Chapter 42
Lucinda took a cab to the company building.
The tower stood in the southern district's tech park, its glass facade gleaming in the sunlight. It looked legitimate enough.
She stood at the entrance for a moment, her gaze landing on the logo at the top of the building—"Ridgeway Tech."
She recognized this company.
Her own company, BlueWave Tech, was currently working on a new project with Ridgeway Tech. She'd reviewed their credentials—they were above average in the industry with a solid technical foundation.
At the time, she'd assumed it was just another subsidiary under the Douglas Group. She hadn't realized it was the company Wesley had given her.
She withdrew her gaze and pushed open the door.
The receptionist was a young woman. She glanced up, her tone lukewarm. "Who are you here for?"
"New hire. Starting today."
The receptionist looked her up and down, then pulled an ID badge from a drawer and handed it over. It read "Intern."
"Third floor, Technical Department. Ask for Mr. Jerry Nelson."
Lucinda took the badge and went upstairs.
The Technical Department was an open floor plan, dozens of desks crammed together. She stood at the entrance for a while before anyone noticed her.
"Who are you looking for?" A man in glasses popped his head up from a workstation.
"New hire. Looking for Mr. Jerry Nelson."
The man jerked his chin toward a corner. "Over there."
Jerry was a man in his forties with thinning hair, seated at an independent workstation by the window, a pile of documents spread before him.
Lucinda walked over and gave her name. He didn't even look up. He pulled a form from a drawer and tossed it onto the desk. "Fill this out. Then go to admin and get a computer. Your desk's over there—" He waved a hand vaguely. "By the wall."
Lucinda filled out the form, picked up her computer, and sat down at the desk by the wall.
No one looked at her. No one greeted her.
Everyone was busy with their own work. Occasionally someone passed by, their gaze sweeping over her face before quickly moving on. No one paid her any mind.
She opened her computer and started going through the company's internal files.
Near noon, Jerry clapped his hands and called everyone together. "The BlueWave Tech project—proposal's due tomorrow. Every team needs to submit one. Ours can't fall behind. Dash, take two people and get it done. Idris, you put one together too."
He paused, his gaze landing on Lucinda as if he'd just remembered she existed. "The new one—you put together a proposal too."
Lucinda looked up at him.
She was a brand-new intern who didn't even know the company's business yet, and he was already asking her to draft a proposal?
She didn't say anything. She lowered her head and casually typed something up on her computer.
It wasn't a serious proposal—just a rundown of Ridgeway Tech's current technical framework, plus a few optimization suggestions. After finishing, she saved the document and sent it off.
And that was the last she heard of it.
At two p.m., a middle-aged woman walked over, carrying a stack of documents. She dropped them on Lucinda's desk. "Make copies of these and take them to the meeting room on the fourth floor. Also, the coffee machine in the break room is broken—go see what's wrong with it. And the janitorial department is short-staffed. Help them out while you're at it."
Lucinda looked down at the stack of documents, then back up at the woman.
The woman had already turned and walked away, her movements brisk and decisive—as if she'd just given the most reasonable order in the world.
Lucinda stood, took the documents, and headed to the copy room.
After making the copies, she didn't go to the meeting room. Instead, she turned a corner and headed toward the janitorial department.
The department was at the end of the hallway, the door half-open. Inside sat several women in blue uniforms, chatting.
Lucinda stood at the doorway. She didn't go in. Didn't make a sound.
Fragments of conversation drifted out.
"...Making us work overtime again. Last month's overtime pay still hasn't come through."
"Pay? What pay? The manager said business is bad. We should be grateful we're getting our regular wages."
"Bad business? If we land that BlueWave Tech project, it'll be enough to keep us afloat for three years. But I bet the higher-ups and their cronies will snatch it up again—outsource it to some small firm and pocket the kickbacks."
"Keep your voice down. Don't let anyone hear..."
"So what if they hear? This dump of a company ruins good people. Anyone with real talent has already left. What's left? People coasting along or kissing up. Those interns who came in recently? How many of them lasted more than two months? Who can stand this crap?"
Lucinda stood at the door, listening. Her expression didn't change.
She turned and walked back to her workstation, opened her computer, pulled up the company's financial reports from the past three years, and started reading from the beginning.
Lucinda spent the entire day at Ridgeway Tech.
By the time she got home, it was already dark.
She changed her clothes and had just sat down at her desk when her phone buzzed.
Tamsin had sent her a file—Ridgeway Tech's proposal for BlueWave Tech.
Lucinda opened it. Her gaze swept over the first page. Her lips curved slightly.
It was the proposal she'd casually written that afternoon.
Not a single word changed. Not even a punctuation mark touched.
But in the author field, it read: "Jerry Nelson."
Her team leader.
[They sent this over as their official proposal.]
Another message from Tamsin came through: [I could tell right away this was written by you. This company's something else. Lucinda, what do you think?]
Lucinda typed back: [We'll talk tomorrow.]
She put down her phone, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.
The next day, when Lucinda arrived at the office, the atmosphere was different.
The front desk had fresh flowers. A few people in suits were walking through the hallways, expressions serious, steps hurried.
When she reached the third floor, she overheard a few coworkers whispering. "The BlueWave Tech people are here. Heard they sent someone at the VP level."
"If we close this deal, our team should get a decent bonus, right?"
"Bonus? We'll be lucky if we get paid. Didn't you hear? Last month's kickbacks got split by those people again."
Lucinda sat down at her workstation and opened her computer.
Not long after, footsteps echoed from the end of the hallway.
The BlueWave Tech team had arrived.
Leading them was a young man whose gaze swept over everyone present with a sort of condescending scrutiny.
Beside him were two younger assistants carrying laptops and folders.
The BlueWave Tech team was ushered into the large conference room.
Lucinda sat at her desk, watching as members of the technical department were called in one by one, then came back out—none of them looking pleased.
She wasn't called.
It was almost laughable. They were using the proposal she'd written, yet no one had thought to include her.
She stood and walked toward the conference room.
Just as she reached the door, a hand blocked her path.
It was the middle-aged woman from yesterday—the one who'd told her to make copies.
Kaida Scott, the administrative manager. She was in her early forties, with a round face. When she smiled, her eyes narrowed to slits. But right now, those slits gleamed coldly.
"What do you think you're doing? The conference room isn't a place for you."
Lucinda looked at her. "The BlueWave Tech project—I wrote that proposal. Why can't I go in?"
Kaida let out a laugh laced with contempt. "You wrote it? Little girl, you just got here yesterday. You barely know which way the door opens, and you're claiming you wrote the proposal? That proposal was put together by Mr. Nelson and his team after pulling several all-nighters. What does it have to do with you?"
Lucinda said nothing. She just looked at her.
Kaida shifted uncomfortably under that gaze, her voice rising. "Let me tell you something. In this company, I'm the one who calls the shots. Who wrote the proposal? Whoever I say wrote it, wrote it. You're a brand-new intern. Sit down and stay quiet. Don't make trouble for yourself."
Lucinda stood her ground.
Kaida's face darkened. She stepped forward. "What, not cooperating? You can leave right now if you're not going to play nice. The BlueWave Tech deal doesn't need some intern."
Lucinda looked at her, her lips curving slightly. "Without me today, none of you will close this deal."
The hallway fell silent for a moment.
A few passing coworkers stopped and turned to look.
Kaida's face turned red. She pointed a finger at Lucinda's nose, her voice shrill. "You've got some nerve! A brand-new intern dares to talk like that in front of me? Who do you think you are? Got connections? Let me tell you—I'm the biggest connection in this company! I can have you fired right now. Believe me?"