Chapter 3: Strings Tangled

Lex entered the office the next day with a renewed sense of purpose. For the first time, he wasn’t walking in as the underappreciated software engineer doing the grunt work for someone else’s glory. Now, he was the lead—the one others had to answer to.

He felt the eyes of his coworkers on him as he walked past their desks, a mixture of surprise and curiosity. He knew they had heard about Damien’s sudden removal. It was office gossip by now—some whispered that Damien had screwed up, others thought it was a power move by upper management. Either way, Lex was now in charge, and that changed everything.

He reached his desk and settled down, opening his laptop. The CEO System app flickered to life, a new mission awaiting him.

“New Mission: Establish Authority.”

“Objective: Gain the trust and loyalty of your team. Identify weak links and eliminate potential threats to your position.”

Lex frowned at the phrasing. “Eliminate threats” sounded a little more intense than he was comfortable with. But then again, he wasn’t naive; corporate culture was cutthroat, and he needed to establish his position if he wanted to stay on top.

He glanced around the office. His team—five developers, each with their own quirks and skills—sat at their desks, busy working. He needed to make sure they were with him, not against him.

Lex decided to call a meeting. It would be his first one as the team lead, and he wanted to set the tone. He messaged the team to meet in the conference room in fifteen minutes, then took a deep breath, trying to calm the slight nervousness bubbling in his chest.

He entered the conference room, setting up his laptop and connecting it to the projector. One by one, his team filtered in—David, the senior developer with a sharp mind but a sarcastic streak; Priya, meticulous and efficient, but often anxious under pressure; Eric, the fresh hire who had potential but lacked confidence; and the two interns, Jenna and Marcus, who mostly kept their heads down and followed instructions.

Lex looked at them, sensing the tension. They were waiting to see what kind of leader he would be. He smiled, trying to project confidence.

“Thanks for coming, everyone,” he began. “I know the last few days have been... unexpected, to say the least. But we’re moving forward, and we have an opportunity here to make some real changes.”

David leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed. “So, does this mean we’re finally going to have someone who actually knows what they’re doing in charge?” he asked, his tone half-joking but with an edge.

Lex gave a small smile, ignoring the jab. “That’s the plan. And to do that, I need all of you on board. We’ve got a lot to prove, especially with the launch deadline coming up. If we pull this off, it’ll set the tone for what we can accomplish as a team.”

Priya raised her hand slightly, her voice hesitant. “What about the setbacks from last week? Are we still going to make the deadline?”

Lex nodded. “We’re going to make it. I’ve reviewed the code, and I think we can streamline some of the processes Damien put in place. We’ll be working late nights, but I believe in all of you.”

He saw a flicker of determination in Priya’s eyes, and even Eric sat up straighter, seeming more focused. Good, Lex thought. They needed to feel like they were part of something bigger.

David, however, looked skeptical. “Late nights, huh? That’s what got Damien in trouble,” he muttered.

Lex locked eyes with him. “Late nights are only a problem when they’re caused by someone trying to sabotage us. I don’t plan on making the same mistakes.”

David held his gaze for a moment, then shrugged, seemingly satisfied. The others nodded in agreement, and Lex felt a sense of accomplishment. It wasn’t total loyalty, but it was a start.

After the meeting, Lex returned to his desk. The CEO System app blinked with a new message.

“Progress Made: Team alignment at 60%. Trust must be solidified.”

Lex watched as a new objective appeared.

“Identify Potential Threat: One member of your team is undermining your efforts. Observe carefully and take action.”

Lex’s stomach tightened. A threat? He glanced around at his team, watching them work. They all looked focused, intent on their screens. Who could it be?

David’s skepticism was the obvious answer, but Lex had seen the way David’s demeanor had shifted, however subtly, during the meeting. It was doubtful he would undermine him outright. Lex needed more information.

He decided to take a different approach. He’d monitor their communications. It wasn’t exactly ethical, but the system seemed confident there was a threat, and Lex couldn’t afford to ignore that warning.

That night, long after everyone else had left, Lex stayed behind. He tapped into the internal messaging system, scanning the chat logs for anything suspicious. He felt a pang of guilt as he opened the conversations, but he quickly pushed it aside. This was about protecting his position. He had worked too hard to let someone else ruin it.

Most of the messages were innocent—talk about bugs in the code, reminders about tasks, mundane office chatter. But then, he found something.

A message from Jenna, one of the interns, to someone outside the company. The contents made his heart drop.

“I don’t know if I can keep doing this. Lex is sharp, and he’s looking into everything. If he finds out, it’s over for me.”

Lex stared at the screen, his mind racing. Jenna? The quiet intern who barely spoke up during meetings? What could she possibly be involved in?

He scrolled further, finding more messages, each more incriminating than the last. She had been passing information to a competitor—details about the project, the delays, the issues with Damien. Lex felt a surge of anger. She had been feeding them everything, making their job harder without them even knowing.

He knew what he had to do.

The next morning, Lex called Jenna into a meeting room. She looked nervous, her eyes darting around as if searching for an escape. Lex closed the door behind her, sitting down across the table.

“Jenna, I need you to be honest with me,” he began, his voice calm but firm. “I know you’ve been communicating with someone outside the company. Someone who shouldn’t have access to our project information.”

Jenna’s face went pale, her hands trembling slightly. “I... I didn’t mean for it to go this far,” she stammered. “They promised me it was just for a research project. I didn’t think—”

“You didn’t think,” Lex interrupted, his eyes hard. “Do you realize what kind of damage you’ve done? You put this entire team at risk. You put me at risk.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she looked down at the table. “I’m sorry, Lex. I really am. I’ll do anything to fix this.”

Lex hesitated for a moment. The system’s words echoed in his mind: Eliminate threats to your position. He had a choice to make. He could report her to HR, have her fired, and make an example of her. Or...

He opened the CEO System app, and a new option appeared.

“Reprogram loyalty: Jenna can be useful if properly guided. Select to alter loyalty metrics.”

Lex felt a shiver run down his spine. He had no idea what that meant, but something deep inside urged him to trust the system. He tapped “Select.”

Jenna blinked, her expression shifting slightly. The fear in her eyes seemed to dull, replaced by something else—something more focused.

“Jenna,” Lex said slowly, “you’re going to help fix this. You’re going to work twice as hard, and you’re going to prove that you can be trusted again. Understand?”

She nodded, her voice steady now. “I understand, Lex. I won’t let you down.”

Lex watched her leave, a strange sense of power settling over him. He had control—real control. The system had promised him a way up, and it was delivering.

But as the door closed behind Jenna, Lex couldn’t shake the feeling that the strings were no longer just in his hands—that maybe, just maybe, the system was pulling him along too. And the deeper he went, the harder it would be to break free.

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