I wasn't angry.
Because I knew their reckoning wasn't far off.
I put on the uniform and stood at the company entrance.
Colleagues came and went, pointing, whispering. Some laughed. Some pitied me. Some gloated.
I ignored them all.
That night, I went home.
I opened my personal laptop and logged into the cloud server management platform for the company's systems.
Looking at the familiar backend interface on the screen, I almost laughed.
Thomas and Olympia thought that confiscating my work computer and revoking my building access would lock me out of the system?
They forgot.
The cloud servers running this entire system were leased under my own name, my own ID, my own bank account.
Root access had always been mine.
I scanned the recent system logs.
Since I'd handed over administrative control, there hadn't been a single maintenance record in the backend. Not one. They hadn't even performed the most basic data backups.
Tomorrow was the start of the long weekend.
Every year, like clockwork, the company ran a massive online flash sale for the holiday. Traffic would spike to ten times the normal volume overnight.
And they hadn't done a single thing to prepare for the surge.
I could already picture it. Servers crashing. Backend data scrambled beyond repair.
I smiled.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
Olympia came by to pack her things.
She loaded her clothes, handbags, and makeup into a suitcase, one item after another. Every movement was brisk, efficient, rehearsed.
"Work is work, and personal life is personal life." I leaned against the doorframe, watching her back as she moved around the apartment. "We're supposed to get married next month. You're really moving out now?"
Olympia stopped what she was doing and turned around.
Her face wore an expression I'd never seen before. Mockery laced with pity.
"Married?"
She said it like I'd told her the funniest joke she'd ever heard.
"Miles, do you seriously still not get it?"
She walked up to me and reached out with red-lacquered nails, tracing her fingers lightly down my cheek.
"I don't feel anything for you anymore. And honestly? We're not even in the same league."
I stared at her in disbelief.
"But just a few days ago, things between us were—"
"Yeah, so what? A few days ago, I hadn't met Mr. Delgado yet."
My heart dropped like a stone.
I'd sensed it coming. But hearing it out loud still hit like a sledgehammer to the chest.
"We've been together for two years. Was all of it a lie?"
"Of course it wasn't a lie." Olympia laughed, tossing her hair back. "It's just that you introduced me to something better."
"Take a good look at yourself, Miles. Next to Thomas, you're a loser. What can you do besides scribble a few lines of code?"
"You want to know the truth? Every single date with you felt like a chore. Like dragging around a block of wood. It made me sick."
She grabbed the handle of her suitcase and wheeled it to the door.
"Oh, right." She paused, turning back with a dazzling smile, as if she'd just remembered something trivial. "Forgot to mention. Thomas and I set our wedding date too. Next month. Don't worry, though. You won't be getting an invitation."
The door slammed shut.
The air went still.
Without her things, the apartment felt hollowed out. On the wall, our engagement photo still hung where we'd put it together.
In the picture, I was grinning like a fool.
I slowly unclenched my fists.
So. Next month, was it?
I couldn't afford to sit around waiting for karma to do its job.
I was going to do it myself. Everything they owed me, I'd take back double.
I sat in front of the computer, fingers flying across the keyboard.
I didn't sleep all night.
I didn't sabotage the system. That would've been amateur.
All I did was add a small new feature.
A "system freeze" function.
The authority to activate and deactivate it rested with one person: me.
By the time I finished, dawn had already broken.
I took a quick shower, changed into my crisp security guard uniform, and showed up downstairs at the company right on time.
Today was the day that would decide the company's fate.
Nine a.m.
A black Mercedes S-Class pulled up in front of the building.
The doors opened, and several sharply dressed professionals stepped out.
They were the due diligence team from the underwriting firm.
Thomas Delgado and Olympia Fox, flanked by every senior executive in the company, were already waiting at the entrance.
Thomas was all smiles, radiating confidence.
Olympia clung to his arm like she owned the place, beaming as if she were the lady of the house.
"Mr. Finch, welcome, welcome! Thank you for making the trip!" Thomas strode forward and shook hands with the middle-aged man leading the group.
I sat in the security booth, watching the whole scene through the glass window. My expression was cold.
"Hey! You, the doorman!"
Olympia's shrill voice cut through the air.
"Can't you see we have important guests? Sitting in there playing on your phone? Get out here and stand at attention!"
I rose slowly, pushed open the booth door, walked to the entrance, and stood at attention.
A faint smile played at the corners of my mouth.
Come on, then.
The show was about to begin.
