The air in the office was thick with tension, the kind that clung to every surface and made it impossible to focus. Emily Meyers sat at her desk, her fingers tapping rhythmically against her keyboard as she stared at her screen, but her thoughts were miles away. Her mind was buzzing with frustration, irritation, and an undercurrent of bitterness that she couldn't shake. Across the room, Luke Edmunds, her former boyfriend and now bitter rival, sat smugly in his corner, pretending to be focused on his work. But Emily knew better. She could feel him glancing at her every few minutes, that stupid, self-satisfied smirk plastered on his face.

"Changed your colors so fast, tried to turn my friends into friends of the past…"

The lyrics from Demi Lovato's "15 Minutes" echoed in her head as she thought about how everything had gone wrong. Luke had fooled her—fooled everyone, really—into thinking he was something he wasn't. Charming, ambitious, and supportive, or so she had believed. But after everything they'd been through, it was all clear now. Luke was a user, someone who had climbed the corporate ladder on the back of their relationship and ditched her the moment he got what he wanted.

Emily's grip tightened on her mouse as she remembered the way Luke had smoothly maneuvered himself into the promotion she had worked so hard for. He had played her, turning their coworkers against her, making her out to be the difficult one. She glanced at him again, her anger bubbling just beneath the surface. There he was, sitting pretty, enjoying his shiny new office title and that smug look that said he thought he'd won.

Well, not for long.

"Hey, Meyers," Luke's voice cut through the silence, dripping with false politeness. "You look tense. Something on your mind?"

Emily clenched her jaw, refusing to turn around. She could hear the smirk in his voice, and it made her want to scream. Instead, she kept her voice calm and measured. "Nothing that concerns you, Luke."

He chuckled softly, and Emily could practically feel his eyes on her back. "You sure? You've been pretty quiet lately. I figured you'd have more to say after… you know, everything."

"Everything" meaning his promotion, the one they had both been gunning for, the one that had gone to him thanks to his underhanded tactics. Emily had been the top contender, and they both knew it. But Luke had played dirty, leaking her mistakes to their boss, planting seeds of doubt about her leadership abilities.

"You're lucky I didn't run your ass out of town…"

Emily gritted her teeth and spun her chair around to face him, her eyes narrowing. "Funny, Luke. I was actually just thinking about how convenient it was that certain people started doubting my abilities right when you were cozying up to the boss. Real coincidence, huh?"

Luke raised an eyebrow, feigning innocence. "What can I say? I'm just that good. Or maybe you're just a little… paranoid?"

Emily could feel her blood boiling. This was exactly what he did—turn everything around on her, make her question her instincts. But not this time. She wasn't falling for it.

"I'm not paranoid," she shot back, her voice cold. "I'm just not blind. I know what you did, Luke. And I'm not going to let you get away with it."

Luke's smirk widened, and he leaned back in his chair, folding his arms over his chest. "Get away with what, exactly? Being better at the game than you? Don't hate the player, Em. Hate the game."

Emily stood up, her fists clenched at her sides. She was done playing games. "You used me," she said, her voice rising. "You manipulated me and everyone else to get what you wanted. But don't think for a second that I'm going to just sit here and take it."

Luke shrugged, unbothered by her anger. "You're acting like I'm the bad guy here. This is business, Emily. If you can't handle a little competition, maybe you're in the wrong field."

"Well, I'm just fine, I'm thriving, I'm surviving, I'm…"

"Don't," Emily cut him off, her voice shaking with barely contained rage. "Don't act like you're better than me, Luke. You might have won this round, but it's not over. Not by a long shot."

Luke stood up as well, the air between them crackling with tension. He stepped closer, his voice low and mocking. "Oh, really? And what are you going to do, Em? Throw a tantrum? Run to HR? Face it—you lost."

Emily didn't flinch. She wasn't backing down. "We'll see who's laughing when I expose you for the backstabbing snake you are."

Luke's grin faltered for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. "Expose me? For what? Doing my job? You're desperate, Emily. And that's not a good look on you."

Emily opened her mouth to fire back, but before she could speak, their boss, Mr. Walsh, appeared at the entrance of the office. "Is everything okay in here?" he asked, glancing between the two of them with a raised eyebrow.

Luke immediately slipped back into his charming persona, flashing Mr. Walsh a grin. "Of course, Mr. Walsh. Just a friendly debate between coworkers."

Emily forced herself to smile, though her teeth were clenched. "Everything's fine."

Mr. Walsh nodded, but his gaze lingered on Emily for a moment longer before he turned and walked away. As soon as he was out of earshot, Emily turned back to Luke, her eyes blazing.

"You can keep pretending you're innocent all you want," she hissed, "but I'm not going to let you walk all over me. I've worked too hard to let you take this away from me."

Luke rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed. "You're so dramatic, Emily. It's honestly kind of sad. I thought you'd have more fight in you than this."

Emily narrowed her eyes. "Oh, I'm fighting, Luke. You just won't see it coming."

Luke chuckled, shaking his head. "You think you're going to take me down? Good luck with that. I'm already two steps ahead of you, just like always."

"You got your fifteen minutes, hope you enjoyed your show…"

Emily's heart pounded in her chest, but she refused to let him see how much his words hurt. She wasn't going to let him win again. "Your fifteen minutes are almost up, Luke," she said, her voice steady. "And when they are, I'll be right here, ready to take what's mine."

Luke smirked, clearly enjoying the back-and-forth. "We'll see about that."

He walked away, leaving Emily standing there, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts. She wasn't sure how she was going to do it, but she knew one thing for sure—she wasn't going to let Luke win. Not again.


Over the next few weeks, the tension between Emily and Luke only grew. Every interaction was filled with veiled insults and sharp glares, and their coworkers quickly caught on to the rivalry brewing between them. Whispers filled the office about who would come out on top, and Emily knew that she had to make her move before Luke could strike again.

She worked late nights, digging through old emails, gathering evidence of Luke's manipulations. She wasn't going to let him keep coasting on his charm and deceit. He'd played dirty, and now it was her turn to fight back.

One evening, as she was going over some documents, she found exactly what she needed—proof that Luke had been sabotaging her behind the scenes. Leaked emails, false reports, everything he'd done to undermine her while making himself look like the golden boy. It was all there, and now, she had the power to take him down.

The next morning, Emily walked into the office with a renewed sense of purpose. Luke was already there, sitting at his desk, completely unaware of what was about to hit him.

"Hey, Luke," she called out, her voice calm but with an edge that made him glance up. "Can I have a word?"

He raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "What's this? A truce?"

Emily smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Not exactly."

She walked over to his desk, placing a folder in front of him. "I think you'll want to take a look at this."

Luke frowned, opening the folder. As he read through the documents, his expression shifted from confusion to shock, and then to thinly veiled anger. He glanced up at her, his jaw clenched. "What the hell is this?"

"That," Emily said, crossing her arms, "is proof of everything you've done. Every lie, every sabotage. It's all there. And I'm going to make sure Mr. Walsh sees it."

Luke stood up, his eyes dark with fury. "You really think this is going to work? You think you can just ruin me?"

Emily's smile widened. "I'm not going to ruin you, Luke. You did that all by yourself."

Luke's fists clenched at his sides, but he didn't say anything. He knew he'd been caught, and there was no way out this time.

"You got your fifteen minutes of fame," Emily said, her voice cold. "Hope you enjoyed them. Because they're over."

And with that, Emily turned and walked away, leaving Luke standing there, his world crashing down around him.

For the first time in weeks, Emily felt a sense of peace. She had fought back, and she had won. And as she stepped out into the bright morning sunlight, she couldn't help but smile.