We brought on a new batch of interns at Apex Innovations. In a gesture of corporate goodwill, I had my assistant, Claire, order them all Starbucks. I was even planning on leading their orientation session myself. But after the delivery notification came through, the intern who’d aced her interview, a girl named Scarlett, tapped me on the shoulder. “Hey, coffee’s here. Go get it. You’re security, shouldn’t you have some initiative?” I was taken aback. It had been a long time since anyone had ordered me around like that. Before I could clarify my position, she gave me a hard shove. “Are you deaf? I said go get the coffee.” She looked me up and down with disdain. “God, I hate dealing with you blue-collar types. Can’t even handle a simple task.” Then came the kicker. “I’m just letting you know, my aunt is the CEO of this company. Piss me off, and I’ll have you fired before you can blink.” I narrowed my eyes. This was interesting. I have a 100% controlling stake in this company. I had no idea I’d been replaced. 1 “Did you hear me? Stop wasting my time and get downstairs. Now.” The intern, Scarlett Monroe, was practically yelling, her finger pointed directly at my chest. I had to admire her audacity. Not since I’d wrestled control of the company from my older siblings seven years ago had anyone dared to speak to me this way. It was the new intern orientation, so it was perfectly understandable that they wouldn’t recognize me. But recognition, or lack thereof, doesn't excuse basic human decency. I glanced around. A few of the other interns were already watching us, whispering amongst themselves. “Did you hear that? Scarlett’s aunt is the CEO! We’re working with corporate royalty!” “And this security guard is just ignoring her? What an idiot.” One of them even offered Scarlett a sycophantic smile. “Don’t waste your breath on him, Scarlett. He’ll work his entire life and still won’t be able to afford one of your handbags.” Watching these bright, highly-educated young people fall in line behind her, I was reminded that a diploma has absolutely no correlation with character. Buoyed by the attention, Scarlett’s smirk widened. She gave me the middle finger. “You hear that, security? If you want to hold onto your pathetic little job, you’ll go get the coffee.” “And if I don’t?” I asked, my voice calm. She clearly hadn’t expected a lowly “guard” to defy her in public. Her face flushed a deep, blotchy red. “Then I’m announcing that you’re fired! Now get the hell out of my sight!” The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. A young man with glasses spoke up, his voice timid. “Scarlett… M-Ms. Monroe… maybe don’t make things difficult for him. He probably has his own duties… Look, I can go downstairs and get the coffee for everyone. You don’t have to fire him.” It was a perfectly good off-ramp, but Scarlett just snorted. “What, is this loser your cousin or something? Why are you so eager to help him?” Her gaze, cold and hard, settled back on me. “Let me say this one more time so it gets through your thick skull. My aunt is the CEO. This internship is just a formality for me; I’ll be a department head in a few weeks. I am an elite, someone a low-life like you will never even get the chance to speak to.” She leaned in, her voice a low hiss. “If you know what’s good for you, you will be downstairs in three seconds to bring me my coffee. Otherwise, I will have you blacklisted from this entire industry.” I wasn’t intimidated. In fact, I almost smiled. “Scarlett, why don’t you go ask around? Find out if the CEO of this company is your aunt, or if it’s me. Adrian Sterling.” I expected my name to make her pause, maybe even do a quick search on her phone. Instead, she shoved me again. “Who the hell do you think you are, impersonating the CEO?” A nasty realization seemed to dawn on her. “Oh, I get it. You heard my aunt is the CEO and now you want to get in her pants. Let me save you the trouble. The Monroes are a powerful family. We don’t associate with trash like you.” The amusement I’d been feeling turned to ice. The last person who spread those kinds of rumors about me is currently serving a five-to-ten-year sentence. This girl had a real talent for dancing on landmines. Just then, the conference room door opened. The young man with glasses struggled in, juggling a cardboard tray with a dozen cups of coffee. He offered a nervous smile. “Ms. Monroe, please don’t be angry. I brought the coffee up.” He glanced at me and winked. “Hey man, she’s in a bad mood. Maybe you should step out for a bit.” A flicker of warmth cut through my anger. At least one of these interns was worth keeping. I reached out to take a cup from him, but Scarlett slapped my hand away. “Whoa there, security. I know you’ve probably never had coffee this expensive, but that doesn’t give you the right to steal it.” She turned to the group. “My aunt bought this coffee for us, as a favor to me. A security guard isn’t entitled to it. Go drink your instant coffee garbage.” 2 Since I founded this company, I’ve fostered a culture of respect. We have job titles, yes, but at our core, we believe everyone is equal. In Scarlett Monroe’s world, there were elites, and there were peasants. And I was a peasant. I seriously needed to have a talk with my head of HR. When I didn’t respond, Scarlett began distributing the coffees herself. When she was done, there was one cup left over. She walked over to a large potted plant in the corner and poured the entire latte into the soil. “You see that, security?” she announced, loud enough for everyone to hear. “I would rather pour this Starbucks down the drain than let a low-life like you drink it.” She then tossed the empty cup at me. “And throw this out. We can’t have you taking pictures with the cup, pretending you can afford it, trying to catfish women online.” I just watched her, my expression unreadable. From the moment I’d walked in, I had given her multiple chances to de-escalate. Instead, she chose to double down every single time. And this aunt of hers… I had to find out who had the gall to impersonate me as the CEO of my own company. With that thought, I decided to play along a little longer. I let a bit of the tension leave my shoulders. “Scarlett, you said your aunt is the CEO. Who is she?” Seeing my apparent capitulation, Scarlett became even more smug. “Don’t think I don’t know your game. You’re just trying to get her name out of me so you can stalk her.” She smirked. “I’ve seen guys like you before. Not every piece of trash gets to marry into a family like ours. Do yourself a favor, turn right out the door, and find a nice Uber Eats driver to settle down with.” Her words made me realize how foolish my plan to play along was. This needed to end now. I gave up on trying to get information from her and pulled the conference room door open, intending to call security. Scarlett slammed it shut, blocking my path. “You think you can run away after I’ve exposed you? Not a chance.” Her eyes glittered with malice. “Here’s the deal. You get on your knees and bow to me twice, and I’ll let you leave.” “Otherwise… you can kiss your career goodbye.” I stared at her, my voice dangerously low. “I hope you don’t regret a single word you’ve just said.” The next thing I knew, the coffee in her hand was flying through the air, drenching the front of my custom-tailored suit. Without a single thought, my hand shot out and I slapped her across the face. “You’re asking for it.” Stunned, she touched her cheek, and then her face contorted in a mask of fury. She grabbed my arm. “Everyone, look! This low-life tried to hit on me, and when I rejected him, he assaulted me! Does this company have any rules? Is this what you allow here?” She was screaming now. “Some uneducated loser thinks he can put his hands on a graduate student who studied abroad? He must be insane!” She turned to the other interns. “Whoever can make this man kneel and apologize to me, I’ll have my aunt promote you on the spot!” At the word “promote,” their eyes lit up. “I’ll hold him down for you, Ms. Monroe! Make him bow 99 times!” “This creep was obviously trying to sleep his way to the top! He probably sold his ass just to get this security job!” “Ms. Monroe has spoken! This disrespectful bastard needs to be taught a lesson!” Only Ben, the young man with the glasses, tried to intervene. “Stop it! This is illegal! Even if her aunt is the CEO, you can’t treat someone like this!” But he was one person against a dozen. They shoved him to the ground. I reached for my phone to call the head of security directly, but Scarlett was faster. She snatched it from my hand and smashed it on the floor. “Looking for some sugar mama to come save you?” she sneered. “Too late. In this company, my word is law.” 3 I had reached my limit. This woman, for all her education, was a toxic, vindictive menace. She had to be fired, blacklisted, and escorted off the premises immediately. And every intern who had enabled her would be joining her. Before the mob could descend on me, I kicked out, striking Scarlett in the stomach and sending her stumbling back. I yanked the door open, ready to find my security team. But in the next second, a pair of interns grabbed me from behind and dragged me back into the room. Scarlett was clutching her stomach, her face twisted in pain and rage. “You… you bastard! You actually kicked me! I’m going to kill you today!” At her signal, two more interns seized my arms, pinning me in place. “He disrespected you, Ms. Monroe! He needs to be taught a lesson!” “I say we strip him naked and throw him out on the street! Let’s make him famous!” A few of the male interns crowded around Scarlett, their faces etched with concern. “Are you alright, Ms. Monroe? Should I take you to the hospital?” Scarlett ignored them. She grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back. “You still don’t get it, do you? You need to be taught some respect.” Her voice dropped, thick with venom. “A worthless piece of trash who sells his body for a living dares to touch me? You must have a death wish.” She gave a nod to the interns holding me. “Make him kneel. You’d better get on your knees and apologize, then take off your clothes piece by piece for our entertainment. If you don’t… I’ll have someone make you disappear, and no one will ever know.” I narrowed my eyes. The last time I’d heard a threat like that, it was from my own brother and sister. One of them is now permanently exiled overseas, and the other has been struck from the family records. I had no problem arranging a similar fate for Scarlett Monroe. Perhaps my expression was more menacing than I realized. The interns holding me exchanged a nervous glance. No one made a move to force me to my knees. Scarlett was about to do it herself when the conference room door swung open again. My executive assistant, Claire, walked in, her arms full of files. She stopped dead, her face paling as she took in the scene. She dropped the files on the table and rushed over, pushing the interns away from me. “What is going on here?” she demanded, her voice sharp and authoritative. “Who gave you the right to do this?” The interns might not have known me, but they all knew Claire. They fell silent. All except Scarlett. She laughed, assuming Claire was rushing to her defense. She clapped Claire on the shoulder. “Claire, honey, you’ve got good instincts. Always know who to suck up to.” She gestured at me. “I don’t know how you people hire security, but this one is completely unhinged. Get the head of HR in here. I need to have a serious talk with him about hiring standards…” Before she could finish, Claire had already guided me to a chair, her expression a mixture of fury and concern. “Mr. Sterling, are you alright? I’m calling the police right now.”
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