OLIVER
Yesterday was Oliver’s longest interaction with the boss and his wife. And he was pleasantly surprised.
His boss had to deal with the women the Chairman had forced him to meet, and if his boss had to deal with them, that meant that Oliver had to deal with them, too. It was an unpleasant cycle because the aftermath was never peaceful. The colder their boss was, the crazier the women were when they got rejected.
But yesterday, he realized that his boss could be surrounded by people who still knew what it meant to be on land.
Their new mistress had a sharp mind and could contribute to discussions and the work. Oliver also didn’t need to perform tasks that weren’t really part of his job description. She didn’t ask him to pick up her dry cleaning or take her dog to the groomer.
The experiences were courtesy of women who had yet to be introduced to the boss because Lucian had made him screen all of them. This made Oliver an experienced bachelor, having to "date" so many people he’d never even attempted to pursue.
Obviously, no one really passed, for even the ones who felt normal had shady backgrounds. So Oliver wondered where his boss found Miss Eliana.
If anything, Oliver just had to deal with a few security issues as their new boss had a lot of enemies, but that wasn’t new as his boss probably had way more.
And now, the boss’s wife just found discrepancies in such a short period of time, saving the company from further financial losses.
But personally, what mattered more to him was how his boss didn’t fly off the handle the whole time they were together. He had expected the boss to start his usual purge, a bone-chilling experience for the company’s employees.
What made it worse was that the boss was usually in the right. He dealt out heavy punishments only to those who deserved them. So, if one got punished, everyone knew they were deserving. Then his mood would be really bad, to the point where all submissions better be top-tier and blemish-free, or someone would swallow that document whole.
But none of that happened yesterday. They left the office for the boss’s home, with Oliver scared for his life. His boss radiated a scary aura, which was expected after learning about the purchasing fraud. But when they entered the door, he felt like the boss had been doused with some soothing agent.
He was still angry, but he wasn’t going to explode.
Then Oliver watched in horror as Miss Eliana kept on talking back. She didn’t hold back and didn’t look like she feared for her life.
The boss even tended to her when she fell asleep. Making sure she didn’t hit her head on the floor.
Then Oliver pretended to be dead for about an hour. He made the mistake of waking up right when Miss Eliana forced the boss to sleep. So Oliver played dead, afraid that if he got caught listening to them, he might end up dead for real.
They slept, and Oliver was once again surprised at how she could get his boss to follow obediently.
And now it was happening again. Miss Eliana napped on the couch, nestled on the boss’ lap. He reviewed the documents for later while she slept soundly.
The office was peaceful, and those who attempted to barge in were just sent away.
Maybe the boss’ wife could visit more often? Oliver could already imagine his new and improved workplace conditions.
__
The jump from a peaceful sleep into this cold boardroom was something that I would not want to experience again. I’ll have to remind Lucian to at least wake me up earlier.
Now, my brain feels soupy, certainly not the best state for catching thieves.
When we walked in with the Chairman, people started glancing over, wondering why someone like me would sit in for such a critical meeting. No one mentioned anything, but their eyes would tell another story.
The meeting proceeded as planned. All the necessary departments—even the purchasing department — reported on their assigned materials.
The Chairman nodded occasionally, listening to the reports but never speaking out. And Lucian was just the glacier that he usually was. Nothing new.
So the people looked at me. As someone who has pretended like the world hasn’t collapsed multiple times, it was useless to look at me. They’ll only see what I wanted them to see.
"Is there anything else? If there’s none, we could successfully conclude this meeting and prepare for the submission." Said a rather stocky man as he pushed his glasses up.
He stood before the projection, his shadow covering the presentation as if signaling its end.
But then the Chairman finally spoke up.
"Given the scope of this project, I’d like to confirm the accountability of each department." The Chairman looked and sounded imposing, his hands folded in front of his face.
Mr. Barton started handing out the same reports they gave earlier, with an affidavit stating command responsibility for preparing their parts.
Those who knew better signed immediately, and those who didn’t did so after realizing that everyone else did.
"Great. We’re all on the same page." The Chairman smiled, one that didn’t reach his eyes.
"Now, someone explain to me why we’ve lost this much in revenue from missing discounts and materials." The Chairman hit the desk in front of him with a loud pang. Several executives flinched in fright, and the assistants backed away from sight.
The atmosphere in the boardroom was stifling. I could just imagine how it felt for these people who had no idea this was coming.
I was not even one of the people being berated, yet my body kept wanting to jump in fright.
The target of our investigation was in front, still standing by the projection—perfect for the scrutiny he was about to receive.
I watched him curl his fingers into a fist, his legs slightly trembling.
Bingo.