Chapter 3

But I truly never expected it!

Why did Chloe suddenly parachute into my company?

HR announced a new hire today, a "high-tech talent."

I was all geared up to have a lively discussion about technology with this newcomer, only to find Chloe's smug face staring back at me.

"High-tech talent"? She'd barely scraped by her college English exams, even after multiple tries, and struggled through basic university courses.

And now she'd suddenly become the company's tech expert? Even taken over the department manager position?

She'd become my new boss.

I'd worked my way up from intern for a year, only to become a team lead.

I was on the verge of a promotion and a raise, and Chloe just swooped in and took it?

"What?! Anya, didn't they say the manager position was yours? How did an outsider just get parachuted in?"

"When this last project finished, the higher-ups said Anya would be promoted…"

"Shh! You don't know? This woman has serious connections."

"What kind of connections? Spill!"

"She seems to be connected to the big boss. I saw her getting out of his car yesterday…"

"Oh my god…"

"Shush! Keep your voice down, someone might hear."

From their whispers, I caught the crucial information.

The big boss?

My ridiculously wealthy, infuriating father?

I couldn't help but glance at Chloe on stage. She had her sights set on Liam Maxwell, surely her taste hadn't changed so drastically that she'd go for my dad?

It had to be a rumor.

Chloe immediately spotted me sitting in the crowd and raised an eyebrow.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, she walked right up to me, a triumphant smirk on her face. "Anya Sharma, what a coincidence! Looks like you'll be my subordinate now, huh?"

"And here you were, calling yourself a top student, a modern woman. Honestly, you haven't achieved much, have you?"

At this point, it was clear to everyone that the new manager harbored hostility towards me. My familiar colleagues nervously watched.

But I couldn't care less. I threw a question right back at her. "I hear Manager Reed is a high-tech talent. So you must be able to answer some questions for me, right?"

Chloe arrogantly tilted her chin. "Of course. Ask away."

I suppressed a smile and asked, "Manager Reed, who invented the C programming language?"

"It was…" Chloe opened her mouth, then choked. She'd been cramming programming books for days, preparing for any unexpected questions.

She never imagined I'd hit her with something so basic, yet so out of left field.

Chloe's face turned beet red, but not a single extra word came out of her mouth.

Around us, faint snickers erupted, as if mocking her overconfidence.

And why not? No one liked these "parachuted" hires.

Why should everyone work late nights on projects, striving for promotions and raises?

Only to have some talentless newbie, who couldn't even name the inventor of C language, snatch it away?

"Anya Sharma! You're doing this on purpose! You're just jealous I took your position, so you're trying to make things difficult for me!" Chloe finally realized my intention and yelled it out.

I didn't bother to hide it, nodding openly.

"Yep, I am. But you really didn't know, did you?"

"If you're so smart, ask me a different question!"

"If you can't even answer that, there's nothing else worth asking you."

Ultimately, the welcome meeting for Chloe ended with her storming out in a huff.

After the meeting, my team members immediately swarmed around me, showering me with support. "Anya, that was epic! Don't worry, we've got your back, always!"

"Totally! Anya, you fly, we'll carry your burdens, haha!"

"Anya, take down that outsider! If it gets too rough, go solo, and we'll follow you anywhere!"

I quickly reassured them. No way! These were my best tech talents. Not one of them could quit.

This was the empire I was building for the company's future.

I had originally joined under a false name, working my way up from intern. My dad probably didn't even know I was "undercover" in his own company.

But I was deeply touched to have such a loyal and supportive team.

"Don't worry. I won't be the one leaving this company."

News of Chloe being a "parachuted" hire spread like wildfire.

Other colleagues came to gloat, but before I could even open my mouth, my awesome team members had already shut them down.

Having lost face in the meeting, Chloe naturally wanted to get her revenge privately.

Sure enough, at noon, she ordered me to compile all the projects our team had ever handled and present them to her.

She could have easily accessed the company archives herself.

But Chloe insisted I compile them, and wanted hard copies.

"Anya Sharma, have all the projects summarized for me before the end of the day. You can do that, right?"

It was a direct order from my superior, so I had no choice but to comply.

I had anticipated Chloe's move, and thankfully, I have a habit of keeping my own copies of every completed project. So, five minutes later, I handed all the documents to Chloe.

"That fast?! Anya Sharma, are you trying to fob me off with some random files?!"

I looked at Chloe, amused. "Manager Reed, if you think I'm fobbing you off, why don't you cross-reference each document? Then you'll know if I'm bluffing or not."

That resulted in Chloe being forced to stay late and work overtime.

And I got to happily leave for the day.