward the marriage certificate, trying to save my ass.
"Piss off Mr. Kane and you're just fired. But mess with his wife...You're done."
I nearly burst out laughing.
Then I pulled out my phone and called my brother.
"Tyler, get Christopher down here now. Tell him to bring that fucking divorce papers. Five minutes. I want to see him on knees, begging."
Today was my first day as an intern.
I was standing by the front desk, about to head to HR and check in, when this woman in a high-end suit came storming through the entrance.
She slammed a marriage certificate down on the reception counter.
"New intern, huh? No wonder you have zero manners!"
"Why are you holding those files up so high? Trying to hide your face or just think I'm an eyesore? Put them fucking down! Stand up straight with your hands at your sides!"
Sticking to the intern playbook, I kept my head down and my tone flat. "Hello, how can I help you today?"
That simple "hello" lit her fuse.
She got right in my face, voice dripping with attitude. "Are you fucking kidding me right now? Does HR even bother teaching you people basic manners anymore?"
She flicked my name badge with her finger.
"Look at this certificate, then look at that pathetic little badge. What part of this situation makes you think you get to talk to me like we're equals? It's Mrs. Kane to you!"
The girl interning with me went white and quickly grabbed my arm, jumping in with a bow. "I'm so sorry! Mrs. Kane! She's new – totally clueless about how things work. Please don't be mad!"
he woman let out a cold snort, rolled her eyes at us, and strutted straight into Christopher's private office.
My fellow intern immediately whispered to me. "That's Evelyn Grace. Mr. Kane's first true love. Do NOT mess with her. She whispers one bad word about us and we're toast – our internships are over."
I was seriously confused. Christopher only had one marriage certificate, and it was locked away in our apartment safe.
So why the hell was he letting this Evelyn chick strut around his office with some fake certificate and showed off ?
I shoved my questions aside for now.
I was here to complete this internship bet and see how Christopher actually ran his company.
Might as well sit back and watch just how crazy this fake "Mrs. Kane" could get with Christopher apparent blessing.
Chapter 2
Right when lunch break hit, Evelyn got on the intercom and called straight down to admin.
I picked up the phone and her shrill voice came through. "I want a hand-ground coffee. Blue Mountain, water at exactly 185 degrees. Bring it to the office. Right now."
I rushed to the break room, but hand-grinding the beans takes time, so I was maybe five minutes late.
Those fucing five minutes? She completely lost it.
When I speed-walked in with her coffee, she whipped her hand up.
"What the hell is wrong with you people in admin? Look at the clock! You're five whole minutes past my optimal tasting window! Do you have any idea how much that temperature drop ruins the flavor profile?"
"If you've screwed up my afternoon, can you handle what comes next?"
Every single person in admin turned to stare at me.
Evelyn looked picture-perfect with her flawless makeup and expensive outfit, but her bitchy attitude had everyone cringing.
I kept my voice steady and professional.
"I'm really sorry, Ms. Grace. Hand-grinding just takes a few extra minutes."
She grabbed the mug right out of my hands and dumped the hot coffee all over my arm without blinking.
"With your clumsy ass, how'd you even get hired here? Sleep your way in?"
"You little slut! Start cleaning out your desk!"
I clenched my fists so hard my nails cut into my skin. The burn on my hand mixed with anger.
Right when I was about to lose it, Rebecca Stone, our admin supervisor, came flying over and stepped right between us.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry Ms. Grace! She's totally new here – this is on me! Please don't stress yourself out over this. She's not worth getting upset!"
She grabbed my arm and hissed under her breath. "Do NOT do anything stupid! Think about who she is. She could get our whole department's bonuses cut! She's not worth it! Just let me deal with this!"
Watching Rebecca kiss her feet finally made Evelyn happy. She took her sweet time pulling out a tissue to wipe her hands.
"Well, at least someone around here has half a brain."
Her tone was dripping with arrogance. "Come on. We're doing a walk-through of the cafeteria."
A walk-through? What right did some outsider have to inspect company facilities?
"Ms. Grace, the cafeteria has security protocols. We can't just let anyone walk through..." I started to say.
Before I could finish, Rebecca yanked my arm hard again.
"Don't you get it? She's Mr. Kane's precious baby."
"Piss off Mr. Kane and maybe you can fix it. But cross her? You'll be gone before you know what hit you."
"He treats her like a damn princess! Everyone knows she's the real lady of the house around here! Our jobs depend on whatever mood she's in! You're still on probation–don't be stupid!"
The real lady of the house? Since when?
And here I am, the real Mrs. Kane, and I didn’t even know?
Seeing me frozen in place, Evelyn probably thought she'd scared me senseless. She let out this nasty laugh.
"Aw, what happened? Cat got your tongue as soon as I mentioned Christopher?"
"Here's a reality check, honey. A man like Christopher is so far out of your league. One word from him and you'll never work in this entire industry. Capisce?"
Chapter 3
While I stood there in silence, Evelyn had already bulldozed her way into the employee cafeteria.
"Jesus Christ, what kind of slop are you people eating?"
She picked up a piece of meatloaf with two fingers in disgust, then tossed it back down.
Then, she pulled out some fancy container from her Hermès bag and slammed it down on the serving counter. "You poor people have probably never tasted real food in your sad little lives. Well, Lucky for you, I have a good mood today. I'm gonna let you try some truffle risotto from Le Bernardin–time to class up this pathetic excuse for lunch!"
She popped open the container and was about to dump it straight into the communal food trays.
"Ms. Grace! Absolutely not!"
The cafeteria manager finally lost it and dove in front of the food stations. "Company policy is clear – no outside food gets mixed with employee meals, period! This is about health codes and liability! Don't make me the bad guy here!"
"Policy? Health codes?"
Evelyn looked at him like he'd just told a dumb joke.
"You think my gourmet food is gonna kill someone? This container cost more than you make in a year, jackass!"
"Move your ass!"
The manager planted his feet. "Ms. Grace, I'm not budging! One food safety incident and we're all screwed! Please don't put us in this position!"
Seeing that cafeteria manager actually had the nerve to keep defying her, Evelyn's face twisted with rage.
She grabbed her phone and hit video call.
"Christopher! You need to see this shit! Your employees have lost their fucking minds! I'm trying to do something nice and improve their meals, and they're actually yelling at me!"
Christopher's smooth voice came through. "Babe, calm down. Put the cafeteria manager on."
Evelyn shoved the phone right in the manager's face with a nasty smile.
Christopher's tone went arctic. "Every single person involved apologizes to Evelyn right fucking now! Or you're all getting fired for insubordination. Kiss your paychecks goodbye this month! Try me!"
The cafeteria manager's lips were trembling. Rebecca and the other staff went pale, exchanging helpless looks.
Christopher seemed pissed at the silence and his voice got even more vicious. "What the hell? Do I need to spell it out for you morons?"
The video suddenly flipped around.
Evelyn turned the camera so we could see Christopher's side. He was in some fancy private dining room with a bunch of suit-wearing businessmen – clearly in the middle of closing some major deal.
Christopher was at the head of the table. When he saw Evelyn's pouty face, shook his head in undisguised affection. There wasn't even a hint of irritationm, just complete infatuation.
"Christopher baby..."
Evelyn totally ignored that he was handling business and started fake-crying into the camera.
"Look what they're doing to me! They're all being so mean! I just wanted to share something special and they're treating me like shit! They're crushing my heart here! You have to do something!"
She squeezed out some theatrical tears.
The helpless victim act was a complete mindfuck compared to the psycho bitch she'd been thirty seconds earlier.
Christopher's face went stone-cold.
He didn't even ask for the full story – just laser-focused on his poor little Evelyn.
"Hey, hey, don't cry baby. You'll ruin your makeup. This isn't worth getting upset over, okay? I've got you. Nobody fucks with my girl!"
He kept his voice soft and soothing, then looked back at our side of the camera with daggers in his eyes."Are you people brain-dead?"
"I'm ordering you right now – do exactly what Evelyn says! Apologize!"
"If I don't see some serious groveling in the next three seconds..."
Before he could finish his little power trip, I stepped right up to the phone camera.
My face – and my burned, blistered hand – took up the entire screen.
"Christopher, you sure you want me to apologize?"
