CHAPTER 8
1299 Words
Victor didn’t normally hesitate before knocking on his boss’s office door.
In fact, after years of working under Ethan Reed — CEO, tyrant, genius, and walking blood pressure problem — he had learned the rhythm:
Two knocks.
Enter fast.
Talk straight.
Don’t breathe too loudly.
But tonight, he paused.
It wasn’t fear.
Okay, maybe a little fear.
But mostly… confusion.
He cleared his throat and finally knocked.
“Come in,” Ethan said without looking up from the document glowing on his desk.
Victor stepped inside carefully, closing the door behind him. Ethan didn’t glance up. He was focused, jaw sharp, brows pinched, the overhead lights turning his blue eyes cold.
“Sir,” Victor began, “I, uh… I might have found a data scientist recommendation.”
Ethan didn’t react immediately. He simply turned a page.
“From where?” he asked in that quiet voice that made Victor’s stomach twist.
“Well…” Victor shifted. “From someone I met earlier.”
“Someone?” Ethan repeated, uninterested.
“Yes, sir.”
“ A friend of mine said she knows someone reliable. Smart. Good with numbers. I didn’t get the person’s name though. Everything happened too fast.
“Fine. Follow up with her. Send the applicant here in the morning.”
Victor blinked. “Here? As in— your office?”
“No,” Ethan said. “Use the analysis room. I have an early meeting with the board. Handle the assessment yourself.”
Victor stared, confused.
“You want me to run the data evaluation?”
“Yes.”
“But sir—”
“I trust your judgment,” Ethan said abruptly. “Don’t make me regret it.”
Victor swallowed. “Yes sir.”
He walked out quickly and shut the door behind him.
Ethan leaned back in his chair the second he was alone.
The Next Moning,
A major investor called at 6:50, panicking about stock fluctuations.
The Lagos branch needed emergency restructuring approvals.
And an international partner demanded an immediate video conference.
By 8:00 AM, Ethan had a headache powerful enough to kill a small animal.
Victor practically sprinted beside him as they entered the lobby of Reed Technologies.
“Sir, the board is already waiting.”
“I know,” Ethan muttered.
Victor nearly tripped trying to keep up. “Sir— about the applicant, the data scientist—”
“Handle it,” Ethan said firmly. “Assess the work. See if it is okay. If it is, fine. If it’s not, send the data scientist home.”
“But— you usually like to—”
“Victor.” Ethan stopped walking. “I am giving you responsibility. Use it.”
Victor shut up instantly.
“Yes sir.”
They parted ways in the hallway — Ethan heading toward the conference wing, and Victor toward the elevator that would take him to the analysis department.
He took a deep breath.
“Alright, Victor. Let’s meet this mysterious genius.”
The elevator door opened to the soft hum of servers and AC vents. The analysis floor was always cold — physically and emotionally.
Victor checked the time.
The applicant should arrive any minute.
He stood near the glass entrance, organizing the files he needed.
Then he heard footsteps.
He turned.
He froze.
“You.”
Nuellah stood there in a crisp, simple blouse and dark trousers, her hair pulled back, her expression calm but eyes sharp. A laptop bag hung from her shoulder.
Victor blinked rapidly.
“N— Nuellah? Mirabel’s friend?”
“Yes,” she said, straightening. “Good morning.”
“Oh my God,” Victor whispered under his breath. “It’s you?”
She frowned slightly. “Is… that a problem?”
“No! No, no, not at all. I just… wow. I didn’t expect it to be you.”
He coughed, trying to regain professionalism.
“Please, come in.”
He opened the glass door for her, suddenly more respectful than he’d ever been to any applicant in his life.
He led her down the hallway toward a quiet analysis room — a spacious space with transparent boards, several monitors, and a large table with technical equipment.
“You’ll work here,” Victor said. “I’ll be dealing with other tasks today, but I’ll check on you periodically.”
She nodded politely.
“What exactly am I doing?”
“I’ll send the datasets to your email. You’re to analyze them, summarize insights, and propose solutions. Simple for someone like you, I guess.”
Nuellah’s brows lifted. “Someone like me?”
“You’re brilliant,” Victor said honestly. “I remember.”
She looked away softly.
Victor cleared his throat awkwardly.
“Okay. I’ll leave you to it.”
He gave a small, warm smile — the kind that said he actually believed in her.
Then he left.
For the first few minutes, Nuellah simply looked around.
Reed Technologies was… different.
Quiet. Sharp. Cold. Efficient.
It smelled like money and ambition.
Her fingers trembled only once — when she opened her laptop and saw Victor’s email.
Massive datasets.
System logs.
Consumer insights.
Server performance outputs.
Error reports.
This wasn’t child’s play.
It was high-level corporate work.
She inhaled deeply.
Then she started.
And once she started, she couldn’t stop.
Her mind locked into place.
Patterns appeared.
Anomalies glowed.
Trends whispered their secrets.
Figures lined up like obedient soldiers.
Hours passed without her noticing.
SIX HOURS LATER
Victor returned to the analysis floor chewing gum aggressively — a sign of stress.
The board meeting had ended in disaster.
Ethan had yelled at least five times (which, by Ethan standards, meant the world was ending).
Victor needed a small win.
He walked toward the analysis room and peeked in.
What he saw made him forget how to breathe.
Nuellah wasn’t just working.
She was transforming the data.
Charts filled the transparent board.
Her notebook overflowed with patterns and predictions.
Her laptop screen displayed clean summaries, highlighted anomalies, and proposed optimization solutions.
And she did it with the calm focus of someone who was born for this.
Victor watched for a moment, genuinely stunned.
Finally, he stepped inside quietly.
Nuellah didn’t notice — she was too deep into her work.
He waited until she finished a sentence before saying softly:
“You… you summarized everything?”
She didn’t turn.
“Yes. I’m almost done.”
Victor’s mouth dropped open.
He moved closer, eyes scanning her results.
This wasn’t normal talent.
This was precision.
Elegance.
Power.
“This is…” he swallowed. “This is insane.”
Nuellah finally looked up.
“Is it okay?” she asked calmly.
“Okay?” Victor laughed breathlessly. “You did in six hours what a whole team struggles to finish in two days.”
She blinked, surprised.
He shook his head, smiling.
“You’re incredible.”
Nuellah looked down shyly, her voice quieter. “Thank you.”
Victor pulled out his phone.
“I’ll send this to the finance department immediately. They’ll process your payment. Expect an alert within twenty-four hours.”
Her eyes widened. “I’m being paid?”
“Yes,” he said. “This wasn’t an interview. This was real work. And you nailed it.”
For a moment, silence filled the room — but not awkward silence.
Warm silence.
Respectful silence.
Victor tucked his hands into his pockets.
“I’ll report everything to Ethan. He’ll be impressed.”
At the mention of Ethan, Nuellah’s chest tightened… but she nodded.
Victor smiled again — softer this time.
“You did great. Really great.”
He opened the door for her as she packed her things.
And as she walked out, Victor thought something he would never dare say aloud:
“No wonder Ethan couldn’t forget her.”
- Writer
