Sabotaged at the Tender: My Bid Turned Into a "Paid Surrogate" Advertisement

My name is Evelyn Brown.

I represent the company in the IPO bidding process. Halfway through my presentation, I notice everyone in the room staring at me with puzzled expressions.

In that instant, I realize my PowerPoint slides have been swapped for a "Paid Surrogate" advertisement.

The wording is utterly humiliating. "I've lived the first 20 years of my life in a poor mountain village. I'm healthy and can promise a son. My price is negotiable."

I rush backstage, only to see the impoverished student my father, Eric Brown, has sponsored for years laughing uncontrollably.

Leaning against my fiance, Dwayne Woodruff, Katherine Cadwell says, "Oh, Ms. Brown, don't be upset! I was just teasing you to lighten the mood. You just got back home. Don't stress yourself out so much."

I grab her arm, insisting she come out and explain herself. But out of nowhere, Dwayne shoves me to the floor.

"You've just returned," he says. "We only pulled a little prank on you because we didn't want you to be too tense. If you can't handle even this amount of pressure, how can you be expected to take over the company?"

I can't help but scoff. Right in front of them, I send the live recording straight to my father, the CEO.

Without a second thought, I dial his number. "Dad, look at what your 'star scholarship student' just pulled. Can we have her and Dwayne kicked out of the company?"

Just as I ended the call, my fiance, Dwayne Woodruff, flung his teacup at me. The porcelain shards sliced into my calf.

"Damn it, Evelyn! Is that all you've got? You're always whining and tattling. Do you think you're still a baby?"

Without warning, he lunged toward me, his fingers reaching for my phone. "You'd better delete that video!"

Clutching my phone like a lifeline, I retreated as fast as I could. "And why on earth would I delete it? Just so you can keep twisting the truth?"

With tears in her eyes, Katherine Cadwell ran over. Her legs faltered as she positioned herself between us. "Dee, please calm down. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have joked with Ms. Brown like that…"

As she spoke, she hurriedly grabbed a cup of coffee from the table. It looked like she meant to offer it to me to calm me down.

But before I could react, her hand trembled. The scorching coffee splashed across the laptop I had set aside just moments earlier.

With a sharp sizzle, the screen went black in an instant. The backup I had saved of the final version of the presentation was destroyed along with it.

"Shit! I'm so sorry, Ms. Brown! I swear I didn't mean to…"

Katherine covered her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks like a broken string of pearls. She appeared even more panicked than I was.

My whole body shook with rage, but I couldn't force a single word out.

I knew every move she made was deliberate.

Dennis