Chapter 2: The Promotion That Wasn't Mine

A week earlier, the Director of Technology position had opened up, and everyone assumed I would get it.

Why wouldn't they? Meridian's largest upcoming launch was Helix, our AI foundation model, and I was the person leading it. Most of the core technical problems had been solved by me personally.

When I first took over, the project had been a disaster and several internal teams had refused to touch it. Victor Grant, our general manager, spent days convincing me to take responsibility for it, and I eventually agreed. Then I worked myself half to death getting it back on track.

So when the new director was announced, everyone was stunned. The company had hired Derek Cole from outside — a man who knew almost nothing about engineering.

My team complained that the position should have been mine. I told them I didn't care, because titles mattered less to me than doing good work.

That turned out to be a mistake.

Derek didn't understand the technology, but he loved managing the people who did. Within days he'd teamed up with HR to publish a new restroom policy: two minutes at the urinal, five minutes for anything else. And almost immediately, he used me to prove he was in charge.

Now I stood outside Victor's office and knocked.

"Come in."

Victor was at the small table by the window, working through a cup of coffee. When he saw me, he smiled. "Ethan. Come in. Sit down, grab a coffee."

"Victor, I need to raise an issue."

His smile faded slightly. "What's wrong? Is there a problem with the Helix launch?"

"The project itself is fine."

The relief on his face was immediate. "As long as the project is fine, everything else can be dealt with."

I'd just opened my mouth when the office door flew open and Derek marched in.

"Ethan, you've got some nerve. You're skipping levels now to complain about me? You violated a company policy, and now you're acting like the victim?"

He pointed at me. "Taking away your $200,000 bonus was already generous. If I wanted to, I could have HR fire you."

Then he smiled. "Actually, since you're clearly not reflecting on your mistake, I'm adding another disciplinary measure."

I almost laughed. "What else do you want?"

Victor was sitting right there, and that was why I hadn't worried. When I'd taken over Helix, it was because Victor personally begged me to. I'd spent countless nights working overtime, the product was days away from launch, and I considered myself one of the people most responsible for its success. Surely he wasn't going to sit there while Derek humiliated me.

Derek folded his arms. "Three days from now, we're holding an all-hands meeting. You'll write a formal apology of at least two thousand words, and then you'll go onstage and read it in front of the company."

"I'm going to make you the example."

This time I really did laugh. The man had been handed a little authority and decided he was a king.

I turned toward Victor, expecting him to say something. Anything.

He didn't.