Chapter 2: April Fool's Chaos
April 1st
7:30 AM.
LKR Corporation Headquarters.
Every employee knew one thing.
If today was April Fool's Day...
The three founders were dangerous.
Especially...
Rose.
The moment Rose entered the building...
She smiled.
"...It's time."
Lily looked up from her tablet.
"No."
Kiefer sighed.
"Absolutely not."
Rose grinned.
"Oh, yes."
At exactly 8:00 AM...
Every employee received an official company email.
Subject: URGENT ANNOUNCEMENT
Dear LKR Family,
Due to financial difficulties...
LKR Corporation has been sold.
Today is everyone's last working day.
Thank you for your hard work.
— Management
For five seconds...
The entire company froze.
Then...
Panic erupted.
"My mortgage!"
"I just bought a car!"
"What?!"
"WE'RE BANKRUPT?!"
Meanwhile...
On the top floor...
Rose laughed so hard she fell off the sofa.
Lily pinched the bridge of her nose.
"...You're evil."
Kiefer looked at the security cameras.
"...Give them ten more seconds."
Exactly ten seconds later...
Another email arrived.
Subject: APRIL FOOL'S 😂
Got you.
Now get back to work.
Love,
Your favorite chaotic CEOs.
The entire building became silent.
Then...
Laughter echoed through every department.
One employee sighed dramatically.
"I almost resigned before getting fired."
Another laughed.
"I nearly called my wife."
Rose proudly crossed her arms.
"Best prank ever."
Kiefer smiled.
"I disagree."
Rose blinked.
"What do you mean?"
Kiefer pulled out his phone.
"I scheduled something last night."
Rose suddenly became nervous.
"...What did you do?"
At that exact moment...
Every digital screen in the building changed.
Including the giant billboard outside LKR Headquarters.
A huge photo of Rose appeared.
It was from when she was twelve years old.
Missing two front teeth.
Covered in chocolate.
Wearing bunny pajamas.
Across the photo...
Large golden letters read:
EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH
The lobby exploded with laughter.
Rose froze.
"...Kiefer."
Employees couldn't breathe from laughing.
Lily quietly took a picture.
"For... company records."
Rose pointed at Kiefer.
"I trusted you!"
"You shouldn't have."
He replied calmly.
Rose immediately turned toward Lily.
"Help me."
Lily smiled.
"I already have."
Rose frowned.
"What?"
Every monitor suddenly changed again.
This time...
A childhood video of Kiefer appeared.
Five-year-old Kiefer stood on a chair wearing a towel as a superhero cape.
"I'm going to save the world!"
Two seconds later...
He fell off the chair.
Now it was Rose laughing.
"So the fearless CEO used to lose fights against chairs!"
Kiefer sighed.
"Lily..."
Lily looked completely innocent.
"I don't know how that happened."
"You edited that video."
"Correct."
Kiefer smiled.
"...Fair enough."
Just then...
The elevators opened.
The Chairman of the Board walked into the lobby.
Everyone immediately became quiet.
He looked at the giant screen.
Looked at Rose's bunny pajamas.
Looked at Kiefer's superhero video.
Then looked at Lily.
"...Should I ask?"
Rose smiled proudly.
"Happy April Fool's Day!"
The chairman stared at the three founders for a few seconds.
Then...
He started laughing.
A deep, uncontrollable laugh.
"You three..."
He wiped a tear from his eye.
"I've worked for this company for thirty years."
"And every April..."
"You somehow become worse."
Rose grinned.
"We prefer the word 'better.'"
As the laughter finally settled...
Kiefer picked up the microphone.
"Attention, everyone."
The building became quiet.
"Thank you..."
"For laughing with us."
"For working so hard."
"And for making LKR feel less like a corporation..."
"And more like a family."
He smiled warmly.
"So..."
"Everyone gets the rest of the afternoon off."
Silence.
Then...
The entire building erupted into cheers.
Rose blinked.
"...Wait."
"I didn't know about that."
Kiefer smiled.
"That's because..."
He held up his phone.
"April Fool."
Rose gasped.
"You tricked me?!"
Lily laughed.
"The prank queen got pranked."
Employees watched as Rose chased Kiefer around the lobby while Lily calmly recorded everything on her phone.
One employee smiled and whispered,
"This..."
"This is why nobody ever leaves LKR."
Because behind the world's biggest company...
Were three CEOs...
Who knew that the happiest workplace...
Was one filled with laughter.