The towering silhouette of Vance Headquarters loomed above Nia like a monolith of ambition. Its sleek black-glass façade mirrored the morning sun, gleaming like obsidian—untouchable and cold. Nia stood at the entrance in her patched brown coat, clutching her weathered bag like a lifeline. Her heart pounded with a mixture of fear and wonder.
This place looked nothing like the town's college or her tiny apartment. It was a different world altogether.
Inside, everything gleamed—floors so polished they reflected the ceiling, walls decorated with moving digital art, and a scent in the air that reminded her of money, power, and pristine control. Even the receptionist looked like she'd stepped off a runway.
"Name?" the woman asked, barely glancing at Nia.
"Nia Amara. I'm here for the interview."
The woman scanned her list, then gave a faint nod. "Top floor. Last door on the right."
The elevator ride felt like an eternity. It was silent, glass-walled, and soared upward so smoothly Nia felt like she was floating. At the top, the doors opened into a vast corridor—black and gold, minimalist yet impossibly luxurious. A large painting of a silver-haired man with captivating azure eyes hung above a golden inscription:
Lucien Vale – CEO
She swallowed and walked to the last door.
The office was massive. Floor-to-ceiling windows showcased the city below like a living painting. A long, ebony desk sat in the center, and behind it stood a man whose presence seemed to warp the air.
Silver hair. Azure eyes like storms—icy and unreadable.
Lucien Vance.
He didn't offer a seat. He didn't greet her.
"You're late," he said.
Nia blinked at the clock. 9:58 AM.
"I... I thought I was early."
Lucien's eyes narrowed slightly. "Early is ten minutes before. Sit."
She sat quickly, adjusting her skirt. Her knees were pressed together, fingers trembling over her notepad. Lucien studied her as if assessing a particularly puzzling equation.
"Tell me why you're here."
Nia straightened. "To interview for the assistant position."
"I know that. I mean why *you*. Why should I hire you?"
She opened her mouth. Then closed it. Then opened it again.
"I'm hardworking," she said. "Diligent. I learn quickly. I've never failed at anything I've put my mind to. I might not look the part, but I—"
"You don't," he interrupted.
Nia's breath caught.
"Your clothes are outdated. Your résumé is decent, but unimpressive. You graduated from a no-name college. You have no corporate background. And you're shaking."
She swallowed hard. "Yes, I am. Because I want this more than anything. And I know I can do it. If you give me the chance, I'll prove it."
Lucien's eyes narrowed. He stood and walked around the desk, hands in pockets.
"What do you know about this company?"
"Vance Corporation controls over forty percent of the biotech industry in North America. You specialize in neural-augmented software, AI design, and prosthetic enhancement. You were the youngest CEO in the sector's history, and under your leadership, Vance stock rose by 200% within the first 6 months."
His brow raised—slightly.
"What's your greatest weakness?"
She hesitated. "I... I trust too easily. I like to believe the best in people, even when I shouldn't."
Lucien exhaled, clearly irritated. "Naïve. And dangerous."
She flinched but didn't break eye contact.
"And your greatest strength?"
"I don't quit."
A beat passed.
"Your file says you worked as a cashier, a bakery clerk, and a receptionist. Why jump to a corporate assistant?"
"Because I belong here," she said. Her voice was soft but steady. "Not because of my looks or charm—I don't have much of either. But I learn. I endure. And I see things others miss."
Lucien's expression didn't change. He gestured toward a nearby console.
"I'm going to project a data set. You'll have sixty seconds to identify the flaw."
Nia stood, approached the console, and the screen blinked to life. Streams of numbers and graphs cascaded across the surface.
She leaned forward.
59 seconds.
The numbers didn't align. Pattern A repeated every three seconds—except for the 24th iteration. A delay of 0.2 milliseconds. She traced it, lips moving slightly.
28 seconds.
She glanced at the source tag. It wasn't a machine error. It was input manipulation. Someone had rerouted the algorithm to skip over the security subroutine.
10 seconds.
"It's a breach," she said aloud. "Someone's trying to make it look like a bug. But it's not. It's deliberate code skipping. Someone is siphoning data through a backend tunnel."
Lucien stared at her.
"Impressive."
Nia blinked. "Was I right?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, he walked back to his desk, sat down, and tapped the screen. The console shut off.
"You're naïve."
Her heart sank.
"You're underdressed. You're painfully earnest. You look like you wandered in from a library in 2003."
She lowered her gaze.
"But..." he continued, "you saw what none of my senior analysts did."
Nia's eyes snapped up.
Lucien sighed, almost irritated. "You'll start Monday."
She blinked. "Wait. I got the job?"
"Don't make me regret it."
She stood slowly, processing. "Thank you—thank you so much—"
"You'll be assigned a mentor. Learn fast. This world won't wait for you."
She nodded eagerly.
Lucien returned to his screen, already typing.
Nia lingered for a moment. Then turned to leave.
As the door closed behind her, he paused, staring at the screen.
"She's too soft for this world," he murmured. Then, quietly, "But maybe that's what makes her dangerous."
---
Outside, Nia stepped into the sunlight, dazed. The streets below bustled with life, and the city no longer felt quite so cold.
In her bag, her phone buzzed. A message from Jade:
> How'd it go???
Nia smiled for the first time in days.
> I think I just got the craziest job in the world.
Far above, behind glass and clouds, the Crownless King watched the world with eyes of ice—and the girl he'd just welcomed into his court.
Little did either of them know, what the future held in store for them.