All Chapters of The Uninvited Houseguest: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

"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

Chapter 2

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 ca

Chapter 3

"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

Chapter 4

Madison blinked, completely lost."What?""Just checking—are we living in the same reality? Because in mine, what you're asking for is pure fantasy."Madison's face twisted. She leaned in close, her voice dropping to a whisper only the two of us could hear."I'd suggest you play nice if you want to keep your job. You don't know my connection to Mr. Gabelman, do you? He's my brother-in-law. So tell me—who do you think gets hurt if you cross me?"So that was it. She was Mr. Gabelman's sister-in-law. No wonder she could openly take credit for other people's work and mooch off someone's place. Mr. Gabelman probably kept quiet to avoid any fallout. Didn't expect her to spill it herself so fast.By the afternoon, Madison was back at my desk. She slapped a menu in front of me."Make a full dinner tonight. I want steak—and make sure you trim the fat off."I picked up the menu and glanced at it. Aside from a couple of salads, everything else was meat-heavy.I tossed the menu on the flo

Chapter 5

"Isla, do you want to get fired? I'll have my brother-in-law blacklist you from the whole industry!"Madison clutched her face, still wearing her shoes, and jumped right onto my couch—stomping all over my clothes.I pulled out my phone, turned on the camera, and recorded every inch of the place—inside and out. Then I pulled up my payment receipt, zoomed in, and shoved it in her face."You broke into my apartment illegally. We'll deal with that in a minute. But first—clean up this mess you made. Housekeeping will cost 200 bucks. You're paying for it."Madison let out a sarcastic laugh."The boss told me to come here. If you've got a problem, take it up with him. Besides, you weren't home when I got off work. I wasn't about to waste my time waiting around."She picked up one of my shirts with two fingers like it was garbage."Look at this cheap rag—just stuff it in a trash bag. Even the old ladies in the neighborhood wouldn't take this."I'd had enough. I pointed at the front doo

Chapter 6

"How did she get in? How should I know? What I'm telling you right now is—"I cut him off."Breaking and entering, trespassing, and stealing without permission—how many years would that get someone?"Mr. Gabelman's voice was clearly strained with anger."Isla, don't make me say things I'll regret. Do you still want a future at this company or not?"I stayed quiet, and he took that as a sign that he had me cornered."Forget tonight. Tomorrow, you'll apologize to Madison in person, face to face. Or I'll make your life miserable."After he hung up, I called building management and had them send over a technician to install security cameras. If they wanted to play games, I'd play along.…When I got to the office the next morning, Madison was at her desk, sipping her latte through a straw and smiling brightly at her phone. I walked past her on purpose—she didn't have time to hide the screen.I caught a glimpse of it.It was a chat window with a contact saved as "Honey." The last

Chapter 7

"She won't be done 'til morning. Jobs are hard to come by these days—she's too scared to step out of line."With that, Mr. Gabelman started tearing at Madison's clothes."Don't you want to know what it feels like doing it in someone else's home?"Mr. Gabelman's bloated body looked absolutely repulsive on camera. They went from the living room to the master bedroom—didn't even separate to shower. I nearly threw up watching it.I saved the video, booked a hotel room, and checked in for the night. I'd wait for tomorrow's show.…First thing in the morning, Madison showed up at my desk, glowing."Isla, you never came home last night—I even left the door open for you. If you weren't coming back, you should've said something. I was so worried. Did you meet some guy and stay over at his place?"Her suggestive comment drew stares from all directions."Since when do I need to tell you whether I'm coming back to my own home?"She covered her mouth and giggled."I'm just looking out fo

Chapter 8

The labor inspector spoke up, "We received a complaint that Tony Gabelman, as a manager, unlawfully punished an employee by assigning a 10,000-word written self-criticism and maliciously mandating overtime."Mr. Gabelman froze for a second, then whipped his head toward me with a vicious glare."Isla!"I turned calmly to the inspectors."I filed the complaint. I have evidence. Additionally, my house keys were stolen—I was locked out and couldn't get home. Someone broke into my apartment last night."I pulled up the surveillance footage on my phone. I knew there were office cameras too, but I'd anticipated that Mr. Gabelman would have security delete anything incriminating—especially since I'd mentioned the keys to him directly. So I'd installed a pinhole camera myself, positioned right above my workstation.The footage lit up. It was 12 p.m.—lunchtime, when everyone was out. Madison crept over to my desk, glanced around nervously, then opened my bag with practiced ease. She fished

Chapter 9

Mr. Gabelman was struck speechless, his eyes bloodshot and bulging."This is all Isla—she's holding a grudge! Madison had nowhere to go, so Mr. Gabelman arranged for her to stay at Isla's place. Isla refused—that's her problem!"Hannah was shaking as she tried to defend Madison.My voice was ice-cold."If Madison had nowhere to go, and you two are so close, why didn't you take her in? Mr. Gabelman is her brother-in-law—why would he send her to stay with a stranger? Unless... they were afraid someone would find out about their dirty little secret?"The faces of everyone involved went pale in an instant."You—you're lying!"I turned to face the chairman directly."Mr. Gabelman used his position to openly favor Madison. He organized an anonymous vote for 'Worst Employee.' When I won, he ordered me to handwrite a 10,000-word self-criticism and turn in a client design by Monday—a project originally scheduled for a two-month deadline, compressed into three days. Chairman, I'd like to

Chapter 10

"You took advantage of me because I was young and naive! I gave you my virginity!"Everyone had their phones out, recording the drama unfold—they couldn't get enough.Mr. Gabelman's wife slapped Madison across the face again, then turned to me."I'm sorry, miss. This is my family's shame. Do whatever you need to do—but please send me those videos. I'm filing for divorce, and I want him out with nothing."I nodded and agreed without hesitation.After his wife left, the police turned their attention to the pair."Please come with us for questioning."The fluorescent lights made both their faces look pale and sickly. Madison's makeup was streaked with tears, leaving her looking haggard and broken. This time, no one stepped up to defend her. Nobody wanted to get caught in the crossfire. Even Hannah had enough sense to keep her mouth shut and stay out of it.Madison, realizing she'd lost control of the situation, looked up at me with desperate eyes."Isla, are you trying to destr

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