Out of sheer kindness, I brought my drunk, heartbroken coworker home for the night after she'd been dumped. Little did I know, she'd treat my place like it was her own.

"Isla, I gave my ex my whole paycheck. I'm just gonna stay here for the rest of the month. You've got this huge place all to yourself anyway—such a waste. It's perfect, we can keep each other company. And hey, no rent. You're already cooking for yourself, so what's one more plate, right?"

I stopped typing and blinked, trying to process what she was saying.

She kept going, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna take advantage—I'll chip in 2 bucks a day. Honestly, you must get so lonely living alone. Aren't I sweet for offering?"

I just stared at her, barely holding back a laugh at her blatant audacity.

That evening, I slipped out of the office early, went straight home, and deadbolted the door behind me. No matter how much she knocked and yelled from the hallway, I didn't budge.

The next morning, she stormed over to my desk and slammed her hand on my cubicle wall, her tone dripping with accusation. "You were home last night—why didn't you open the door?! I had nowhere to go, had to crash at a hotel, and between that and food, I dropped 60 bucks. You owe me."

She shoved her phone screen—payment receipts on full display—right in my face.

I couldn't help it—I laughed out loud.

If she wanted to play that game, fine. If she thought she could push me around, she was about to learn what real-world consequences looked like.

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have ended up at a hotel. Why won't you pay me back?"

Madison Cooper jabbed a finger at me, her face flushed with humiliation.

"I'm your trainee—you're supposed to take responsibility for me. Your place is just sitting there empty anyway. Why are you being so petty?"

She made sure to raise her voice as she said it. The moment the words left her mouth, our coworkers turned to watch with eager, gossip-hungry eyes.

I kept my eyes on my screen, fingers still flying across the keyboard.

"I'm your supervisor, not your mother."

She froze for a second, her expression turning uglier. I figured with how harsh I'd put it, she'd at least have enough shame to back off.

But instead, she switched gears and put on a pitiful, wounded act, refusing to let it go.

"But doesn't the old saying go, 'A teacher for a day is a parent for life'? I just got dumped, and I got scammed out of all my money. I really have nowhere to go. What's the big deal if you let me crash with you? It's not like it's costing you anything!"

She said it so casually, as if the place hadn't cost me my own hard-earned money.

As for how I got stuck with her in the first place—last night, I was out having dinner with a friend when I passed by a bar and saw her drunk out of her mind. A few guys nearby were circling her with clear intentions. She was so wasted she couldn't even tell me her address. I was afraid something would happen to her, so I took her home.

Little did I know, inviting her in was easy—getting her out would be the real problem.

I let out a quiet laugh and tilted my head toward her.

"If we're talking about 'a teacher for a day,' I really can't take that honor. Our manager's given you plenty of guidance too—why don't you go stay with her?"

Her face dropped, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.

One of the older coworkers who couldn't stand it anymore chimed in to defend her.

"Isla, do you have to be that harsh?"

"Yeah, what kind of person bullies a newbie like that?"

"She wouldn't be begging you like this if she weren't desperate. And don't you live in a three-bedroom all by yourself?"

I couldn't help but find it ridiculous.

"So just because my place has extra rooms, I'm supposed to hand one over to her? Do I owe her that?"

Madison pursed her lips.

"But you're all alone. Why can't I stay there? Unless... there's something in your apartment you don't want anyone to see?"

The moment she said that, the murmurs around us grew louder.

I took a deep breath.

So apparently, living alone in a big apartment meant I must be hiding something.

I lifted my chin, my face cold and unflinching.

"I just don't want you to stay there."

The moment those words left my mouth, the entire office fell dead silent.

The air conditioner hummed overhead, blowing out a steady stream of cold air.

Madison's tears started falling instantly. She looked utterly wounded.

"Isla, how could you do this to me? I've been with you ever since I joined the company. You're the closest person to me here—I've always thought of you as my big sister."

Listening to her syrupy, phony voice made my stomach turn.

"Big sister? If I remember correctly, you've been with this company for all of two weeks. Two weeks of knowing each other, and that's your excuse to crash at my place for free?"

Madison blinked her innocent little eyes, but her mouth kept running.

"I did the math, okay? Your place doesn't cost you any rent—just a little bit for utilities. I'll give you 2 bucks a day. I eat lunch at the office, so I'd use less than one dollars' worth of water and electricity a day. You'd actually come out ahead."

Listening to her lay it out so matter-of-factly, I leaned back in my chair.

"But I don't want your money. You can take that 2 bucks and find yourself a place that includes room and board."

Madison's face went pale. She staggered and nearly fell over. A few coworkers rushed over to steady her.

I thought she'd finally give up. Instead, she just changed tactics.

…

By lunchtime, the break room was buzzing with gossip about me.

"That's way too harsh. Madison just got dumped and needs a place to stay—what's the big deal? It's not like she wasn't offering to pay. Where's the compassion?"

"Isla's probably been single so long she's lost her mind. No way she understands what heartbreak feels like."

I walked past them calmly, coffee cup in hand. They averted their eyes for a second, then went right back to trash-talking.

I knew exactly who was behind it, but there was no point in explaining. The knife wasn't in their backs, so they didn't feel the pain.

No sooner had I gotten back to my desk than someone came running over to tell me the department manager wanted to see me. She had that nosy, I-can't-wait-to-watch look on her face.

Madison was sitting in the manager, Mr. Gabelman's office, red-eyed. Keeping her company was Hannah Wagner, another intern who'd started at the same time as her, dabbing at Madison's tears nonstop. When I walked in, Hannah shot me a vicious glare.

Madison, putting on a show of defending me while actually fanning the flames, spoke up, "Mr. Gabelman, this isn't Isla's fault. It's just that my coworkers saw how desperate I am—no place to go—and they thought since Isla has that empty apartment..."

She trailed off, but her eyes kept flicking toward me.

Mr. Gabelman, determined to appear fair and impartial, pointed at me. "You—explain yourself."

I stood there, my voice flat. "Madison wants to stay at my place. I said no. She claims my apartment doesn't cost rent, and 2 bucks a day would more than cover food and utilities. I'm her work mentor—nothing more. I have no obligation to take care of her personal life."

Mr. Gabelman's face darkened immediately.

"Madison is a new hire. She's one of our future key talents. What's the harm in cutting her some slack? You're not even married—wouldn't having someone around be good for you?"

I almost laughed at how blatantly one-sided he was. Not being married wasn't a crime—and it sure wasn't an invitation for someone to barge into my life.

I pulled out my phone, pulled up a map of the area, and showed it to Mr. Gabelman.

"Since she's such a key talent, we definitely shouldn't slack off on her. My place is a bit of a commute from the office. How about this—you, Mr. Gabelman, can rent her a place nearby. It'd make her commute easier and really show off your generosity and dedication to nurturing new talent."

Mr. Gabelman froze. His face turned a deep, mottled red. He pointed a finger at me, his expression dripping with disappointment.

"Isla, as an employee of this company, maintaining team unity is a basic rule you're expected to follow."

"This is exactly the kind of thing that makes it hard for me to promote you. Even if I wanted to, people would talk," Mr. Gabelman said sternly.

My expression didn't waver. I stayed completely calm.

I shot back, "So 'maintaining team unity' means giving up my own home for a coworker to live in? If that's the case, I really can't do it."

Mr. Gabelman's face darkened.

"Can't you just cut her some slack? Do you have to blow this whole thing up? She has a higher degree than you—she might even get promoted before you do. Then what? When her team won't take you, and you're at your age, where are you going to go?"

Before I could even respond, he called Madison back into the office.

Madison's eyes were red, and she looked up at Mr. Gabelman with this wide-eyed, doe-like expression.

Mr. Gabelman's tone softened. "Madison, don't worry about the housing situation. Isla and I already talked it over. You can move into her place for now—stay as long as you need."

My head shot up. I stared at Mr. Gabelman in disbelief.

"Exactly when did we talk this over?"

Hannah immediately jumped in with her snide remark, "So you'd rather leave your place empty than let your own intern stay there?"

Mr. Gabelman glared at me and lowered his voice. "Let me say this one more time—starting today, she's moving in with you. Also, this afternoon, when you're meeting with the client, let Madison sign off on the deal when you're done negotiating. Consider it your way of making it up to her—help her get her probation period cut short."

I nodded and turned to Madison. "You really want to stay? Fine."

All three of them looked satisfied, as if I'd finally come to my senses.

"Then pay me market-rate rent—two hundred a month, first month plus three months' deposit. And Mr. Gabelman can be your guarantor right here and now."

At that, Mr. Gabelman slammed his hand on the desk and shot to his feet.

"Isla, what is wrong with you? Madison is just crashing at your place for a few days, and you want to charge her rent? You're coworkers—how can you even ask that?"

He tugged at his tie and narrowed his eyes at me.

"It doesn't cost you anything to let her stay—why are you so greedy you'd stoop that low? Two hundred a month? Your dump isn't even worth that much. Tell you what—Madison will take you out for a nice meal to say thanks, and that's final."

His phone rang, and he waved me off impatiently.

I walked out of the office, and my coworkers' gossipy eyes immediately locked onto me. Someone couldn't hold back and blurted out, "So you finally agreed?"

I looked back at her. "You know what happens when a cuckoo takes over a sparrow's nest?"

Wasting all that time arguing with them meant I'd definitely have to stay late tonight.

I'd just finished sketching out the first draft of the design when Madison sidled up to my desk.

"Isla, I didn't have time to pack my things when my boyfriend and I split, so I'm gonna borrow some of your clothes to change into. But you'll need to get me new slippers—what if you have athlete's foot and I catch it? Also, I need a spare key. I'm not sticking around to work late with you."

I glanced up at her, then went back to my work.

She plopped herself down on my desk and kept going, "The bed in the guest room I slept in last night is way too hard—I can't sleep on that. When you get home tonight, clear out your master bedroom and make it up for me. And honestly, at your age, you're still using pink stuff? That's kind of... tacky."

The moment she said that, a few of the guys across from me looked up with smirks that made my skin crawl.

When I'd brought her home last night, she wouldn't even take her shoes off and just rolled around on the guest bed. There was a trash can right next to the bed, but she chose to throw up all over the floor instead. The stench was overwhelming—I had to scrub it clean several times.

I forced a smile. "Have you checked the weather forecast today?"