Sage
I woke up with a stiff neck and a mild case of regret.
And also a job.
"Rowan Arden, you've been hired," I muttered aloud as I stared at my reflection, brushing out the wig like it was my actual hair. The ends were fraying, and I was about two head tilts away from it sliding off.
There was a knock at the bathroom door.
"You okay in there?" Rowan called through the wood. His feet dragged more today ,his injuries were worse than I thought .
"Just mentally preparing for my death via performance anxiety," I said.
He snorted. "You'll be fine. Just keep your voice low and your words vague. That's literally 90% of tech bro conversations."
I stepped out, already dressed in the same suit from the day before. "The other 10%?"
"Buzzwords and black coffee."
I rolled my eyes but didn't argue. He handed me a badge , well, his badge, which now had a temporary sticker on it that read "Visitor."
"They'd upgrade it to full access once the background check clears," he explained, clearly proud.
I paused. "Please tell me your resume doesn't include stuff I can't pronounce."
"It's a normal resume, Sage."
"You wrote an essay on 'data encryption ethics and post-quantum resilience.
He blinked. "I said normal. For me."
I groaned.
"Make sure you go to the hospital this morning."I called out as he limped back out .
—
The second time I walked into Vale Technologies, I had a little less fear and a lot more caffeine. The lobby still looked like something out of a billionaire's fever dream, and the receptionist still smiled like she could see my boxers print .
"Morning, Mr. Arden," she said.
"Morning," I croaked in my deepest fake voice, which sounded like a discount Batman. "Excited to get started."
"HR will meet you by the elevators. You'll be shadowing the DevOps team today."
DevOps? What even was that? Was it development? Operations? A cult?
I didn't ask.
A perky woman with big glasses and a bigger smile waved at me. "Rowan? I'm Marcy! HR generalist-slash-onboarding wizard."
"Hi," I croaked,trying not to look like I was lying about my very existence .
She led me through a maze of glass doors and glossy hallways until we reached a wide-open workspace. Dozens of desks, people in suits , hoodies and headphones then another smaller office , with a giant whiteboard covered in equations I couldn't read.
"This is the DevOps floor," she said. "Don't worry, you won't be thrown into the deep end. They'll just get you set up, give you a little training. You know, normal stuff."
"Totally. I love… training."
She pointed toward a desk in the corner. "That one's yours for now. You'll be working with Wes and Priya."
Wes waved from a few desks down , blond, bearded, looked like he could build a server and also wrestle a bear. Priya didn't look up from her screen but nodded briefly.
I gave a stiff smile and sat down.
The chair squeaked. Loudly.
Marcy leaned in. "If you need anything, come find me."
"Will do."
She left, and I exhaled like I'd just run a marathon.
Wes rolled over in his chair. "So, Rowan, welcome to the dungeon."
I blinked. "Uh. Thanks?"
"We call this corner the dungeon because it's where they send all the new kids. If you hear someone crying in the bathroom later, just pretend you didn't."
Priya snorted without looking up. "Ignore him. He's been here two months and thinks that makes him a veteran."
"I am a veteran," Wes said. "I survived onboarding with Greg."
"Greg?" I asked.
Priya pointed discreetly to a man pacing across the other room with a tablet in one hand and stress in every molecule of his being.
"Ah."
Wes grinned. "So. You good with Linux?"
"…Love it."
"Docker?"
"Uh-huh."
"Git?"
"I git it," I said. Then immediately wanted to crawl into a hole.
He squinted at me. "You okay?"
"Totally. Just pre-caffeine awkward."
Wes held up his mug. "Here. Office tradition. New guy drinks from the 'First Day Freakout' mug."
It was bright red and covered in comic sans font.
I took it gratefully. "Feels accurate."
—
By lunch, I had typed nothing, Googled six acronyms, and avoided three suspicious glances from Priya. I was starting to think the caffeine might wear off before my cover did.
That's when my email pinged.
From:Executive Office
Subject: CEO check-in: 1 PM
Mr. Vale would like a brief follow-up meeting today. Report to his office.
I stared at it for a solid ten seconds.
He wanted to see me again?
What for? Did I say something wrong yesterday? Did he sniff out the wig glue?
I walked to the elevator like I was heading toward my own funeral.
—
Dorian Vale's office was just as intimidating as I remembered.
He didn't look up when I entered. Again.
"Sit," he said.
I sat.
"You survived your first morning," he said finally, eyes still on a document.
"Barely."
His eyes flicked up. "Honesty. That's rare."
I tried to smile. "You have a very intense onboarding process."
"It weeds out the lazy," he said simply. "And the unqualified."
That word hit a little too hard.
"Right," I muttered.
He finally set his papers down and leaned back. "How do you think you did?"
"Uh… okay? No systems exploded. I learned where the bathrooms are. And I didn't trip in front of HR, which felt like a win."
That made the corner of his mouth twitch. Just a little.
"I like your bluntness," he said. "But I can tell something is off ."
I froze. "What?"
" I can see it" he said, voice low. "You smile too quickly. Answer too vaguely. But you're not completely faking it."
"I'm not—"
He stood and walked to the window. "This job demands a lot. Especially in this company. You'll find that the more you perform, the harder it becomes to remember who you are."
My throat tightened. "Is this some kind of test?"
"It's advice."
I stood. "Are we done?"
He turned, slow and deliberate. "One more thing."
I paused.
"I'm very good at spotting inconsistencies," he said.
Our eyes locked.
My heart pounded.
"Got it," I whispered.
"Good."
The elevator ride down was a blur of panic and sweat. I barely noticed that the security guy from yesterday was watching me the whole time, eyes narrowed.
—
Back at my desk, Wes leaned over and whispered, "Why did the CEO call you upstairs?"
"Just a follow-up," I said quickly. "Nothing major."
Priya glanced up. "He doesn't do follow-ups with interns."
Wes's eyes widened. "Are you like… secretly rich?"
I laughed nervously. "Yeah, I totally wish."