Iris’s POV
The moment I walked into the Engineering Department, the heavy smell of stale coffee and printer toner hit me.
I stopped in the doorway, my heart sinking as I looked around the room.
It was an absolute boys’ club.
Every single desk was occupied by a man, and not one of them even bothered to lift his head when the door clicked shut behind me.
They kept typing, staring at their monitors, pretending like I didn’t exist.
A young assistant led me to the very back of the room, at the corner of the room.
“This is your desk, Deputy Manager.”
I stared at the workstation, a bitter taste in my mouth.
It was old, shabby, and coated in a thin layer of dust.
When I pressed the power button on the outdated computer, it let out a loud, groaning sound.
“This thing must have been dormant for ages,” I rolled my eyes.
The screen flickered to life so slowly it felt like a joke.
When I tried to open a simple spreadsheet, the cursor immediately froze into a spinning loading circle.
I took a deep breath, smoothing down the front of my blazer to shake off the irritation.
“You have to calm down.” I wasn’t going to let them make me feel small.
I got up and stepped out into the center of the room, clearing my throat loudly.
“Good morning, everyone,” I said, forcing my voice to sound clear and professional.
“I’m Iris. I’ll be working alongside you all as the new Deputy Manager. I’m really looking forward to getting to know the projects we have running.”
A few men glanced up, their faces completely blank.
One of them let out a faint, amused scoff before turning right back to his screen.
No one said a simple “welcome”, much less offering a handshake.
They didn’t take me seriously at all!
To them, I was just a dumb girl playing dress-up in an actual workplace.
Before I could even sit back down at my lagging computer, a heavy shadow stepped into the room.
Marcus walked in with his hands shoved deep into his pockets, a cruel, smug grin plastered across his face. Find the original chapter at g.com.
He loved having an audience.
He marched straight over to my shabby desk, leaning against the divider so everyone in the room could hear him.
“Listen up, Deputy Manager,” Marcus sneered, “We don’t run any charity here in this department. I don’t care who your family is. Here’s your target: if you can’t close a single major contract within the next month, you’re out. I’ll personally sign your termination papers for incompetence.”
The room went dead silent.
A few of the engineers turned around, watching with quiet eyes.
Marcus was setting a trap in plain sight.
Closing a corporate engineering deal usually took months of networking and bidding.
Asking a new employee to do it in thirty days with a broken computer was an impossible task!
My knuckles turned white as I gripped the edge of my desk, my anger flaring hot in my chest.
I wanted to yell at him, to tell him his timeline was ridiculous.
But crying or screaming would just give him exactly what he wanted.
I forced myself to calm, looking him straight in the eyes, and kept my voice perfectly cool.
“Got it, boss.”
Marcus chuckled, satisfied with himself, and walked out.
But the moment the glass doors swung shut behind him, the fake strength drained right out of my body.
I sank into the squeaking office chair, staring at the frozen loading icon on my screen.
A deep, heavy wave of helplessness washed over me, pressing down on my chest until it was hard to breathe.
I was completely alone in a room full of enemies, with an impossible deadline hanging over my head, and absolutely no one to help me.
I had barely been at my desk for an hour when a sudden commotion broke out near the entrance of the department.
The quiet humming of computers was instantly replaced by loud cheers and hailing for someone.
Julian walked in, claiming it was his usual routine to “inspect” the floor.
He had strutted into the room like he owned the entire building, head held high, drenched with arrogance that it became annoying for me to watch.
The same engineers who had completely ignored my existence just minutes ago were now scrambling out of their seats, practically tripping over themselves to flatter him. Find the original chapter at novelping dot com.
They offered him coffee, complimented his suit, and laughed excessively loud at his dry, unfunny remarks.
Julian soaked it all in, nodding with a proud smug.
“How are you finding things on your very first day, Deputy Manager? Everything up to your high standards?” He purred, a nasty sparkle in his eyes.
My stomach twisted with disgust at his fake concern.
I knew he wanted me to complain, to show weakness, or to look like a spoiled brat who couldn’t handle a little dirt.
I refused to give him the satisfaction.
I leaned back in my squeaking chair looking him dead in the eye, with my voice perfectly flat.
“It’s been good so far. Thanks for asking.”
I was in the rest room when the lady’s voice said.
“Did you see Marcus downstairs just now?” Someone asked.
“Yea, everyone is basically kissing his ass now,” the second woman replied as the sound of running water started.
I had to pause, listening in on their conversation.
“You’d have to be dumb not to flatter him.
He basically runs the place now since he’s Julian’s cousin.”
”Wait, Marcus is related to him, right?”
”Yeah, Marcus is Julian’s first cousin!
Between Julian handling Damian and Marcus controlling the main contracts, no one can touch them.
They have all the power.
Anyone who gets on their bad side could be instantly fired.”
The sound of the hand dryer roared to life, drowning out their voices for a moment, and then the main door clicked shut.
I sat frozen on the toilet seat…I wasn’t just dealing with a cheating husband and a petty rival.
Julian and Marcus had systematically built a comfortable fortress in my dad’s company.
The thought that I was a ghost walking through a building that used to belong to my family made me panic, sending fear down my spine.