Chapter 4

"You make a good point," I agreed with a nod. "But our top priority right now is Stellar. Tell you what—since the rest of the department is struggling to deliver, I want you to head this project up.”

“ Take Chloe along with you. She's got top-tier academic credentials and fresh ideas. The two of you together will definitely deliver a home run."

The smile froze clean off Marcus's face.

He had only wanted to play politics; he had zero desire to catch a falling knife.

"Sue, this... taking this on just between the two of us might be—"

"I have complete faith in your capabilities," I cut him off, my tone leaving zero room for debate. "I'll handle Chloe. The two of you owe me a flawless deck next Monday. That is a direct order."

I put deliberate weight on the word "order."

Marcus’s expression shifted through several shades of panic before he finally forced himself to swallow it. "Understood, Sue."

As he turned to leave, the venom flashing in his eyes was impossible to miss.

Next, I called Chloe in.

"You and Associate Director Marcus will be leading the Stellar pitch together," I announced without preamble.

Chloe stood stunned for a beat before raw, intoxicating thrill surged through her eyes.

Stellar! The agency's most coveted tier-one account!

She assumed this was the spoils of her little "rebellion"—that under mounting pressure, I had no choice but to bend the knee to an undeniable "talent" like her.

"Thank you so much for this opportunity, Director Sue!" Her voice trembled with excitement. "I swear I won't let you down!"

"Good," I replied, studying her naive ambition. "That said, there are only two of you, and building an entire deck from scratch is a massive undertaking. Starting today, you and Marcus are fully exempt from the department's new policies. No facial-recognition punch-ins, no daily logs."

With that, Chloe was completely blinded by the golden ticket handed to her.

Privilege.

The exact privilege she craved—something that elevated her far above the ordinary "peasants" on the floor.

"Director Sue, you are... truly amazing!" The way she looked at me was dripping with genuine gratitude.

I offered a gentle smile. "Go on, then. Show me that your talent matches your ambition."

Once she strutted out of my office like a proud peacock, I leaned back against my leather chair and exhaled slowly.

Tie the dumbest person in the room to the most calculating snake, and send them off to crack the hardest nut in the company.

I couldn't wait to see what kind of "surprise" they were going to serve me.

Over the days that followed, Creative Team 1 fell into a bizarre state of division.

On one side was the Stellar task force, comprised of Marcus and Chloe.

They commandeered the company’s most luxurious conference room, slapping a "Confidential: Do Not Disturb" sign across the glass door.

They enjoyed executive privileges—exempt from punch-ins, free from daily logs, and authorized to pull any agency resource they pleased.

Chloe was floating on cloud nine. Every single day, she showed up in a full face of glam and towering designer heels, strutting through the office hallways with her chin in the air, looking down at her peers as if they were mindless worker ants trapped on an assembly line.

On the other side was the rest of the department, grinding away under my watch in "pure agony."

They remained trapped in the meat grinder of 3,000-word daily logs and mandatory nine-to-nine shifts.

Across the open floor, complaints, heavy sighs, and the frantic clicking of keyboards blended into a miserable corporate symphony.