Chapter 2 Boss From Hell

He stays a second longer, then moves on without another word, stopping in the centre of the room.

One hand slides into the pocket of his dark trousers with easy grace, as he scans the room.

"For those who don't already know me, my name is Lawrence Moore. Founder of Law & Moore Technologies."

My eyes stray to Beverly, who mouths a pitiful little 'Sorry' from her position. I force a tight smile back at her until Lawrence's voice draws me back in.

"I started this company fourteen years ago in a dorm room smaller than this lobby." He gestures around, his eyes sweeping over the space. "Today, we're the third-largest tech company in the world, with thirty-four offices worldwide. And this…" He points downwards. "…this is supposed to be one of our leading branches."

Lawrence pauses for a while.

"Three nights ago, someone tried to breach our internal network."

A hushed murmur breaks out among everyone.

"It wasn't some nerdy teenager with a laptop in his mother's basement. No, this was a professional. Maybe a rival paid them. Maybe they were just careless. It doesn't matter." A mild frown rests between his brows. "The fact that someone even thought they could try is an embarrassment. The fact that anyone even considered it possible is unacceptable."

He moves from his position, tucking both hands into his pockets. "That sort of thing doesn't happen at Law & Moore. An attack on this branch… on any branch, is an attack on me. My name."

Beverly and I share a look.

"I take that quite personally." He continues. "So, I'm here to find whoever was responsible and make them pay."

A few people clap, but I don't.

"During my stay here, and I won't be long because I'm only in this building for one reason, you'll all learn a few things about me."

He lets the silence endure for a moment.

"I'm a straightforward man who doesn't waste words." He pauses. "I hate lateness." His gaze slides to me deliberately, "and I have even less tolerance for incompetence."

Lawrence casually checks the time on his watch. "Richard Fox was apparently willing to live with both. I'm not."

Everyone remains quiet.

"He ran a very… forgiving office."

A cold line that's supposed to be a smile touches his lips. "Those days are over. Welcome to Monday."

I guffaw inwardly.

More like Welcome to Hell.

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Over the next half hour, I tidy up my workspace, organise the files for my new boss, and try to ignore the little pang of sorrow in my chest whenever I think about Richard.

I'm really going to miss him. But there's no time to get sentimental.

Lawrence has an appointment soon, and from what I saw this morning, he's going to hate being caught off guard.

I shift my chair back and head toward his office.

After knocking twice and waiting for a second, I step in.

Lawrence is working on his system.

He doesn't look up or acknowledge my presence, typing away with all seriousness. Totally unbothered by my presence.

His suit is draped over the back of his chair, the sleeves of his white shirt rolled to the elbow, and the slim tie gone.

Without the jacket concealing his shoulders, I can see the full length and width of them, and boy, are they broad.

"Just confirming," I say, glancing at my tablet, "you have Mr Van from Aztec Digitals at one o'clock to sign the video game deal."

"Cancel it," he says, not looking up from his screen.

I blink in surprise. "Cancel the appointment or cancel the deal, sir?"

"Both," he replies casually.

I remain stunned for a second. "A four-hundred-million-dollar deal?"

He finally lifts his head, giving me a very cold, flat stare. "Richard Fox approved that deal because he wanted a flashy headline. He didn't do the math." Lawrence says, leaning back in his reclining chair. "That game is built on outdated tech. By the time it launches, every other company will be using newer, smarter systems… including ours."

He explains. "We'd be funding a game that shows the world how behind we are."

I step into the office fully and close the door.

"Add in the revenue split they demanded, the marketing costs they dumped entirely on us, and the kill fee if it underperforms, and we're looking at a guaranteed nine-figure loss within two years." Lawrence makes a nonchalant gesture with his hand. "I'm not wasting that kind of money just to make five-year-old gamers happy."

He leans forward again, resuming his typing. "So yes, Miss Thorn. Cancel the appointment. Send Van an email… a polite email saying Law & Moore is withdrawing from the deal, effective immediately."

I type it down on my tablet. "Yes, sir."

"Oh, and move Fae Choi to three o'clock, and the McCrory brothers to four. As you can see, I'm in the middle of something important."

My stomach drops to the marble floor, and I remain there.

Fae Choi is the most feared partner at Choi Labs. I spent two weeks of grovelling, rescheduling, and sending limited-edition Japanese whiskey to lock her into today's slot.

Lawrence stares at me. "Is there a problem, Miss Thorn?"

I inhale and exhale through my nose before beginning. "Sir, moving Miss. Fae to three o'clock isn't a good idea. It took weeks just to get her to even commit to that time." I explain. "We're supposed to finalise the contract today, and she's well-known for walking out on companies that waste her time. If I reschedule, she might pull the deal out of spite."

He remains quiet for a moment before picking up his phone and scrolling through it. "Noted," he says in a flat tone.

I sigh in relief.

"Move her anyway."

My pulse spikes. "Sir…"

Did this arrogant man listen to a word I said?

"Tell her she'll be meeting me in person for the meeting, not Richard or his assistant. Me. Lawrence Moore." He says a bit distracted by something on the screen. "She'll give in."

Mildly infuriated, I continue, "The McCrorys' 3 p.m. was the only window they gave us before flying back to Saudi Arabia tonight."

Lawrence finally drops the phone and resumes his typing on the system. "They'll wait. Their entire national cloud infrastructure runs on our encryption layer. They need us more than we need their extra fifty million."

I roll my eyes inwardly. The man must think rearranging schedules is a piece of cake.

Annoying piece of…

"I'll make it happen," I say in a curt tone, trying not to let my anger show. "Anything else, sir?"

"Yes. Have a fresh coffee on my desk in five. Black."

I want to slap myself for asking.

Nodding, I reply, "Alright, Mr Moore."

Then I leave the office.

Outside, I press my back to the wall and slide down, letting my head thunk against it.

One morning… Not even a full morning, and I already hate his guts. I want to drive my broken heel straight through his perfect face. Slowly.

"Hey, you okay?"

Jason's voice breaks into my murderous fantasy. He's from the IT department, and a friend who someday hopes to be more.

I shake my head.

"That bad?" he asks, giving me a sympathetic smile.

"Worse," I reply, glancing at the stack of papers in his hands.