The Parasite's Payback

The new assistant, Ava’s latest hire, dumped a full cup of coffee onto my face in front of the entire executive board.

“You’re a parasite who does nothing but hide in his office playing video games, and you have the nerve to question my proposal?”

His voice echoed in the silent boardroom.

“I’m telling you you’re fired. Get out!”

Calmly, I rose to my feet. I wiped the sticky, lukewarm liquid from my skin and looked at Ava.

She frowned, her gaze deliberately darting away from mine. She chose silence.

A slow smile spread across my face. I pulled out my phone.

“Dad, you listening?” I asked, the speakerphone on.

“They’re telling me to get out.”

1

It was a Monday. I was deep in the final push of a strategic campaign on my laptop when a sharp knock broke my concentration.

“Mr. Sterling? Carter Hayes needs all department heads in the main conference room in ten minutes.” It was Chloe from Admin, her voice rushed.

I didn’t look up, my fingers a blur across the keyboard.

“Not going. Busy.”

In the six months I’d been embedded in this company, I hadn’t attended a single meeting. It wasn't that I was exempt; I simply couldn’t be bothered.

“But…” Chloe hesitated, her voice dropping. “Carter was very specific. He said no one gets to miss this one. He said it was an order from Ms. Monroe.”

My fingers froze. My character, a meticulously crafted warrior, was instantly annihilated by the level boss. As the screen faded to a dismal gray, I swore under my breath and shut the laptop.

By the time I arrived, the conference room was already full. As I entered, a ripple of strange looks and whispered conversations followed me.

“What’s Liam Sterling doing here?”

“I thought he didn’t do meetings.”

“Who knows. Must be Carter’s doing. He specifically requested him.”

“Carter’s been looking for a reason to pick a fight with him. This should be good.”

I ignored the murmurs and chose a seat in the farthest corner, pulling out my phone to resume the game I’d been forced to abandon.

A full thirty minutes passed before Ava Monroe and Carter Hayes finally made their grand entrance. Carter clutched a stack of files, a smug, triumphant smile plastered on his face.

“Thank you all for making the time on such short notice,” Ava began, her eyes scanning the room. They rested on me for less than a second before moving on. “Carter has a major proposal he’d like to present to you all today.”

Carter cleared his throat and launched into a long-winded speech about his “revolutionary” new marketing strategy.

I split my attention, one thumb navigating my game while my ears picked up the broad strokes. The more I heard, the more absurd it sounded. The budget was astronomical, and the entire concept was fundamentally misaligned with our company’s market position.

“...and so, I propose an immediate eighty-million-dollar investment to dominate the high-end market sector within the next three months!” Carter concluded, his voice ringing with passion.

A sparse, hesitant applause fluttered through the room.

I couldn’t help myself. Without looking up from my phone, I said, “For eighty million, you could just throw cash off the roof of the building. You’d get more buzz and better engagement.”

The room went dead silent.

Ava’s brow furrowed.

“What did you say?” Carter’s voice was suddenly sharp.

I finally lifted my head, my expression one of pure boredom.

“I said your proposal is full of holes.”

I ticked them off on my fingers.

“First, your target demographic is completely wrong. Second, your channel allocation is a mess. And third, your entire method for calculating ROI is a fantasy.”

I leaned back in my chair.

“You might as well be setting eighty million dollars on fire. At least that would make a nice glow.”

Carter’s face flushed a deep, blotchy red. He snatched his coffee cup from the table and stormed towards me.

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