My fiancée hired an intern whose astrological chart supposedly perfectly aligned with the company’s "vibe," and he claimed to be our literal good luck charm. When I signed my first million-dollar project, he said it was because of his "manifesting." When I pulled all-nighters to lead our team to a successful bid, he said it was because of his good karma. When I secured land to develop a billion-dollar resort, he said it was because I was carrying his lucky crystal. After he stole all my performance metrics, HR cornered me at the end of the year: "All your KPIs were achieved thanks to Dylan’s presence. Your annual bonus is canceled." "Your performance rewards will all be transferred to Dylan!" I immediately threw my hands up and started coasting, playing video games at my desk every single day. The "lucky mascot" panicked. Without me, where would an intern with zero experience steal credit from? So, at the year-end summary meeting, he smashed my computer in public, throwing his weight around: "If you keep slacking off and being a total loser, I'll have the boss fire you!" My fiancée chimed in from the sidelines: "The company only has this much revenue because of him. You dare to slack off without his good luck guiding you?" "If it weren't for the good vibes he brought, this company would have gone under by now." I laughed out loud in anger and spoke into my gaming headset to my teammate—my billionaire CEO dad: "Hear that? He means he can land projects purely on good luck!" "If that's the case, let's see if he can secure that hundred-million-dollar contract at the end of the year with just his 'lucky vibes'!" Chapter 1 The company was holding its year-end meeting. All employees, including upper management, were present. I was the only one missing. I was at my desk, having the time of my life in a massive multiplayer raid. A coworker walked by and tried to pull me along: "Stop gaming. The VP is calling everyone in. If you're late, you're going to get roasted in front of everyone." "Not going," I flatly refused. "We have our lucky mascot, Dylan, right? What's the point of working hard when it doesn't matter anyway?" My coworker choked on his words. He knew exactly what had happened. When I signed that hundred-million-dollar contract, Dylan snatched the credit with a single sentence: "It was my manifesting that allowed you to sign the big deal." This was the third time Dylan had stolen my credit. I was entirely done trying. Now, I was just getting paid to play video games. "You're skipping the meeting to sit here and game?" My fiancée, Chloe Vance, marched over in her stilettos, glaring at me aggressively. "You won't even attend the meetings, you just lay flat all day. Do you have any drive left in you at all?" "Why can't you learn from Dylan? Even though he's our lucky charm, he still showed up early to actively participate in the company's strategic planning!" I was furiously clicking my mouse, cornering the raid boss, not even bothering to look up. "Sorry, I don't have any drive. If he does, let him do the work." "Besides, isn't this meeting to give him an award? Why would I go?" Chloe frowned deeply. "He just signed a million-dollar order. You're not even going to congratulate your colleague?" The irony was sickening. My mouse clicks grew faster and more aggressive as I executed the boss: "You, out of everyone, know exactly how many days I stayed up, how many client dinners I suffered through, and how I drank until I practically had a stomach ulcer to secure that order. Your little intern Dylan took all my hard work with one casual sentence." "And you want me to congratulate him? Congratulate a useless freeloader?" This enraged Chloe. She reached over, forcibly shut down my monitor, and dragged me toward the conference room. "You are going today whether you like it or not!" As we entered the room, I heard Vice President Mitchell on stage, loudly praising Dylan for bringing good fortune to the company. "The new generation is truly making waves! Even an intern can lock down a million-dollar contract now! Everyone in the company needs to learn from Dylan; he is our ultimate lucky star!" Seeing me walk in, VP Mitchell shot me a look of pure contempt. "Unlike some people, who just slack off and play games all day! Grinding on a single contract for half a month and failing, proving you're less effective than a few words from our intern!" Whispers broke out among my colleagues. The mocking comments drifted to my ears: "An intern gets the contract with one sentence, while a guy who's been here a year can't get it done. What a loser..." "I heard Chloe is Carter's fiancée, yet she promoted Dylan. Just goes to show how useless Carter really is." I ignored them all and took a seat in the back corner. My dad had just texted me to help him rank up, so I immediately rejoined the lobby on my phone. I was completely absorbed in the game when someone tapped my shoulder. I looked up to find the entire room staring at me. That's when I heard Dylan on stage, pointing a finger in my direction: "It's because the company has dead weight like Carter that we're struggling to move forward!" "It was only through my subtle energy work that your project succeeded! Otherwise, you'd never see a high bonus in your entire life!" "I suggest you put the game away, or else I, representing the company, will see to it that you're strictly disciplined!" I pulled out an earbud, looking completely unfazed. "Really? You, an intern, want to fire me?" "Do you even have that authority?" The room gasped. No one expected me to clash with Dylan so openly. Everyone knew Chloe was the one backing him up. I looked at Chloe, but the gaze she returned was ice-cold. "What if I give him that authority?" she said. "The company only has this much revenue because of Dylan. You dare to slack off without his good luck guiding you?" "If it weren't for him, we might have gone bankrupt." My eyes instantly darkened. I smirked and spoke into the mic to my dad: "Hear that? Turns out all our corporate contracts are signed purely because of an intern's good vibes." No one expected Chloe to publicly tear me down for Dylan's sake. Dylan looked incredibly smug, giving me a provocative sneer. I shrugged, stood up, and prepared to leave. "Fine. Process my termination papers today." My complete indifference shocked Chloe, and Dylan's face immediately darkened. His track record was stolen from me; without me in the company, he had no one to leech off of. "Wait! Chloe, firing him is too severe." Dylan suddenly marched out, went straight to my desk, and carried my personal laptop into the conference room. "Why don't we just teach him a lesson he won't forget!" Right in front of everyone, he lifted my laptop high and slammed it onto the hard floor. The screen shattered, and the chassis cracked open. "I'm warning you, no more slacking off!" The loud crash silenced the room. My laptop was reduced to scrap metal. Everyone stood up, looking highly entertained: "Smashed his laptop! Carter's life is going to be hell now!" "People fight tooth and nail to get a job here, and Carter doesn't even care about being fired. Is he playing hard to get so Chloe begs him to stay?" "He's been here a year and is still entry-level. With zero ambition, there's no way Chloe actually wants him..." Pieces of hardware scattered at my feet. It was a top-tier, custom-built rig I had specially imported for $150,000. I stared at Dylan, who was wearing cheap, off-brand clothes, and asked calmly: "You smashed my computer. Can you afford to replace it?" Dylan sneered. "How expensive could a regular employee's laptop be? Just go to the IT closet and grab a spare." I turned to Chloe. "You're just going to let an intern run wild like this? Not only does he steal my contracts, but he destroys my personal property?" Chloe stepped right next to Dylan, looking down her nose at me. "He didn't ask me to fire you. Letting you stay here to earn a paycheck is already a mercy." "Dylan smashing your computer is for your own good. He wants you to have some ambition." I laughed coldly and shook my head. The voice chat on my phone had gone dead silent. My dad and my grandfather are notoriously hot-tempered and fiercely protective. I figured they were already boarding a private jet to get here. I didn't have the energy to argue anymore. I crouched down to pick up the shattered motherboard, but Dylan stepped forward and planted his shoe right onto it. "Still want to take it home and play?" He ground his heel into the circuits. "Chloe gave you a pass, and you're still unrepentant?" "You slack off in public, ruining the company's hustle culture. You only deserve the oldest spare machine!" "Furthermore..." He pulled out a stack of project reports. "This data you compiled previously has a massive loophole! If I hadn't caught it with my intuition, you would have cost the company millions!" The crowd gasped. "Oh my god, Dylan really is our lucky star! He even catches data errors!" "Look at Carter. So shameless. Without Dylan protecting him, his projects would have bombed, and now he's giving him attitude!" I picked up the data report. It was a file Dylan had put together himself a few weeks ago, but he had swapped his name for mine. "I didn't write this." I shrugged, tossing the report on the floor. "I might play games all day, but I always hit my KPIs. I'm not stupid enough to make mistakes like this." "I'm guessing only an intern would make such a rookie error." I looked at him mockingly. Dylan's face went pale, then flushed red. He pointed at me and yelled: "Carter, you game all day! How could you not make rookie mistakes? Your name is right on it. Just confess!" "Don't wait until I bring out the hard evidence and humiliate you completely!" Watching his guilty, panicked expression, I found it incredibly amusing. An intern who knew absolutely nothing had somehow become a tyrant in the office. "Evidence, huh?" I pulled out my phone and called a professional contact. "Can you come over here right now? I need a handwriting analysis and camera footage pulled." "You think you can just conduct private investigations in our office?" Chloe frowned. "Don't think bringing in some sketchy outside friends is going to make us believe your 'investigation'." I ignored her, sat back down, and resumed my game. VP Mitchell's face turned thunderous. "Carter, what is the meaning of this? You made a mistake, and now you're causing a scene? Security! Don't let any unidentified personnel into the building!" "Don't bother with security. We showed ourselves up." Everyone turned toward the voice at the door and simultaneously sucked in a breath. Two men who had just been on the local news yesterday were standing at the entrance to the conference room: The Chief of Police, and the CFO of Vanguard Enterprises, one of the Fortune 500 partners of our firm. No one expected such heavyweights to appear. VP Mitchell's face drained of color as he scrambled forward, bowing with a desperate, sycophantic smile. "What brings such esteemed guests to our humble office? Is there something we can help you with?" The Chief and the CFO didn't even look at Mitchell. They walked straight toward me. "Carter, where's the evidence?" "If anyone dares frame you, we will absolutely clear your name!" I tilted my chin toward the files on the floor. Trembling, Dylan picked up the papers and handed them over. The two men immediately began inspecting them. Chloe, stunned that actual authorities were stepping in to help me, stared in disbelief. "Who exactly are you? How did you get them to come here?" I kept tapping on my phone screen. "None of your business. As long as someone can prove my innocence, that's all that matters." Dylan glared at me, guilt written all over his face, but he didn't dare throw a tantrum in front of the Police Chief. He was Chloe's junior from college. Right after he graduated, she pulled strings to get him hired as her personal assistant. Dylan's performance was garbage, but he was great at kissing up. He'd always say things like, "You're totally getting promoted soon!" or "The universe is aligning for you to win this client!" Whenever he coincidentally guessed right, Chloe would praise him to the high heavens. Slowly, the office started treating him like a literal mascot, and he became a local celebrity. Then, he started claiming my hard-earned wins were the result of his "good luck aura." Even though Chloe knew I was pulling all-nighters, she still looked at him with adoration: "I knew it! Your manifesting is what pushed his contract over the line!" Seeing Dylan pocket the bonuses that were rightfully mine and claim the top performer spot made my efforts feel like a joke. Now he was publicly framing me? Did he really think I was just some pushover? The inspection finished. The Police Chief held the report, looking sternly at Dylan. "The handwriting on the corrected sections matches yours perfectly. I also had my guys remotely check the hallway cameras. You were the only one who entered the archives." "The CFO has also traced the data logs. You were the only one who touched this spreadsheet. Therefore, you are solely responsible for this compromised data!" The room fell dead silent, followed by an explosion of whispers. "Wow, he framed him... Carter was innocent all along." "Our 'lucky star' went too far. It's one thing to take credit, but framing someone?" Dylan's face was completely drained of blood. He stammered, "I... I must have just misread it." "Does 'misreading it' fix everything?" I leaned back in my chair, watching him casually. "You make a mistake, and you don't even apologize?" The Chief and the CFO stood behind me, staring Dylan down. The pressure was immense. He finally lowered his head, utterly humiliated. "I... I'm sorry..." I stood up and shook hands with the two men to thank them. Once they left, I pulled up a digital receipt on my phone. "Since the defamation is cleared up, let's talk about compensating me for my laptop." Dylan immediately reverted to his arrogant self, crossing his arms and scoffing. "I'd love to hear how much a piece of junk laptop costs." I held up one finger. "One..." "Tch, one grand? I'll Venmo you right now." I shook my head. "One hundred and fifty thousand." The conference room erupted in laughter. "I've never even heard of a computer costing $150,000!" "I almost felt bad for him, but now he's just trying to extort money." VP Mitchell slammed his hand on the desk, pointing at my face and roaring: "Carter! How far are you going to take this farce!" "The CEO and the Chairman just called me! They said there's an employee causing a massive disruption, and they are on their way here right now to handle it personally!" "So what? Just because the CEO and Chairman are coming, does that mean fairness goes out the window?" I met Mitchell's gaze calmly. "They should be much more reasonable than you." Besides, once they arrived, Dylan was completely finished. "Cut the crap!" Mitchell pointed a finger at my nose. "I'll give you one last chance. Go to IT, get a spare laptop, and before the CEO gets here, optimize the 'Nova' bidding proposal." "If we win the bid, I'll let you off the hook!" Gasps echoed around the room. "Oh my god, the location for that project hasn't even been zoned yet, the bid is practically impossible... Mitchell is totally setting him up..." The harder a project was, the more I enjoyed the challenge. Since he was giving me a chance to prove myself, I wasn't going to back down. "Fine. I'll have it done by noon." HR purposely gave me a dusty, ancient laptop that could barely run Solitaire. It reminded me of the grueling days when I first joined the company. After returning from abroad, I wanted to learn the ropes of my family's business. I specifically told my dad and grandpa not to reveal my identity so I could start from the bottom. I never expected that after a year of grinding and securing the highest KPIs every quarter, my achievements would be hijacked by an intern who claimed to "bring good vibes." This time, I was going to use this bidding proposal to take back my glory. With my vast experience and extensive field research, I put together a flawless proposal. The client was thrilled. While I was resting my eyes for a moment, I noticed a piece of paper on my desk. A manifestation sigil. "What is this garbage?" I frowned and tossed it into the trash. Not long after, news broke that our bid had won. The land I selected had suddenly skyrocketed in value by a hundred times because the city just announced a massive new school district development right next to it. When the news hit, the entire office was stunned by my foresight. VP Mitchell was dumbfounded. He walked over and patted my shoulder. "Alright, I won't report you to the board this time. Keep up the good work." Suddenly, Dylan marched over and shouted, "Hold on! Winning this bid was my doing!" He dug into my trash can, pulled out the sigil, and held it up for everyone to see: "Look! To help him succeed, I specifically placed my special manifestation sigil on his desk." "I didn't expect him to be so ungrateful and throw it away after winning the bid! That's why I'm exposing him now!" He glared at me. "If I hadn't brought you the right energy, could you have possibly picked such a perfect plot of land?" It was the exact same script he used every time he stole my credit. Just as I was about to fire back, Chloe started clapping loudly from across the room. "Classic Dylan! Carter, every time you succeed, it's always because Dylan is working his magic in the background." "Apologize to Dylan immediately! If it weren't for him, how could you possibly be so lucky as to pick the exact right spot?" "Dylan is truly the company's lucky star!" Backed by Chloe, the rest of the office joined in the applause. VP Mitchell nodded, as if experiencing a revelation, and clapped Dylan heavily on the shoulder. "You really are a fantastic hire. Incredible intuition! The entire bonus for this bid goes to you!" I let out a dark laugh. They were just openly robbing me now. "With people like you in charge, this company is going straight to hell." I pulled out my phone and called my CEO dad. "I quit. There are too many parasites in this company!" To my shock, Dylan snatched the phone right out of my hand and spoke mockingly into the receiver: "You're Carter's dad, right? Your son is totally useless, whining to his parents at work. I suggest you come down here and discipline your deadbeat son!" He hung up and laughed uproariously. "Your dad is probably getting gray hair just stressing over you!" Right at that moment, VP Mitchell's phone rang. He answered it with a sycophantic grin, which quickly morphed into a shriek of pure terror: "What? You said your son is in the office?!"
? Continue the story here ?? ? Download the "MotoNovel" app ? search for "519868", and watch the full series ✨! #MotoNovel