Soon, a low buzz of conversation spread across the room.
"I got promoted to Senior Manager!" one employee whispered excitedly. "What about you?"
"No, I’m in the sa position. But congratulations!" another replied.
"I even get a transportation allowance now!"
"That’s aweso! My salary increased too... but what’s with this confidentiality agreent?"
A small group gathered to discuss it.
"I heard about this," soone said confidently. "My cousin works at Heimdall. They all have to sign strict confidentiality agreents."
"What’s your agreent value?" another asked.
"One million pounds," he replied, grinning.
"What? Mine’s five million! But we’re at the sa level in the company!"
"Maybe it’s because you work in Finance. Higher risk of sensitive information leaking."
Across the room, another employee raised his hand to call a lawyer over.
"Excuse ," he said. "So of us are confused. Why do people in the sa role have different confidentiality penalties?"
The lawyer smiled professionally. "Thank you for your question. Please be patient. After everyone has received their docunts, we’ll provide a general briefing and answer all your queries."
Within fifteen minutes, everyone had received their folders.
At the podium, Ava cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.
"First of all, congratulations to those who have been promoted," she said warmly. "I hope everyone is satisfied with their updated salaries and benefits. Please rember, Heimdall offers so of the highest employee benefits in the Kingdom."
"But," she continued, her tone turning serious, "these benefits co with responsibilities. Your work will now be judged by Heimdall’s strict standards. diocrity will not be tolerated."
She pointed toward the contracts.
"As you can see, you must sign a confidentiality agreent. Heimdall values secrecy. Every employee, from top executives to janitors, must protect company information. You are prohibited from discussing your work, even with your colleagues, unless necessary."
The employees listened in stunned silence.
"Our Chairman, Miss Raynor, dislikes publicity. Do not discuss her outside this office. Do not post anything about her on social dia. If you do..." she smiled coldly, "we will know. We are an IT conglorate, after all. Tracking digital footprints is easier for us than it is for governnt security agencies."
"As for the different penalty amounts in your agreents," she continued, "they are based on your roles and the sensitivity of the information you will handle. The amount represents the penalty you must pay if you breach confidentiality. You don’t have to worry if you can maintain your side of the duties."
"If you have doubts or questions, our lawyers are here to assist you. Take your ti. Make sure you understand everything before signing."
With a final nod, Ava left the podium and returned to her seat, chatting casually with the directors.
The employees buzzed among themselves, so nervously flipping through their contracts, others confidently asking questions to the lawyers.
Nearly half an hour later, all the contracts were signed. The lawyers carefully collected the docunts and handed them over to Ava.
Satisfied, Ava and the directors stood up and left the room. The two guards, who had been stationed at the doors, followed them out.
As soon as the guards disappeared, one employee leaned toward another and whispered, "Did you notice? The guards didn’t leave until everyone signed. If anyone refused, I bet they had other docunts ready... before throwing them out."
"I thought the sa," his friend whispered back.
They chuckled quietly.
Then, rembering sothing, one of them said, "I saw Mr. Hendriks leave earlier. Let’s ask him."
They approached Daan, who was quietly sitting at a corner table.
"Mr. Hendriks," one of them asked, "why did you leave earlier? Is everything alright?"
Daan looked up, his face neutral. "Nothing serious. I had a minor encounter with the Chairman at a shopping mall a few days ago. I didn’t know she was our boss at the ti. I just wanted to apologize in person."
He shrugged slightly. "She didn’t even rember . She said my personal life didn’t matter to her, only my performance at work."
The employee nodded thoughtfully.
"And the guards?" he pressed.
"They wouldn’t let pass without Miss Martin’s permission," Daan explained. "But when she saw talking to them, she ordered them to let through. That’s all."
Satisfied, the man turned to his friend and grinned. "See? We guessed it right."
At that mont, soone nearby let out a loud, frustrated curse.
"Fuck!"
All eyes imdiately turned towards the sound. It was rare, almost unheard of... to hear soone curse so loudly in such a formal and official gathering.
"What happened?" soone nearby asked, frowning in concern.
The man who had cursed was Ruben Verulen, one of the coordinators of the data center managent team. Ruben was well known for his amiable personality and innocent, almost boyish face. Seeing soone like him lose composure and curse so loudly piqued everyone’s curiosity.
Ruben ran a hand through his hair, his face still pale. "I just searched our chairman’s na on Google... My phone went black and is restarting on its own."
The entire room fell into a stunned silence. A heavy tension gripped the air, as if everyone was waiting for sothing more to happen. After a few monts, soone tentatively asked, "Are you sure your phone restarted just because you searched her na?"
"Yes!" Ruben nodded vigorously. "I didn’t do anything else. I just typed her na and hit search. And my phone is barely a month old!"
As if to confirm, Ruben’s phone finally finished restarting. With visible relief, he checked it carefully, letting out a breath. "Okay, my phone’s fine. Thank God. No data lost." His voice still shook slightly.
Another man nearby held up his own phone and said confidently, "I also searched for her. Google’s working perfectly on mine."
"What did you find?" another curious voice asked.
"Nothing suspicious. The first page just shows random Eleanors... none of them her. Checked the second page too, still nothing."
After a few more monts of scrolling, he declared loudly, "I’m on the tenth page. Still nothing about her."
Soone asked, "Wait... what exactly did you search for?"
He replied, "Eleanor."
All heads turned toward Ruben again. "And what did you search?" soone asked him.
Ruben’s expression darkened. "I searched ’Eleanor Elizabeth Raynor.’ The full na."
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