Chapter 3

Ellie wasn't in that morning.

Leo had probably gotten bored of playing games in her office.

He ambled out of the General Manager's office again.

He roamed around the office area.

One moment, he'd poke at a colleague's newly finished design sketch.

The next, he'd tap another colleague's keyboard, typing out a string of gibberish.

Everyone was furious but dared not speak. They'd hold their breath when he approached, and quickly check their work for damage once he left.

He wandered over to the water dispenser.

He was probably thirsty again, picking up a disposable cup to get some water.

Either he lost his grip, or he did it on purpose.

His hand shook.

The full cup of water, precisely and unerringly, splashed entirely onto the wall next to the water dispenser.

Right there, was the main power switch for the entire office.

There was a loud *sizzle*, accompanied by a shower of blinding electrical sparks.

The lights in the entire office instantly went out.

Everyone's computer screens, in unison, went black.

A few seconds later, the office erupted in thunderous wails and desperate curses.

"My code! I've been writing code all morning! I haven't saved it yet!"

"My design draft! The client has called eight times, it's just the final step!"

"My report! It's due at 2 PM! It's over, everything's ruined!"

David, the head of the technical department, rushed out of his office first, hearing the commotion.

He saw Leo, who had caused the mess and was standing there with an innocent look, his face instantly turning ashen.

His lips moved, his fists clenched then unclenched, and he ultimately swallowed his words.

Leo, however, spoke first, his voice full of dissatisfaction.

"What's going on?"

"This switch quality is too poor, isn't it? It broke just from a little water. Why is everything in our company so shoddy?"

His talent for playing the victim and blaming the company for his own blunder was truly breathtaking.

Mr. Henderson, the administrative manager, also hurried over.

He first looked at the chaotic, smoke-emitting power switch, then at Leo.

He immediately put on a deferential smile.

"Mr. Maxwell, are you hurt? Did it scare you?"

"It's not your fault, it must be the aging wiring. We'll handle it right away. I'll get someone to replace it with a new, waterproof one immediately!"

"Please go back to your office to rest. We'll take care of things here."

Leo pouted, seemingly dissatisfied with this outcome, but said nothing more and turned back into Ellie's office.

Only then did Mr. Henderson wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and begin directing the technical department to fix things.

As he passed me, I called out to him.

"Mr. Henderson, does this kind of thing happen often?"

The manager glanced at me, recognized me as being from headquarters, and a bitter expression crossed his face.

He pulled me into the stairwell of the fire escape, lowering his voice.

"You're an inspector, aren't you? Some things I shouldn't say, but today's incident..."

He sighed, continuing.

"To be honest, he's the apple of Ms. Hayes’s eye. We dare not do anything."

"Ms. Hayes is out of town for a meeting today, so no one can control him."

"Normally, when Ms. Hayes is around, she can at least keep him cooped up in her office..."

His face was filled with helplessness and despair.

"Last time, he also accidentally knocked over a cup of coffee."

"That coffee, by sheer bad luck, spilled right onto our core server."

"All the company's data got corrupted. The tech department worked overtime for a week straight to recover it. All our work for that week was completely wasted!"

"And what happened then?" I asked.

"In the end, Ms. Hayes said our tech department was negligent in supervision, and the server's placement had security risks. She docked our entire department's quarterly bonuses."

"She said it was to teach us a lesson."

My heart sank, bit by bit.

This was Ellie Hayes's management style.

Indulging an idiot to run rampant in the company, then making all the hardworking employees pay for his foolishness.

Ellie, you're really something.

Just then, the General Manager's office door opened again.

Leo poked his head out and shouted.

"So boring! Why isn't the power back on yet? My phone's almost dead! Are there any snacks in the breakroom?"

No one answered him.

The entire office area was engulfed in an extreme, suffocating silence.