HE WALKED INTO THE COMPANY HOPING FOR A JANITOR’S JOB / Chapter 4 / 10

Chapter 4 - Shadows in the Corporate TowerBy Wednesday morning, Rowan’s life had transformed into a whirlwind. He was assigned a sleek corner office on the 32nd floor, a company tablet, and a team of forty maintenance technicians under his supervision.

However, his sudden elevation from an applicant to a high-earning director did not go unnoticed.

In the executive board room, Julian Vance—Argent Holdings’ Chief Operating Officer and a minority shareholder—stared at Rowan’s personnel file with a sneer. Vance was a ruthless, ambitious man in a three-piece suit who had spent two years trying to maneuver Maris into a forced merger with his family’s hedge fund.

“Who is this guy?” Vance demanded, slamming the file onto the glass table in front of Maris’s assistant, Camille. “He has no corporate background! He was a blue-collar mechanic three days ago, and now Maris hands him the keys to our multi-million-dollar coastal infrastructure?”

“Ms. Ellen authorized the hiring personally, Mr. Vance,” Camille replied coldly. “His technical qualifications are impeccable.”

“I don't care about his technical qualifications!” Vance hissed, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “Maris doesn't hire people off the street unless there's a leverage play. Find out where he came from, who he knows, and what he is to her.”

Meanwhile, on the 32nd floor, Rowan was adapting quickly. His practical, hands-on knowledge immediately earned him the respect of the ground-level maintenance workers, who were used to being ignored by suit-wearing executives. Rowan didn't sit behind his desk all day; he walked the boiler rooms, inspected the HVAC units, and fixed a lingering pressure valve issue in the basement that three outside contractors had failed to solve.

At 6:00 PM, Rowan walked into Maris’s office to drop off his first operational audit report.

Maris was sitting at her desk, looking exhausted, surrounded by mountains of financial papers. As Rowan walked in, her tense shoulders noticeably relaxed.

“You’re still here?” she asked, offering a soft smile.

“Just finishing the building energy report,” Rowan said, placing the folder on her desk. He hesitated, then gestured toward her laptop. “You look like you haven't eaten all day.”

Maris sighed, rubbing her temples. “The board is pushing hard on the Harbor Point luxury resort development. If we don't clear the final environmental and safety inspection by Friday, Vance’s group will try to block my voting control.”

Rowan looked at her thoughtfully. “There’s a small diner three blocks from here. Best clam chowder in the city. No board members, no spreadsheets.”