Chapter 4
Back to the present celebration party.
I took a step forward and broke away from the crowd.
Isabel's gaze landed on me, lingering for two seconds.
She walked toward me, holding a wine glass.
The surrounding noise gradually faded.
"Scott, long time no see," Isabel said.
"Hey, Isabel," I replied, keeping my tone flat.
She smiled, her eyes flicking over the badge on my chest.
"I never thought the key tech guy for Thaldan's southern branch would be you," she said.
"Just trying to get by," I replied.
She said, lowering her voice, "Scott, it's been six years, and you're still the same."
"If that's all, Isabel, I'll go sit down," I said.
I turned to leave.
"Wait," she called out.
"I want you to bring your team to the Rhovar project kickoff next week," she said.
I stopped in my tracks.
Rhovar was Thaldan Technology's biggest large-scale AI model project this year, with a budget of 100 million dollars.
"Projects like this are usually assigned directly by headquarters," I said.
"I'm in charge of the southern branch now," she said, looking at me. "I want you there."
I didn't say anything.
"What, scared you might mess it up?" Isabel teased.
"It's not fear," I said, locking eyes with her. "I'm just not interested."
Her smile froze for a second.
"Scott, are you just sulking?" she pressed.
"You're overthinking it, Isabel," I said, raising my glass. "Congrats on the promotion. Hope you keep moving up."
I downed the wine in one go, put the glass down, and walked back to my spot.
I could hear her heels clicking behind me.
She walked away.
My deputy director leaned in, lowering his voice. "Boss, does the new boss know you?"
"My ex-wife," I replied.
He sucked in a breath, nearly spilling his drink.
"So, what's it gonna be like from now on?" he asked.
"It'll be the same," I said, patting his shoulder. "Get back to work."
Monday morning, in the Rhovar project kickoff meeting.
The room was full.
Isabel took the lead seat, with someone right by her side.
He wore an impeccable suit, not a hair out of place.
It was Blaze.
He was now the marketing director for Thaldan Technology's southern branch.
When I walked in, Blaze was talking quietly with Isabel.
He stopped when he saw me.
"Well, Mr. Graham," he said, standing up and offering his hand. "Long time no see."
I didn't shake his hand. I just walked straight to my seat and sat down.
"Mr. Cleveland," I said, nodding.
Blaze was left hanging, his face soured.
Isabel tapped the table.
"Everyone's here. Let's get started," she said.
The projector lit up, displaying a slide titled "Rhovar Project Southern Region Execution Plan."
Blaze took the stage and began his presentation.
"Our core strategy is to dominate user mindshare through large-scale marketing campaigns. The tech team just needs to support with some basic API integration..."
I flipped through the proposal, read a couple of pages, and closed it.
"Let me jump in for a second," I said.
Blaze stopped and looked at me.
"What's your question, Mr. Graham?" he asked.
I said, "On page three, the proposal says we're expecting 100,000 concurrent users.
"But according to Thaldan's core infrastructure, the southern region's servers can only handle 30,000 at most. If we go over, the system will crash."
Blaze frowned. "That's a tech problem. Marketing just gets people in the door."
"If all that traffic is just empty numbers, not real users, it'll overload the servers and blow up into a PR nightmare," I said, locking eyes with him.
"Mr. Cleveland, you ever actually worked on the tech side?"
Blaze's face flushed red.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he shot back.
"What I'm saying is, this plan just isn't feasible from a technical perspective," I said.
Blaze turned to Isabel. "Ms. Byrne, if the tech team isn't on board, we can't get this project off the ground."
Isabel looked at me.
"Scott, is it really not doable on the tech side?" she asked.
"It's impossible," I replied.
"What if I add another 6 million dollars to the budget so you can upgrade the servers?" she asked.
I said, "There's just not enough time. Getting the hardware in and set up would take at least three months, and this project is supposed to launch next month."
The room went quiet.
Isabel stared at me for a few seconds.
"Alright, then the tech team needs to come up with an alternative plan. Have it on my desk by Friday," she said.
"Got it," I said, standing up. "Meeting adjourned."
I walked out of the conference room and didn't even bother to look at Blaze.
On Friday afternoon, I brought the alternative plan to Isabel's office.
She was buried in paperwork, not even looking up.
"Just leave it there," she said.
I set the folder down on her desk.
"Ms. Byrne, I cut three ineffective marketing channels and put the money into cloud services. Total budget's still within limits," I said.
She looked up at me.
"Did you cut the marketing budget?" she asked.
"It's the optimal solution," I replied.
"Blaze's gonna throw a fit," she said.
"That's your problem," I said, turning to leave.
"Scott," she called out.
I stopped.
"Do you really have to talk to me this way?" Isabel asked.
I turned to face her.
"Ms. Byrne, this is just business between us. I've finished my report, so I'll be on my way," I said.
I opened the door and walked out.
Just as I reached the elevator, Blaze came running after me.
"Scott, stop right there," he called out.
I pressed the down button.
"What gives you the right to slash my budget?" Blaze demanded, getting right in my face and jabbing a finger at me.
"Because it makes technical sense," I replied.
Blaze sneered, "Don't try to hide behind tech. You really think Isabel brought you onto this project because she values your skills? She's just throwing you a bone, trying to make up for the past."
The elevator doors opened.
I stepped inside and hit the close button.
I said, locking eyes with him, "Blaze, it's pretty bold, riding a woman's success to the top and still acting like you own the place."
The elevator doors slid shut, cutting off his curses.
The Rhovar project was moving at lightning speed.
After my technical solution went live, the first week of internal testing brought in some seriously impressive numbers.
Concurrent users stayed steady, and the conversion rate was 20% higher than we'd expected.
But before we could even celebrate, trouble showed up.
Tuesday night, I was working late at the office when my deputy director rushed in.
"Boss, something's wrong," he said.