...
When Oscar rotated to the tech department, they rolled out the red carpet like he was royalty.
"Feel free to come and go as you please, Oscar," said the Tech Manager with a flattering smile.
Oscar crossed his legs and nodded smugly.
The next day, the whole company went into meltdown. The system crashed hard, and all electronic devices were paralyzed.
Everyone gathered in the technical department.
"What is going on?" Judy demanded sharply.
The Technical Manager, Steven Colombo, looked rattled. "Madam, I'm still figuring it out."
"I pay you a fortune for what?" Judy growled. "You know how much this is costing us? Fix it now, or you're fired!"
Steven broke out in a cold sweat. Just then, Oscar strolled in, humming a tune and grinning ear-to-ear.
"Madam, I just did another solid for the company," he said. "Saw the server was low on memory, so I wiped out the extra config modules. No need to buy new gear now."
There was a round of gasps, and I smirked inwardly. This idiot had caused a major disaster without even realizing it.
"You can't touch the date on that server!" Steven exploded. "Once deleted, it can't be recovered, and the entire production environment will crash!"
Oscar caught Judy's darkening expression and started to panic. But then, he jabbed a finger at me. "It's all Casper's fault. When I was shadowing him before, he taught me to do it this way."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I stared at him in disbelief.
"I saw you operate it like that, and you told me it was system optimization!" he insisted.
My blood boiled. "That was just the antivirus software prompt!"
"Enough!" Judy roared.
The scene fell silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
She barked, "Who do you think you are? How dare you wreak havoc in my company?"
I was shocked because she was pointing at me.
"This is all Oscar's doing," I argued. "It has nothing to do..."
"Casper Lancaster, gross negligence on the job!" she cut me off. "You're fired, effective immediately! Oscar Kaufman, for his outstanding performance, is promoted to full-time status and appointed as my executive assistant!"
This was straight-up insanity. I clenched my fists tightly, the anger in my chest about to erupt.
Oscar beamed, "Thank you for your trust, Ma'am. I'll keep giving it my all!"
"See? We need more employees like Oscar, not backstabbers who'd tank the place." Judy shot me a pointed glare.
"Fine! I'm out!" I sneered.
Truth be told, I had wanted to quit for a long time. Who wanted to stick around this dumpster fire? Not me.
Leaving the office, I booked three plane tickets.
In my previous life, my parents and I had never gotten to enjoy life before we were burned alive. This time around, I would take them on a tour of the country's beautiful landscapes.
...
That night, my phone blew up with notifications.
It was a private group chat set up by my former colleagues. Oscar was spamming it and had shared a live stream link.
I clicked on it, and the camera showed Oscar and Judy dining with a client, whom I recognized as Robert King from Skyward Enterprises. He was known as a straight shooter who loved sealing deals over drinks.
"Mr. King, I really hope you'll greenlight that investment in our firm," Judy simpered.
"That's $50 million we're talking about, not something I throw around lightly," Robert replied. "Show me some real commitment."
"What would that look like for you?" Judy asked.
Robert chuckled, pointing to four bottles of wine on the table. "Simple! Drink all these, and I'll consider it."
Judy's face twitched, but she quickly recovered. "Deal!"
As she reached for a bottle, Oscar snatched it and smashed it on the floor. "Ma'am, you can't drink that!"
Judy's expression darkened. "What are you doing?"
Oscar looked dead serious. "I'm looking out for you and the company. You'd get alcohol poisoning, and our business would be affected."
"Looks like you're not serious about partnering up. Guess this dinner is over," Robert said, standing to leave.
Judy forced a smile. "Total misunderstanding, Mr. King. I'll drink now."
Oscar acted again, grabbing all the other bottles and hurling them down.
"Oscar, what the hell?" Judy hissed, shaking with rage.
"I know I just saved the day again," Oscar preened. "It's what I do. No need for a bonus or anything."
From behind the screen, I finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
"Do you have any idea how crucial that $50 million is to us?" Judy growled.
"I'm all about the company. Did I screw up?" Oscar pouted, looking wronged.
Judy's anger boiled over. "You're sabotaging us! Without this funding, we're done for!"
Oscar didn't flinch, sounding totally justified. "How could I sabotage the company? You've always had my back. Said everyone should follow my example."
Judy was momentarily at a loss for words. Robert's face darkened as he headed for the door.
"Mr. King, hold up!" Judy called after him, grabbing his arm. "We can talk this out. Check out our proposal. It will definitely hook you on investing."
She whirled on Oscar. "Hurry up and bring the contract!"
He blinked. "Contract? What contract?"
Judy's fists clenched white as she gritted her teeth. "The partnership contract with Skyward!"
Oscar dug through his briefcase, and soon his eyes lit up. "Found it. Right here!"
Judy sighed in relief and quickly handed the contract to Robert. The latter slowly opened it, but the next second, his face twisted with shock and anger.
"Who drafted this contract?" he snapped. "You're asking for my cooperation, but you want me to cough up $500 million?"
