Part 1The Hidden Boss

Now that I'm older, I've left the company in my son's hands. But today, I decided to pay a surprise visit, disguised as a member of the janitorial staff. I hadn't been there an hour before a young intern spilled coffee all over me.

Before I could even speak, she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, janitor! Are you blind or just old? How could you not see me and walk right into me?"

I frowned but held my tongue. She was the one who had bumped into me, but for the sake of my undercover inspection, I didn't want to blow my cover.

I offered a polite apology and turned to leave, but she grabbed my arm, her voice sharp with anger.

"Hey! Old man! You'd better clean this coffee off the floor, right now!"

"And if you can't get it spotless, you can just clear out. I'll have you fired in a heartbeat!"

I had to smile at that.

She was going to fire me, the Chairman of the board?

* * *

I kept my temper in check.

"Young lady, you were the one staring at your phone while you walked. You ran into me. Why are you the one threatening to have me fired?"

A flicker of surprise crossed the intern's face, as if she couldn't believe a janitor would dare to talk back. She scowled, her voice rising.

"So what if I wasn't looking? Couldn't you have looked where you were going? If you had just gotten out of my way, I wouldn't have spilled my coffee!"

"Besides," she added with a sneer, "you're a janitor. Cleaning up coffee is your job. What's the problem?"

"Whatever, I can't be bothered arguing with you. Just clean it up, or you can start packing your things!"

Her words made me frown. I glanced at the intern badge clipped to her blazer and felt a pang of confusion. How could a mere intern speak with such authority, threatening to fire people on a whim?

She noticed my hesitation and let out a cold laugh. "Oh, what's that? You think because I'm just an intern, I can't get you canned?"

"My father is a senior executive here. Getting rid of a bottom-feeder like you? It would take him one phone call."

So that was it. She wasn't just arrogant; she had connections. The company had a program that offered internship spots to the families of certain high-level employees, intended as a perk to attract top talent. It seemed someone was abusing that privilege, letting their child run wild through the halls.

Seeing that I was silent, a smug smirk played on her lips.

"Scared now, aren't you? So what are you waiting for? Get on your knees and wipe this floor clean!"

"And another thing," she added, her tone turning vicious. "You dared to talk back to me! You can forget about this month's paycheck. I'll have the finance department transfer your salary to my account as compensation for my trouble."

My jaw nearly hit the floor. Maliciously docking an employee's wages and pocketing the cash herself? What kind of operation was this?

I frowned. "The payroll is automated. How could they just divert someone's salary to your account?"

The intern laughed again. "Oh, don't you worry about that. My mother works in the finance department. It's none of your business!"

I had only been away from the company for a year. I never imagined so many parasites could infest it in such a short time.

"What are your parents' names?" I asked, my voice cold.

She crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow. "What? Thinking of reporting them? Don't waste your time. My parents have powerful people watching their backs. Anyone who dares to take a complaint from you will be packing their own desk by the end of the day!"

I was stunned. The rot within the company was far deeper than I had imagined.

Just as the intern was preening, a middle-aged man rushed over, his forehead beaded with sweat.

The intern's expression immediately crumpled into a mask of pitiful victimhood. "Dad! This man knocked my coffee over, and now he's refusing to clean it up! You have to do something!"

I recognized the man: Scott Miller, the head of the tech department.

I smiled to myself. I was very interested to see how this was going to play out.