chapter six

By nine o’clock, Whitmore Global was buzzing, but tension lingered. Everyone knew Mr. Williams was not a man anyone wanted to disappoint.

Annie Williams settled into her chair and switched on her computer. She had barely opened her email when Sophie Bennett dropped into the seat opposite her with a sigh.

“If I disappear before lunch, tell my family I loved them.”

Annie glanced up. “Did you finish that assignment?”

“No. I dreamed about finishing it. In the dream, I submitted everything, Mr. Williams smiled, and someone handed me a check for emotional damages.”

Annie laughed quietly.

Sophie pushed a thick folder aside. She had spent hours organizing documents, only to discover that several departments had supplied outdated records.

“And guess what?” Sophie continued. “He wants the updated version before noon.”

“Then you should start working instead of delivering your last words.”

“You have no compassion.”

“I have a job to keep.”

Sophie leaned closer. “Do you think he's trying to replace Mr. Williams?”

Annie kept her attention on the screen. “We should finish our work and let the people in charge worry.”

“Easy for you to say.”

“It's advice. Ignore it.”

Sophie sighed quietly before returning to work.

Across the office, a junior employee struggled with a report Mr. Williams had ordered him to redo. Another email had arrived with instructions contradicting the first.

“That poor man looks like he's reconsidering every decision that led him here.”

“He probably is,” Annie murmured.

“Should we help him?”

“And explain to Mr. Williams why we abandoned our own work? No, thank you.”

Before Sophie could respond, the office doors opened.

Mr. Williams stepped out, immaculate as always in a dark suit and perfectly knotted tie. His expression was controlled, but his eyes moved across the room with the sharpness of someone searching for a mistake.

Conversations died.

He stopped beside the junior employee's desk.

“Have you completed the revisions?”

“I'm working on them, sir. I just need clarification on the figures you asked me to change. The original report uses the approved format, but the new instructions—”

“Are you telling me you don't understand a simple assignment?”

“No, sir. I only wanted to confirm—”

“Then stop wasting time and produce the report.”

The young man swallowed his remaining words.

Mr. Williams continued down the aisle, leaving him staring at the screen.

Annie disliked watching someone get punished for doing his job, but knew speaking up could make her the next target. She returned to work.

Several floors above, Jeremy Whitmore sat behind the expansive desk in his new office, looking at a stack of reports as though they had personally offended him.

He had expected to review operations, but every department seemed to have its own system and explanation for its delays.

He picked up a report and skimmed the first few pages.

“Why does this department need three separate approvals for a routine purchase?”

Ray, standing across from the desk with a folder beneath his arm, checked the document.

“Mr. Williams prefers multiple levels of authorization. He believes it reduces mistakes.”

Jeremy leaned back. “Does it?”

Ray hesitated. “I couldn't say for certain, sir.”

“Then perhaps you should find out.”

“Would you like me to prepare a comparison of the current process and the alternatives?”

“Now you're thinking.”

Jeremy pushed the report toward him.

“Find out how much time these approvals cost the company. Look into the other departments, too. I want numbers, not a presentation about how wonderfully everything has always been done.”

Ray made a note. Jeremy was casual and sometimes dismissive, but unwilling to accept explanations simply because they came from senior employees.

“Anything else, sir?” Ray asked.

“Yes. Ask the department heads to submit their current procedures by the end of the week. I want to see how this place actually operates.”

Ray paused. “I'll inform them.”

His father had handed him a respected company and employees accustomed to answering to someone else. They probably expected him to make speeches, sign documents, and eventually lose interest. They had underestimated him.

Jeremy liked challenges when they were difficult enough to hold his attention. If certain people had built comfortable little kingdoms inside his father's company, he was perfectly willing to disturb them.

Back on Annie's floor, an email notification appeared on her screen.

She opened it, expecting another routine instruction. Instead, it was a notice about an internal review of departmental procedures. Employees were being asked to ensure that their records were accurate and up to date.

“Wonderful,” Sophie muttered after reading the notice over her shoulder. “Because apparently we didn't have enough work.”

Annie exhaled and began opening the relevant files. She had no idea the review had come directly from Jeremy Whitmore. It was another company-wide request, and she intended to handle it efficiently.

A few minutes later, Mr. Williams received the same notice.

He read it once, then again, his expression hardening.

The review itself was not unusual. Its timing was. Jeremy had barely settled in, yet he was already questioning systems Mr. Williams had managed for years.

He placed the email down and stared at it.

For the first time that morning, his irritation gave way to something sharper.

Jeremy Whitmore was not simply settling into his new position. He was preparing to examine everything.

And Mr. Williams had no intention of making that easy for him.