His Dead Lover Came Back I Asked for Overtime Pay Chapter 01

His Dead Lover Came Back I Asked for Overtime Pay Chapter 01

After the death of Zachary Collins’ first love, he was utterly devastated.

His older brother, Ethan Collins, had me groomed to look like that “first love” and sent me to Zachary.

“Ten million a month — keep him happy.”

After Zachary told me to get lost for the umpteenth time and I just stood there quietly, obediently gazing at him, he finally pulled me into his arms.

From then on, he spoiled me rotten.

Until that long-lost love, who had already passed away, posted her location in Maui.

That night, Zachary completely lost control, leaving me exhausted and unable to sleep.

Everyone in Seattle’s elite circles was watching the show, waiting for me, the stand-in, to break down and lose my mind.

The next day, I timidly approached his brother.

“Mr. Collins, is there any compensation for work-related injuries?”

******

“Work-related injury?” Ethan Collins spoke coldly.

I scratched my cheek and whispered, “I overexerted myself last night and can barely move today. Mr. Collins, If you don’t believe me, you can ask the doctor.”

Ethan interrupted me and said calmly, “I’ll transfer it to your account in a moment.”

My eyes lit up. “Thank you, Mr. Collins.”

After saying that, I paused. “As for the severance pay…”

“Severance pay?” Ethan furrowed his brow, a look of doubt flashing across his face, then he answered the phone.

After a long silence, he said, “She’s alive?” He narrowed his eyes.

The call ended.

Ethan tapped the table with his long fingers, understanding what I meant.

He said, “Stay by his side for now. If you’re no longer needed later, I’ll give you a generous severance package.”

I silently rolled my eyes.

Of course they wouldn’t need me anymore.

The love of his life wasn’t dead — so what was the point of me being her stand-in?

But I still nodded meekly and said, “All right.”

I turned and walked away.

Ethan’s calm voice came from behind me.

“Don’t set your sights on things that don’t belong to you.”

I stopped in my tracks. He was warning me.

Like everyone else, he thought that I, the stand-in, was on the verge of breaking down and might even do something to hurt others, fully embracing my malicious, money-grubbing nature.

I let out a quiet sigh. I couldn’t blame them for reading too much into it.

For the past three years, Zachary had really liked me.

We’d even started contacting wedding planners recently.

If everything went smoothly, we would have been getting married soon.

Unfortunately, it didn’t go well.

The woman Zachary had always longed for wasn’t dead. The position of the younger Mrs. Collins that was about to be mine was gone.

Theoretically, I really should have been devastated.

But over the past few years, I had never forgotten that I was a stand-in.

The condescending affection you gain by imitating another woman won’t last.

The only pay I actually got was what Ethan gave me!

I turned around and smiled at Ethan.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Collins. With a salary this high, I won’t let you down.”

I pushed open the office door and walked out.

But in the hallway, I saw someone I hadn’t expected to see. Our eyes met, and I froze. “…Zach?”

The strikingly handsome man stopped, his dark eyes fixed on me. “What are you doing here?”

I suppressed my panic, my mind racing.

Zachary didn’t know that I knew his brother.

He didn’t know that I was the one his brother had carefully groomed and sent to be by his side

— all so he would stop acting like a zombie, drinking himself into a stupor and street racing every day, constantly making tabloid headlines and affecting the company’s stock price.

Zachary thought I was just a simple woman who looked like his first love and happened to be deeply in love with him.

If I got caught, forget work-related compensation and severance pay — I wouldn’t even get this month’s paycheck.

I grabbed Zachary’s arm and whispered, “When I woke up this morning, you weren’t there, and I couldn’t reach you on the phone.

So I took the liberty of asking your brother where you were. You don’t mind, do you, Zach?”

Zachary paused, then said flatly, “He’s very busy running the company. Don’t bother him over such a trivial matter.”

Seeing that he believed me, I let out a quiet sigh of relief and replied meekly, “Okay. It won’t happen again.”

He nodded casually, pulled his arm free, and said, “You go ahead home.”

“What about tonight? You said you’d join me for a candlelit dinner tonight.” I pressed.

“I managed to get a reservation at that restaurant that’s usually so hard to book.”

Zachary paused, his long fingers gently stroking my cheek like he was petting a cat.

“Next time,” he said.

No surprise.

There probably wouldn’t be a next time. But I obediently nodded. “Okay.”