Chapter 1
Monday morning, five seconds away from defeating the final boss, when-[]
“Bang.“]
A voice shouted loudly at her office door.
“Thalia Winters, Leah wants all managers in the main conference room–within ten minutes.“]
The administrative assistant stood at the door, speaking urgently.[]
Thalia didn’t even look up, her fingers moving rapidly across the keyboard.[]
“Not coming. I’m busy.“]]
J
In the six months since joining the company, Thalia had never attended any meetings.[]
Not because she didn’t have to, but because she didn’t want to.[]
“But…” the assistant’s voice became hesitant, “Leah says this is mandatory. No one is allowed to be absent today. She said it’s Mr. Blake’s orders.“]
Thalia’s fingers paused, and her game character was instantly killed by the boss.[]
The moment the screen went gray, Thalia cursed under her breath, slammed her laptop shut with a bang, and stood up.[]
When Thalia walked into the conference room, it was already packed.[]
Everyone looked surprised to see Thalia, whispering among themselves.[]
“Why is Thalia here?“]]
“Doesn’t she never attend meetings?”
“Must be because Leah insisted.“[]
“Leah’s always targeting her. Today should be interesting.”
…0
Thalia couldn’t be bothered with the gossip. She chose the most corner seat, sat down, and took out her phone.[]
Same game, new round.[]
Thirty minutes passed before Leah finally strutted in, followed by Pierce Blake, the unpredictable CEO.[]
Leah carried a stack of files, wearing a smug, confident smile.
“Thank you all for taking time from your busy schedules to attend this meeting.”
Pierce scanned the room, his gaze lingering on Thalia for less than a second before moving away.
Catalogue
P
Setting
C
Night
Chapter 1
“Today Leah has an important proposal to announce to everyone.“]
Leah cleared her throat and began her pitch.
Some garbage about “rebranding,” “dominating the high–end market,” and “Changing visibility.”
Thalia played on her phone while listening. Honestly, the more she heard, the more ridiculous it sounded.]]
This proposal not only had an astronomical budget but was completely misaligned with their company’s market positioning.]
“… This is why I recommend investing $800,000 over the next three months to capture the high–end market!“[]
Leah concluded passionately.[]
Polite applause echoed in the conference room.]
Thalia couldn’t take it anymore and said without looking up: “You want to burn $800,000 on vanity metrics? Might as well throw the money off the company rooftop–at least that would make us headline news.“[]
The conference room fell silent.[]
Pierce frowned.]
“What did you say?” Leah’s voice suddenly rose.[]
Only then did Thalia look up.[]
“I said your plan is garbage.“]]
“First, wrong target demographic.“]
“Second, wrong channel selection.“[]
“Third, your ROI calculations are completely wrong.“[]
“You might as well burn that money.“]
“No–at least burning it would produce light.“]
Leah’s face instantly flushed red.[]
She grabbed the coffee from the table and rushed to Thalia in fury.[]
“You’re just a lazy idiot who hides in your office playing games all day, and you dare question my proposal?“]
She was practically screaming, then–splash![]
The entire cup of coffee was thrown in Thalia’s face.[]
The liquid ran down Thalia’s cheeks, instantly staining her white dress brown.[]
The conference room fell silent, everyone holding their breath.[]
“Thalia, as the CEO’s administrative assistant, I declare you fired! Get out!”
