Chapter 2

One day, as Kevin once again brought me coffee, I said, "Kevin, I'm actually not—"

"Yes, yes, I know," he cuts me off. "You're just a normal intern. I was already getting a cup for myself, so it wasn't any bother to get you one at the same time. Don't overthink it, yeah?"

Despite his words, his eyes were clearly saying, "I know, you want to keep a low profile."

I had a mental breakdown upon seeing that. I wasn't actually trying to be humble—I genuinely wasn't who he thought I was!

Meanwhile, George Patman, Team B's leader, seemed to have it out for the other Michael Lane. Every day, he would be harassing Michael over something or another. Either he would reject Michael's proposal and have him redo it, or he would insist on Michael editing the data sheets, over and over again.

There was even once he shouted loud enough for everyone to hear. "Some people think that they're some rich heir just because they're wearing an expensive watch! Clearly, they don't know their place in this world!"

It couldn't have been any more obvious who he was referring to. Everybody knew he was talking about Michael.

The next day, Michael came to work wearing a new watch—a limited edition green Rolex.

The whole company was buzzing.

"Look at him! Even after being insulted, he still wore such an expensive watch to work! Is there something wrong with him?"

"Right? You know how it is. The more one lacks something, the more they want to pretend like they have it all."

"I bet his watch is fake. A high-quality one, but a fake nevertheless."

They weren't talking too loudly, but it was just enough that Michael could hear them.

I glanced at him, noting how he sat at his desk with his back ramrod straight. His face was blank as he switched on his computer and got to work.

…

That afternoon, I was heating up my lunch in the pantry when Michael entered. Our eyes met, and the atmosphere instantly became a little awkward.

After a few seconds, he dropped his gaze and began filling his mug with water.

I hesitated briefly before saying, "Your… Uh, your new watch is quite nice."

He paused and lifted his head to look at me, revealing the slightly surprised expression on his face.

"Thank you."

Following that, he headed for the door with his mug. Upon reaching the doorway, he stopped to turn back and say, "Your Simple bag is quite nice too."

That had me freezing on the spot in surprise, my lunch momentarily forgotten in my hands.

Later that afternoon, George began giving Michael a hard time again.

"Michael Lane, get your ass over here!"

Immediately, everyone's attention was on them.

I looked over as well to see George holding a document, his entire face flushed a bright red.

Michael walked over.

"What's going on with this client analysis report? The figures on the third page are inconsistent with the ones on the tenth. Did you even double-check them?"

"I did. Page three shows the quarterly figures, while page ten shows the cumulative figures. They're based on different reporting criteria, which I noted in the appendix."

"You noted it in the appendix? That's your excuse?" George slammed the document on the table. "You're just an intern, so you do what I tell you to do! Who gave you permission to change the reporting criteria on your own?"

"I didn't change it. I simply—"

"You simply, what? Who do you think you are?"

The moment those words left George's lips, the entire office fell silent.

Everybody knew what he meant by that last question.

Michael stood before George, his lips pursed into a thin line. After over a dozen seconds, he finally spoke, "I understand. This was my mistake, so I'll redo it."

Then, he took the document and returned to his desk.

Clicking his tongue, Louis leaned over to whisper to me, "Serves him right. That's what he gets for trying to be what he's not."

An abrupt wave of nausea seized me.

…

The next morning, I stepped into the office building and immediately sensed that something was off.

The male receptionist now sported a clean shave and had fixed his hair with wax. Besides that, our director, who normally didn't bother with a tie, had put on one today.

"What's going on?" I asked the person next to me softly.

"Supposedly, a big shot is coming today."

"Oh."

I didn't give the matter much thought and simply headed to my desk.

Surprisingly, Kevin had actually come in early today, which he had never done before. At that moment, he was straightening his tie in the mirror.

"Kevin, what's the special occasion?"

Kevin appeared surprised at my question. "Don't you know?"

When I shook my head, Louis came over and uttered lowly, "The chairman is coming in for an inspection today. Didn't he tell you that?"

My heart skipped a beat at the news. The chairman? As in, the other Michael's father?