My fiancée hired a new male assistant, a self-proclaimed good luck charm. When I landed my first million-dollar project, he claimed it was because he'd been "praying for my success." When I pulled all-nighters with the team to win a bid, he said it was his good luck that sealed the deal. When I picked a plot of land that became a billion-dollar resort, he said it was thanks to some ridiculous "lucky charm" he gave me. After he'd taken credit for all my achievements, HR called me in at the end of the year. "All of your performance metrics were achieved thanks to Dylan Vance, so we're canceling your year-end bonus." "And all of your performance bonuses will go to Dylan!" I'd had enough. I started slacking off, just playing video games at my desk all day. The 'lucky charm' started to panic. Without me, how could an inexperienced intern like him take credit for anything? So, during the year-end review meeting, he smashed my computer in front of everyone, trying to throw his weight around. "If you keep slacking off and accomplishing nothing, I'll have the boss fire you!" My fiancée chimed in to back him up. "The company's success is all thanks to Dylan! How dare you not even try when you don't have his luck?" "If it weren't for the good fortune he brings, this company would've probably gone under by now." I actually laughed. I spoke into my gaming headset to my dad, who happens to be the President of the company. "Did you hear that? He's saying he can land projects with just his good luck!" "If that's the case, let's see if his 'luck' can land the hundred-million-dollar deal at the end of the year!" *** The company's year-end meeting was underway. Every employee was there, from the management down, except for me. I was in the middle of a heated team fight at my desk when a colleague walked by. "Stop playing games. The Vice President is calling us into the meeting. You'll get chewed out in front of everyone if you're late." "Not going," I said flatly. "What's the point? The company has its lucky charm, Dylan. Hard work doesn't matter anymore." My colleague was speechless. He knew what happened last time, when I closed a hundred-million-dollar deal only for Dylan to steal the credit with a single sentence. "It was my prayers that allowed you to land that huge contract." That was the third time Dylan had stolen credit from me. I was completely done, just playing games on the company's dime. "You're skipping the meeting to sit here and play games?" My fiancée, Yvonne Sterling, stormed over in her high heels. "You don't even show up for meetings, just slacking off all day. Do you have any ambition at all?" "Why can't you be more like Dylan? Even though he's a lucky charm, he was there early, focused on the company's future plans!" I was in the middle of a heated boss raid and didn't even look up. "Sorry, I've got no ambition. He does. So let him handle it." "Besides, isn't this meeting to honor him? What would I be doing there?" Yvonne frowned. "He landed a million-dollar contract. Aren't you going to congratulate your colleague?" The irony was thick. My fingers flew faster across the keyboard as I took down the boss. "You, of all people, know how many sleepless nights I spent, how many client dinners I endured, drinking myself sick, just to land that contract. And your intern, Dylan, stole all that effort with a single, casual remark." "And you want me to congratulate him? Congratulate some useless freeloader?" That infuriated Yvonne. She slammed my laptop shut and dragged me toward the conference room. "You're going today, whether you like it or not!" As soon as we entered the conference room, I could hear the Vice President on stage, praising Dylan for bringing good luck to the company. "The new generation is truly impressive! We have interns landing million-dollar deals now! Everyone in the company should learn from Dylan. He's our lucky charm!" Seeing me walk in, the VP shot me a contemptuous glance. "Unlike some people, who spend all day slacking off and playing games! Can't close a deal after half a month, while an intern gets it done with just a few words!" My coworkers lowered their heads, whispering among themselves. Snippets of their ridicule reached my ears. "The intern lands a deal with a single sentence. He's been here a year and is less useful than Dylan. What a loser..." "I heard Manager Sterling is Austin Miller's fiancée, but she's promoting Dylan instead. Shows you how useless Austin is, right?" I ignored them and found a seat in the corner. Just then, my dad messaged me to help him rank up in our game, so I immediately joined his party. I was so absorbed in the game that I didn't notice someone tapping my shoulder. When I looked up, the entire conference room was staring at me. Only then did I hear Dylan on stage, pointing his finger at me. "This company will never move forward with useless deadbeats like Austin on the payroll!" "Your projects only succeeded because of my 'suggestions.' Otherwise, you'd never have achieved such high performance, would you?" "I suggest you turn off that game, or today, on behalf of the company, I'll make sure you regret it." I took off my headphones, completely unfazed. "And how are you going to do that? You're just an intern. You think you can fire me?" "Do you even have that authority?" A murmur went through the crowd. No one expected me to confront Dylan directly, especially since everyone knew Yvonne had his back. I looked at Yvonne, but her gaze was icy cold. "What if I'm the one who gave him that authority?" "The company's success is all thanks to Dylan! How dare you not even try when you don't have his luck?" "If it weren't for the good fortune he brings, this company would've probably gone under by now." My expression darkened. I chuckled bitterly into my gaming mic at my dad. "You hear that? Turns out all the company's deals are signed thanks to an intern's good luck."
No one had expected Yvonne to publicly turn on me for Dylan's sake. Dylan looked even more smug, shooting me a provocative glance. I shrugged and stood up to leave. "Fine. Go ahead and process my termination today." My complete indifference surprised Yvonne, and Dylan's face turned ugly. All his achievements were stolen from me. Without me as his safety net, he had nothing. "Wait! Yvonne, firing him is too extreme." Then, Dylan went to my desk and carried my computer into the conference room. "How about we just teach him a lesson he won't forget!" In front of everyone, he lifted my computer high and slammed it onto the floor, shattering it. "I'm warning you, no more slacking off and goldbricking!" The loud crash silenced the room. My computer was a pile of scrap metal. Everyone stood up, their faces alight with anticipation for the drama. "He smashed his computer! Austin's life here is going to be miserable now." "People are dying to get a job at this company, and Austin doesn't even care about being fired. You think he's just playing hard to get, trying to make Manager Sterling beg him to stay?" "He's been a bottom-rung employee for a year. So pathetic. There's no way Manager Sterling is actually into him..." Shards of my computer landed at my feet. That was a custom, top-spec computer I had built overseas for ten million dollars. I looked at Dylan in his cheap clothes and said calmly. "You smashed my computer. Can you afford to replace it?" Dylan sneered. "You're just a regular employee. How expensive could your computer be? Just go get a backup computer from the storage room." I turned to Yvonne. "Are you just going to let an intern act this arrogantly? First, he steals my contracts, and now he smashes my property?" Yvonne moved to stand right beside Dylan, looking down on me. "He's being merciful by not having me fire you and letting you stay here to earn a paycheck." "Dylan smashing your computer was for your own good. He wants you to be more ambitious." I shook my head, a cold smile on my face. The line on my gaming headset had gone silent. My hot-tempered dad and grandfather were fiercely protective. They were probably already on a private jet heading back. I had no energy to argue anymore. I crouched down to pick up the motherboard, but Dylan lifted his foot and stomped right on it. "Still trying to salvage it so you can keep playing games?" he said, grinding the motherboard under his shoe. "Yvonne is showing you mercy, and you're still not sorry?" "You're slacking off in public, ruining the company's hardworking atmosphere. You deserve nothing more than the oldest backup computer we have!" "Also..." He produced a stack of project reports. "This data you prepared has a massive error in it! If I hadn't caught it in time, you would have cost the company a fortune!" His words caused a stir in the room. "Oh my god, Dylan really is our company's lucky charm! He can even find errors like that!" "Look at Austin, so shameless. Without Dylan's blessing, his project would have failed ages ago, and now he's talking back and giving him attitude!" "He's doing it on purpose, trying to win back Manager Sterling's heart. As if he's got what it takes!" I picked up the report and realized it was one Dylan himself had prepared a while ago. He'd just replaced his name with mine. "I didn't do this." I shrugged, tossing the report on the floor. "I might play games all day, but I still meet my targets. I'm not stupid enough to make a mistake like this." "Only an intern would make such a rookie mistake, don't you think?" I gave Dylan a mocking look. His face paled, and he pointed at me, fuming. "Austin, you play games at work all day! Why wouldn't you make a rookie mistake? Your name is on it. Just admit it!" "Don't make me pull out the evidence and completely humiliate you!" I stared at his guilty face and found it hilarious. The once-clueless intern was now the company's tyrannical 'lucky charm'. "Evidence, you say?" I made a call. "Hey, could you come over right now? I need a handwriting analysis and a review of some security footage." "You think you have the right to conduct a private investigation in our company?" Yvonne frowned. "Don't think we'll believe the results just because you hired some shady people off the street." I ignored her, sat back down, and went back to my game. The Vice President's expression grew even darker. "What's the meaning of this, Austin? If you're wrong, you're wrong! Are you trying to cause a scene? Security, don't let any unauthorized personnel into the building!" "No need to bother security. We're already here." Everyone turned toward the voice, and a collective gasp filled the room.
Two men I had just seen on the news yesterday were standing at the conference room door— The Bureau Chief of the Riverdale Criminal Investigation Bureau and the CFO of Rontech Enterprises, a Fortune 100 company. The VP's face went white at the sight of such important figures. He practically bowed, a strained smile plastered on his face. "What brings you two gentlemen here today? Is there something we can help you with?" The Bureau Chief and the CFO didn't even glance at the VP. They walked straight toward me. "Austin, where's the evidence?" "If someone is trying to frame you, we'll make sure your name is cleared!" I nodded toward and pointed to the report on the floor. Trembling before the two powerful men, Dylan picked it up and handed it to them. They began examining it on the spot. Yvonne stared at me in shock, clearly not expecting me to have experts on call to investigate. "Who are you? How did you get them to come here?" I kept playing my game. "None of your business. As long as someone can prove my innocence, that's all that matters." Dylan shot me a venomous look, his face a mask of guilt, but he didn't dare say a word. He was Yvonne's junior from college. Right after graduation, she brought him into the company as her personal assistant. Dylan's performance was poor, but he was good at saying the right things. Things like, "You're about to get a promotion!" or "You're definitely going to close the deal with this client." Every now and then, he'd get it right by chance. Yvonne would praise him endlessly, and gradually, everyone in the company started to believe Dylan was a lucky charm, making him a minor celebrity. Then he started publicly claiming that my hard-earned achievements were the result of his innately lucky nature. Yvonne knew I had worked day and night on those proposals, yet she still looked at Dylan with adoration. "I knew it was your good luck that made him succeed." Watching Dylan take the bonus that should have been mine and become the top performer made all my hard work feel like a joke. And now he was framing me in public? Did he really think I was a pushover he could just walk all over? After the examination was complete, the Bureau Chief looked at Dylan, his expression grave. "The handwriting on the incorrect parts of this report matches yours. I also checked the security footage. You were the only one who entered the office." "The CFO also traced the data's origin. You were the only one who handled it from start to finish. Therefore, you alone are responsible for this erroneous data!" A moment of silence fell over the conference room, followed by an eruption of excited chatter. "So it was a setup... My god, Austin was innocent all along." "This 'lucky charm' really went too far. It's one thing to steal credit, but to frame someone?" Dylan's face went completely pale. He stammered. "Th-then... I must have made a mistake." "A simple 'mistake' fixes everything?" I leaned back in my chair, watching him leisurely. "You did something wrong. Don't you need to apologize?" The Bureau Chief and the CFO stood behind me, their eyes fixed on Dylan, ratcheting up the pressure. He had no choice but to reluctantly lower his head. "I-I'm sorry..." I stood up, shook hands with the Bureau Chief and the CFO to thank them, and after they left, I pulled out an invoice. "Now that the false accusation has been cleared up, let's talk about compensation for my computer." Dylan's arrogance returned instantly. He crossed his arms and laughed. "I'm dying to hear how much a piece of junk computer is worth." I held up one finger. "Ten..." "Pfft, what, ten thousand dollars?" He pulled out his phone. "I'll Venmo you right now." I shook my head. "Ten million dollars." The room erupted in laughter. "I've never even heard of a ten-million-dollar computer!" "I was just starting to feel sorry for him. Turns out he's just a blackmailer." The VP slammed his hand on the table on stage, pointing at me and yelling. "Austin, how far are you going to take this!" "I just got a call from the President and the Chairman! They heard an employee was causing trouble and they're on their way to handle it!"
"So what? The Chairman and the President are coming. Does that mean fairness goes out the window?" I calmly faced the VP. "I'm sure they're more reasonable than you are. Besides, once they get here, Dylan is finished." "Enough nonsense!" The VP pointed at my nose. "I'll give you one more chance. Go to HR, get an old computer, and optimize the Brighton bid proposal before the President arrives." "If you win the bid, I'll let this slide!" Gasps rippled through the room. "Oh my god, they haven't even finalized the site for that project. The bid is impossible to win. Mr. Lee is clearly setting Austin up to fail..." The tougher the project, the more I relish the challenge. Since he was giving me a chance to prove myself, I wasn't about to refuse. "Fine. I'll have it done by noon." HR deliberately gave me the oldest, most decrepit computer they could find. The only thing it could run was Solitaire. It reminded me of the tough days when I first joined the company. After returning from abroad, I wanted to gain real experience at my family's company, so I specifically told my dad and grandpa not to reveal my identity. I wanted to start from the bottom. But after a year of grinding away at the bottom, consistently hitting the highest numbers every quarter, all my achievements were stolen by an intern who claimed to be a good luck charm. This time, I was determined to reclaim my honor with this bid proposal. With my extensive experience and worldly knowledge, the bid proposal I created was flawless. The client was very impressed. As I closed my eyes to rest for a moment, I noticed a paper talisman on my desk. "What is this?" I frowned and tossed it in the trash. Not long after, we suddenly got news from the client that we had won the bid. The plot of land I had chosen suddenly skyrocketed in value a hundredfold. The government had just announced plans to build a new prime location near schools there. When the news broke, the entire company was stunned. No one expected me to be so capable. Even the VP was dumbfounded. He walked over and patted my shoulder. "Alright, I won't report you to the Chairman and the President this time. You can have your old position back. Keep up the good work." Suddenly, Dylan strode over, shouting, "Wait! Winning that bid was my doing!" He fished the talisman I'd thrown away out of the trash and showed it to everyone. "Look! To help him complete his task, I secretly placed my family's ancestral talisman on his desk." "I never expected that after winning the bid, he'd be so ungrateful as to throw my talisman away. I just couldn't stay silent and had to expose him!" He looked at me. "If I hadn't brought you good luck, do you think you could have chosen such a perfect piece of land?" It was the exact same script he used to steal my credit before. Just as I was about to retort, Yvonne started clapping loudly from a distance. "That's our Dylan! Every time Austin succeeds on a project, you're always there behind the scenes." "Why haven't you apologized to Dylan yet? If it weren't for him, how could you have gotten so lucky to pick the perfect spot?" "Dylan is our company's lucky charm!" With Yvonne's enthusiastic support, the whole office burst into applause. The VP, as if seeing the light, nodded and clapped Dylan hard on the shoulder, his face full of admiration. "I knew you were special! My eye for talent is never wrong. The bonus for this bid proposal is all yours!" I almost laughed out of sheer anger. Such a blatant credit grab, they weren't even trying to hide it anymore. "With people like you around, this company is only going to go downhill." I called my dad, the president, directly. "I quit. This company is full of parasites!" Unexpectedly, Dylan snatched the phone from my hand and spoke sarcastically into it. "You must be Austin's father, right? Your son is such a loser, running to his parents to complain. I suggest you come down to the office and teach your pathetic son some discipline!" With that, he hung up and roared with laughter. "Now your dad's going to get even more gray hairs worrying about you!" Just then, the VP's phone rang. He was answering it obsequiously when he suddenly let out a shriek. "What? You're saying your son is here at the company?"
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