The door to the CEO's office was heavy, and for Calvin, walking through it was like entering a trap. But he wasn't the one who should be scared—he was the hunter.
Inside his "Oliver" disguise, he felt strange. The cheap shirt was itchy, and the glasses felt heavy on his face. He made sure to keep his shoulders slumped and his eyes on the floor. He needed to look like a man who was afraid of his own shadow.
The office was huge and flashy. It was filled with gold decorations and expensive furniture. It screamed "Look at how rich I am." Sitting behind a giant desk was Alan Voss, the CEO of Sunrise Group. To the world, he was a powerful leader. To Calvin, he was an arrogant man who hadn't earned a thing in his life.
Alan didn't even look up when Oliver entered. He was screaming into his phone.
"I don't care! If the shipment isn't there by Friday, you're all fired!" Alan slammed the phone down and finally looked at Oliver. His eyes were full of mean-spirited judgment.
"You're the new help?" Alan asked. His voice was sharp and rude. "The agency must be joking. You look like a lost student."
"I... I'm Oliver, sir," Calvin said, making his voice sound high and shaky. "I'm here for the secretary job."
Alan leaned back and let out a loud, annoyed sigh. "I have five minutes. Tell me why I shouldn't throw you out right now. My time is worth more than your entire life. What can you actually do?"
Oliver fidgeted with his sleeves. "I'm good at organising, sir. I can fix files and... I'm okay with computers."
"Organising? How boring," Alan mocked him. "I need someone who can think, not someone who just moves papers around."
Before Alan could say another mean word, the office phone started ringing like crazy. An assistant's voice came over the speaker, sounding like she was about to cry.
"Mr Voss! The European shipping files just crashed! Everything is gone! All the data for the last three months is showing up as gibberish! The Board of Directors is on the way up for the meeting!"
Alan's face went from red to white. He jumped out of his chair, looking panicked. "What? Fix it! Call IT! If that data is gone, we're finished!" He started pacing, sweating through his expensive suit.
While Alan was busy panicking and shouting into the phone, Oliver stepped quietly toward the computer screen on the side of the room. He didn't ask for permission. He just looked at the rows of broken code and weird symbols.
Calvin's "genius" brain saw the problem instantly. It wasn't a crash; it was a simple mistake in the way the files were saved.
"Um, excuse me, Mr Voss?" Oliver said softly.
"Get out of the way!" Alan barked.
Oliver didn't move. His fingers began to fly across the keyboard. He wasn't just fixing the error; he was rewriting the system so it would never happen again. In less than three minutes, the "broken" files vanished, replaced by perfectly organised charts, names, and numbers.
The room went quiet. The computer screen was glowing with the exact information Alan needed.
Alan stopped mid-shout. He walked over to the screen, his mouth hanging open. "What... how did you do that? IT told me that it would take two days to fix."
Oliver stepped back, looking at his shoes again. He pushed his glasses up his nose and acted like he was embarrassed. "Oh, it was just a small glitch, sir. I saw something similar in a school project once. I also added a list at the end that predicts how much money you'll make next month... I hope that's okay."
Alan looked at the screen, then back at Oliver. The way he looked at him changed. He didn't see a "lost puppy" anymore. He saw a tool—a very powerful tool he could use to make himself look good.
Alan sat back down in his chair and straightened his tie. He tried to act like he wasn't just shaking with fear a moment ago.
"Well, Oliver," Alan said, his voice a bit calmer but still arrogant. "It seems you aren't as useless as you look."
"Thank you, sir," Oliver whispered, hiding a dark smile.
"Sit down," Alan ordered. "You're hired. And from now on, you stay close to me. I have a lot of work for a 'genius' like you."
Oliver sat down, looking like a shy, grateful employee. Phase one was complete. He was inside. He had made himself the one person Alan couldn't live without. Now, Calvin could begin to destroy his enemy from the desk right next to him.