Chapter 6 First Day

Lorna arrived fifteen minutes early.

Not because she was eager, but because her nerves wouldn’t let her do anything else.

The lobby of Virelli Dynamics looked different on a Monday morning than it had during her interview. It was alive now — people moving quickly between elevators, voices overlapping in quiet conversations, the soft tapping of keyboards from the open workspace beyond the glass walls.

Everyone seemed focused.

Driven.

Like they knew exactly what they were doing here.

Lorna tightened her grip on the strap of her bag.

You belong here, she told herself.

Even if part of her knew that wasn’t entirely true.

The receptionist smiled when she approached.

“Good morning, Ms. Calloway. First day?”

“Yes,” Lorna said.

“Congratulations.”

The word felt strange.

Congratulations for what?

Getting hired?

Or successfully infiltrating a rival company?

Before she could think about it too much, someone approached from behind the desk area.

A tall man with sandy hair, rolled-up sleeves, and the relaxed posture of someone who had been working here long enough to feel comfortable.

“You must be Lorna.”

She turned.

“That obvious?”

He grinned.

“You have the ‘first day’ look.”

She raised an eyebrow. “There’s a look?”

“Yep. Slightly nervous. Slightly excited. Pretending you’re not mentally mapping the nearest exit.”

Lorna laughed despite herself.

“Okay, that’s disturbingly accurate.”

He extended his hand.

“Mike Turner. Senior analyst.”

She shook his hand.

“Lorna Calloway.”

“I know,” he said easily. “You’re the new addition to our team.”

Something about his tone was friendly, not suspicious.

Not curious about her last name.

Just welcoming.

A small knot in her stomach loosened.

“Come on,” Mike said, gesturing toward the elevators. “I’ll show you around before the chaos begins.”

They rode up to the development floor together.

“So,” Mike said as the doors closed, “first corporate job?”

“First one this big,” she admitted.

He nodded.

“Don’t worry. Virelli’s actually a great place to work.”

She blinked slightly.

“You say that very confidently.”

“That’s because it’s true. The work’s intense, but people here actually respect what we’re building.”

The way he said we’re building made something stir in her chest.

Pride.

Belonging.

Something real.

She forced herself not to think about that too much.

Because she wasn’t here to belong.

The elevator opened onto a large open-plan office filled with workstations, glass meeting rooms, and massive digital displays showing project data.

Energy grids.

City infrastructure.

Transportation models.

Lorna slowed slightly as she walked in.

It was impressive.

Not just visually — intellectually.

“You okay?” Mike asked.

“Yeah,” she said quickly. “Just… taking it in.”

“First time seeing our systems tends to do that.”

He guided her toward a cluster of desks.

“This is our team area.”

Several people looked up as they approached.

“Everyone, this is Lorna. She’s joining us as a junior analyst.”

A woman with short dark hair smiled.

“Welcome to the chaos.”

Another guy raised his coffee cup in greeting.

“Hi.”

The introductions blurred slightly — names, roles, friendly nods.

No suspicion.

No interrogation.

Just normal workplace politeness.

Which somehow made Lorna feel worse.

Because these people had no idea who she really was.

Mike gestured to an empty desk.

“This one’s yours.”

It was simple but well-equipped — dual monitors, a sleek laptop, access card reader.

A small plant sat in the corner of the desk.

She looked at it curiously.

“Desk tradition,” Mike said. “Everyone gets one. Keeps the place from feeling like a robot factory.”

Lorna smiled.

“Good idea.”

Mike leaned against the neighboring desk.

“So first day rule: ask questions. Lots of them.”

“I can do that.”

“Second rule: never skip lunch.”

“That sounds like a personal philosophy.”

“It absolutely is.”

She laughed again.

It felt surprisingly easy talking to him.

“You’ll mostly be helping me at first,” he continued. “Data reviews, project analysis, market projections.”

“That makes sense.”

“We’ll start you slow.”

Her father’s voice echoed faintly in her mind.

Observe.

Learn.

Find what they’re hiding.

Lorna pushed the thought aside.

Mike pulled up a chair beside her desk.

“Let’s get you logged in.”

He walked her through the system access — passwords, internal network, shared databases.

“There’s a lot here,” she said as multiple dashboards appeared on her screen.

“Yeah, but you’ll get used to it quickly.”

He pointed to one section.

“This is where we track development projects.”

Another tab.

“This is energy modeling.”

Another.

“And this is where we store archived research and internal reports.”

The words internal reports made her stomach tighten slightly.

Information.

The very thing her father wanted.

Mike didn’t notice her reaction.

“Most of what you’ll access at first is basic analysis stuff,” he continued. “But as you move up, you’ll get clearance for more sensitive projects.”

Lorna nodded.

“Understood.”

He stood.

“I’ve got a meeting in ten minutes, but take some time to explore the interface. Just don’t accidentally launch a city grid simulation.”

She smiled.

“I’ll try not to break the company on day one.”

“That’s always appreciated.”

He started walking away, then turned back.

“Oh, and if you need anything, just shout.”

“Thanks, Mike.”

He gave her a quick thumbs-up before disappearing into a glass meeting room.

Lorna turned back to her computer.

The office buzzed quietly around her.

Keyboards tapping.

Phones ringing softly.

People discussing technical problems she barely understood yet.

It felt… real.

Normal.

And for the first time since her father had proposed the plan, she felt a wave of guilt.

These weren’t villains.

They were just people doing their jobs.

She clicked through the system menus slowly, familiarizing herself with the layout.

Most files required higher clearance.

Locked icons.

Restricted folders.

Exactly what she expected.

Then she noticed something strange.

One folder wasn’t locked.

It sat quietly in the archive section.

No restriction symbol.

No clearance warning.

Just a plain title.

Project Helix

Her pulse quickened slightly.

She clicked on the folder.

It opened.

Inside were several documents.

Research logs.

Data files.

Internal communications.

And something labeled:

Confidential Development Brief

Lorna leaned back in her chair.

Her heart was beating faster now.

This shouldn’t be accessible to her.

Not on her first day.

Not at her clearance level.

Maybe it was a mistake.

Or maybe—

Maybe this was exactly the kind of thing her father wanted her to find.

She glanced around the office.

Everyone was busy.

No one paying attention to her screen.

Her mouse hovered over the document.

Open.

It would take one click.

Just one.

But the moment she opened it, everything would change.

Because then she wouldn’t just be working here.

She’d be spying.

Her finger rested lightly on the mouse.

Open the file.

Or close the folder and pretend she never saw it.

For several seconds, she didn’t move.

And the longer she sat there staring at the screen…

The harder the decision became.