Chapter 3

After Huxley had thoroughly used me as a pawn to inflate his own ego, he finally let me leave. I rode the bicycle home.

When Jack Packer, the friend who set up the blind date, asked me how things went, I was frank with him.

"She's not interested in me."

I didn't bother mentioning the rest. I had no intention of wasting my time or attention on people who weren't worthy.

"What the heck? She's not even interested in someone with your assets and qualifications? What does she want, a prince?"

I replied with a shrugging emoji and left it at that.

Life carried on, and I stuck to my usual routine of work, gym, and the occasional meet-up with a few close friends.

But since my company was preparing for its IPO, I was busier than ever. The workload had increased, but so had the sense of fulfillment I got. Before long, that ridiculous blind date had faded into the back of my mind.

A few months later, my parents—who had been happily gallivanting abroad—suddenly video-called me. Behind them was the glass wall of my company's headquarters.

"Surprise! We've returned to the country to visit you, Levi! We figured you'd be heading into the office soon, so we came straight here to find you. We brought you specialty products from all over the world!"

My lips twitched. While I was busy pulling all-nighters to prepare the company for the IPO, Mom and Dad had been enjoying a carefree trip around the world. Then again, they had both the money and the spare time. It was pointless for me to envy them.

I headed to the office, only to spot two familiar faces the moment I arrived outside the building. It was Madison and Huxley.

The two of them were walking toward the revolving doors when Madison caught sight of me out of the corner of her eye.

"You're here for an interview too?" she exclaimed before her tone started dripping with mockery. "That's impossible. Did you come to the wrong address or something? Someone like you actually thinks you're qualified to interview at a top-tier tech company like this?"

Frowning, I asked, "The two of you are here for an interview?"

Madison affectionately hooked her arm through Huxley's and declared, "Hux is the one interviewing for a position today. I'm just here to keep him company. I'll be waiting in the lobby to cheer him on!"

I gave a quick nod before scanning my face at the biometric scanner at the entrance and walking inside.

I couldn't help wondering which HR recruiter and department manager had chosen someone like Huxley. Their judgment left a lot to be desired.

Huxley was so pleased with himself that he didn't even notice I'd entered the building using facial recognition.

Instead, he kept bragging to me, "I don't know how you managed to sneak in here, but let me save you the trouble. If you're interviewing for the same position I am, sorry, but you don't have even a 0.01% chance of getting it."

"Oh?" I scanned my face again and stepped into the elevator.

The two of them squeezed in without the slightest hesitation, making me frown again. I was using the elevator reserved for senior executives. But before I could tell them that they weren't allowed to use this elevator, Huxley started talking again.

"Let me tell you something—the department director hiring for this position is my old college classmate. We were practically joined at the hip back then. Now that he's a director at one of the hottest unicorn startups around, it's obvious that he's saved a spot for me, his old buddy. You're just here for show."

I snorted. So Huxley was relying on his connections to get in. I was now pretty interested to find out who his "old buddy" was.

"And who is this director you speak of?"

"Walter Irving from product development, of course. Don't even try to feign ignorance. Hope Tech is only recruiting for one position right now. Aren't you trying for the same one?" Huxley retorted.

So it was Walter, huh?

He was slick, full of petty tricks, and exceptionally skilled at currying favor with his superiors while throwing everyone else under the bus. I'd disliked him for a long time, so this was the perfect opportunity to catch him red-handed and fire him.

With that thought in mind, I simply smiled and played dumb.

Huxley continued boasting to me. "Do you know why someone like me, a senior engineer at a tech company, would jump ship to this place? Let me share an insider secret with you.

"Hope Tech is preparing for its IPO, so it's going to join the public listing very soon. Employees who join before the listing get stock options. Once the company goes public, everyone will be set for life! But of course, a small fry like you who's just here for appearances will never get so lucky."

He went on and on, while Madison beamed proudly beside him. The two of them couldn't be any more smug about it. It was as if they'd already achieved the financial freedom they were fantasizing about.