Chapter 28
4/5
28 Trouble in Office
28 Trouble in Office
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Ruby rubbed her temples and sighed. “Up to you. If no one else can handle it, come find me .
Seeing how frustrated Ruby looked–like she was on the verge of losing her mind–Alice felt a wave of satisfaction wash over her.
Nothing pleased her more than exposing people who pretended to be something they weren’t. And Ruby? She was the queen of playing pretend.
Alice wasn’t exactly busy that morning, so naturally, she felt like peeling off that fake mask Ruby always wore.
Too bad it wasn’t that easy.
Ruby had been perfecting her act for years. She practically radiated that innocent charm. A single confrontation wouldn’t be enough to crack the mask.
Alice didn’t push it. With a casual shrug, she walked out of the office.
As soon as she left, Ruby’s secretary quickly slipped inside.
“Ms. Randall, do you want me to teach her a lesson?”
Ruby’s face was tight with irritation. At that moment, she truly felt like strangling someone.
“Got any good ideas? ”
The secretary leaned closer and lowered her voice.
“Right now, Alice is working in the IT department. You know how it is–one small mistake in the system, and everything goes haywire.”
She glanced at Ruby’s expression, testing the waters.
When she saw no signs of resistance from her boss, she pressed on, more confident now.
“If she accidentally damages a key program, being fired would be the least of her worries. With the right setup, she might even land in jail.”
Ruby paused for a second.
A glint of venom flickered in her eyes.
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28 Trouble in Office
Alright. Do it. But be careful. No one can trace it back to us.
The secretary nodded like she’d done this sort of thing before.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got it handled”
Later that day, while Alice was grabbing lunch, Eric rolled up beside her in his wheelchair, looking relaxed.
Given their status in the company, they didn’t have to wait in line for food. The cafeteria manager personally brought their meals over.
Alice was having her meal as she glanced over.
“Seems like you’re settling into the design department just fine.”
Eric calmly took a bite of couscous, then said, “This afternoon might be rough for you.”
She didn’t even look up, just popped a piece of meat into her mouth. “Rough or not, it’s still part of the job.”
“You’re not worried Ruby might set you up just to push you out?” Eric knew she was capable, but he was still curious.
He said it with his usual calm, cool demeanor, but it wasn’t clear if he was secretly hoping she would leave or not.
Alice, however, was unfazed. Her mental armor was thick.
“If I start worrying now, will Ruby suddenly grow a conscience and give up her ambitions? Will she just walk away from the Nolan fortune?”
Eric was silent. Obviously not.
Alice shrugged. “Exactly. So why should I ruin my mood thinking about her?”
Eric found himself oddly looking forward to the afternoon.
Two hours later.
Alice had barely stepped into the IT department when a nervous–looking intern flagged her
down.
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20:53 Mon 23 Jun.
28 Trouble in Office
“ Ms. Spencer, could you take a look at this program for me?”
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The intern was young and clearly inexperienced–his face still had that fresh–out–of– college . glow . Harmless enough.
But Alice was never one to fall for this.
As he asked, she gave his shoulder a friendly but meaningful pat.
“Don’t worry about what you don’t know right now. You’ll soon find out.”
She smiled sweetly. “There’s a whole lot more you don’t know.”
The intern blinked, confused by her words. After a long pause, he finally managed to ask, “Well… could you at least look at this one for now?”
“Nope.” Alice didn’t even hesitate. “Because I don’t know how to fix it either.”
The intern stood there, stunned.
And with that, there was no polite way to keep pressing. Anything more would just be obvious.
Alice took a few steps before someone else called her name.
She cast a glance at the man.
It was Troy Hayden–the head of the IT department.
Troy had a bit of a reputation. Rumor was he was the best hacker in all of Mapleford. Years ago, he’d taken on an entire foreign hacking syndicate–dozens of elite coders–and walked away undefeated.
That single act had made his name.
After that, Nolan Group hired him on the spot and made him Director of IT.
Thanks to countless sleepless nights and a serious homebody lifestyle, Troy wasn’t exactly handsome.
But he did have a sharp, distinctive look–a hooked nose that made him instantly recognizable.
Which Alice appreciated.
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20:53 Mon 23 Jun —M
28 Trouble in Office
She wouldn’t need to bother remembering his name separately.
“ Director, did you need me for something?”
She played dumb, eyes wide with innocence.
Troy was in his late twenties, probably around Eric’s age.
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When he looked into those big, dewy eyes of hers, a flicker of hesitation crossed his face.
But it didn’t last long.
He handed her a USB drive.
“It’s your first day, but you still need to start somewhere. This has a few basic system setups. Review them when you can.”
Alice took the drive, gave it a little twirl between her fingers, and nodded. “Got it. I’ll get to work.”
Troy hesitated a little–guilt gnawing at him. But orders were orders. And he had no choice but to follow through.