Ethan stepped into the sleek glass building that bore the na of his company, Twilight Enterprises, etched in steel across the front wall. As he entered the main lobby, the employees who passed by greeted him with the usual mix of reverence and fear. Normally, Ethan would respond with a polite nod or a tight-lipped smile, but today, his mind was already elsewhere.
His sharp eyes scanned the reports he held in his hands as he stepped into the elevator, heading directly to the top floor. His office was pristine and modern, with large windows that overlooked the city skyline. But what waited for him inside the executive conference room was anything but clean.
Over the past month, a string of irregularities had co to his attention. Small discrepancies in expense reports, irregular supplier contracts, sudden terminations of honest employees, and promotions of people with questionable experience. Initially, they seed like isolated incidents, but Ethan’s instincts told him otherwise.
He laid out the reports across the long, mahogany table and began going through each item line by line. The board of directors—those supposedly responsible for ensuring the company’s well-being—had apparently taken advantage of his absence during his dical recovery to advance their own agendas.
Ethan’s fingers danced over the tablet screen, pulling up financial logs, email chains, and internal communication records. He began making a list:
Director Lionel: Approved overpriced contracts with a shell company he secretly owned.
Director era: Used company funds to fund her private real estate ventures.
Director Han: Fired whistleblowers under the guise of downsizing.
He spent hours combing through digital footprints, cross-referencing IP addresses and login locations. His assistant, Rowan, entered with coffee and was t with a nod of thanks.
"Sir, the forensic IT team is standing by for your instructions," Rowan said.
"Good. Tell them to check all flagged communications from the last six months, especially any transactions involving the procurent departnt," Ethan ordered without looking up.
Rowan left quickly, sensing the storm building.
By noon, Ethan had uncovered three more instances of misuse of power. He printed out every piece of evidence, highlighting the fraud and corruption clearly. Then he summoned the internal audit departnt head.
"I need you to verify every docunt here within 48 hours. Quietly. No leaks. No hints. I want concrete proof before I take it to the shareholders."
The audit head, an older man nad Gregory, nodded with solemn determination. "Understood, Mr. Ethan."
By evening, Ethan stood before the massive whiteboard in his office, now filled with red markings, nas, and flowcharts linking directors to illicit activities. It was a web of greed and deception.
He leaned back against his desk, arms crossed, eyes hard. "You thought I was weak. That I was out of the ga. You made a mistake."
The next day, Ethan walked into the boardroom where the monthly directors’ eting was scheduled. One by one, the directors entered, wearing smug smiles and expensive suits. era greeted him overly warmly; Lionel handed him a whiskey bottle as a gift; Han grinned with false respect.
Ethan took his seat at the head of the table and let them start their routine, speaking about profit margins and projected growth. He let them dig their own graves.
When the ti ca for his address, he stood and walked to the projector.
"I’ve been reviewing the company’s operations since my return. There are...so concerns."
Click. The screen showed a spreadsheet of inflated contract values.
Click. An email chain showing era’s real estate purchases made from a company card.
Click. Surveillance footage of Han coercing an employee to resign.
"Each of you has not only betrayed this company, but you’ve also insulted and every employee who works honestly every day."
Faces drained of color. Whispers and excuses filled the room.
"Save it," Ethan snapped. "All of you are suspended pending formal investigation. Legal will be in contact. Security will escort you from the premises."
As security entered the room, chaos broke out. era cried foul play. Lionel cursed. Han tried to smooth-talk Ethan.
But Ethan had already turned his back on them.
Later, in his office, Rowan entered again. "The shareholders are backing you, sir. They’re grateful for your swift action."
Ethan nodded. "Begin restructuring imdiately. No more dead weight. This company needs to rember what it was built for."
That night, as he returned ho to Adrian and the twins, Ethan felt lighter. Justice had begun. And he would see it through to the end.
--
Ethan adjusted his tie with a tired sigh as he stepped out of the car, Mathew trailing behind him with a clipboard in one hand and a cup of iced coffee in the other.
"Mathew," Ethan muttered, "I can’t believe I have to beg people to co back to the company I own."
Mathew gave him a sympathetic smile while sipping his coffee. "That’s corporate karma, sir. The board kicked them out. Now you get to play charming CEO and coax them back. Smile like you’re not dying inside."
Ethan narrowed his eyes. "I’m not smiling."
"Exactly," Mathew said cheerfully. "That’s why I brought bribe coffee. People trust a man holding overpriced caffeine."
The first stop was the tiny independent café where one of the unjustly fired employees, Mrs. Maribel, now worked. She was a forr financial analyst, and Ethan rembered her as a walking calculator. As they entered the shop, the small bell above the door jingled, and Maribel glanced up from the counter. Her eyes widened the mont she saw Ethan.
"Oh no," she said imdiately. "Get out."
"Charming start," Mathew mumbled under his breath, scribbling a note.
Ethan stepped forward with the most composed face he could manage. "Mrs. Maribel, I wanted to personally apologize for what happened. The firings were unauthorized. I’ve removed those responsible and—"
"You fired because I refused to fund the board’s golf retreat," she snapped, crossing her arms.
"Yes, and I now know that ’golf retreat’ was code for a luxury cruise with body oil massages and imported pandas," Ethan said flatly.
Mathew blinked. "Pandas?"
"Don’t ask," Ethan said without looking at him.
Maribel gave them both a look. "So, what? You’re here to ask back so I can clean up more of your board’s luxury pet sses?"
"No, I’m here to offer you your position back, double the pay, and full autonomy over the budget," Ethan said. "Also, I’ve officially banned all panda-related expenses."
Maribel raised an eyebrow. "And the cruise?"
"Also banned."
She tapped her pen against the counter. "I want my old office back. And my cactus."
"Done," Ethan said without missing a beat. "Even the weird one with googly eyes."
Maribel squinted at him. "You rembered."
"I rember everything," he said, straightening his jacket with unnecessary pride.
"Fine," she sighed, pulling off her apron. "But if I see one panda plushie, I walk."
"Understood," Ethan nodded.
Mathew was already jotting down ’No pandas ever again’ in his notes.
—
The next stop was a software engineer nad Niko, who had apparently taken the dramatic route and now worked as a freelance DJ. They found him in the middle of a dayti house party, wearing neon sunglasses indoors and blasting electronic music from an overpowered speaker.
"I can’t hear my regrets," Ethan muttered as the bass dropped hard enough to shake his spine.
Niko turned, saw Ethan, and held up a hand. "Bro!"
"I’m not your bro," Ethan said.
"Still chill though!" Niko said, grinning. "Hey, are you here to sue or sothing?"
"I’m here to offer you your job back."
Niko blinked. "Wait... seriously?"
"Yes," Ethan said. "You were fired because you exposed the fact that the board was misusing our cloud storage to stream bootleg movies."
Niko pulled off his shades, eyes wide. "That’s... actually why I thought you were going to sue ."
"Fair," Ethan replied.
Mathew leaned in. "We can also offer you an upgraded gaming chair and the best noise-cancelling headphones the company can afford."
Niko looked torn. "Hmm... will my job include the right to code in my pajamas and yell at people over the phone again?"
"Yes," Ethan said. "But only at custor service scamrs."
"Deal!" Niko said, high-fiving Ethan before turning around and shouting to his friends, "I’m rejoining the dark side, boys! The corporate overlord has upgraded his moral compass!"
Ethan let out a deep breath. "Two down. Six more to go."
--
By the ti the day ended, Ethan and Mathew had successfully convinced four employees to return, three to consider it, and one to chase them out of her garden with a rake.
Back in the car, Ethan leaned his head back and sighed. "I’m exhausted."
"You did good," Mathew said. "You fixed most of the damage. Honestly, sir, you were surprisingly diplomatic."
"Was I?"
"Except when you told the board mber’s assistant that he could fra his pink slip and shove it."
"I ant that in a polite way."
"You literally wrote it on the fra with a gold marker."
"...Still polite."
Mathew snorted. "I’ll schedule your next round of apologies for next week."
Ethan groaned, pulling out his phone and smiling faintly at a picture of Adrian and the twins. "As long as I get to go ho to them, I’ll survive."
Mathew nodded. "I’ll add that to the minutes of your emotional redemption arc."
Ethan looked over. "Mathew?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Burn every panda plushie in the building."
"Already done, sir. The flas were blue."
And with that, Ethan leaned back, finally satisfied. The company was slowly returning to normal, and he was going ho
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