Chapter 6: The Screaming Match

Chapter 6: The Screaming Match

The fragile quiet of the office floor did not last. By noon, the paralysis had curdled into outright panic. The Kronos billing engine remained offline, a digital artery severed and bleeding millions of dollars per hour. The logistics network was throwing so many exceptions that the warehouse had ceased all automated shipments. The company wasn't just stalling; it was actively breaking, piece by piece, and the architect of its stability was sitting serenely at his desk, staring into the middle distance.

The first confrontation was inevitable. Rajesh Singh didn't send a summons or a subordinate. He came himself. His stride across the open-plan office was a thunderclap of expensive leather on polished concrete. Every head on the floor ducked, every employee suddenly fascinated by their own keyboard. He stopped at Alex’s desk, his large frame casting a long, ominous shadow.

"My office. Now," he snarled, the words tight and clipped, each one a shard of glass. He didn't wait for a reply, simply turned and stalked towards the nearest glass-walled meeting room, a central, highly visible box the employees had nicknamed 'The Prism.'

Alex calmly locked his computer, the screen displaying the OmniCorp logo as a placid screensaver. He stood and followed Rajesh, feeling the weight of a hundred pairs of eyes on his back. This was theater, and the entire department was the audience.

Inside The Prism, Rajesh didn't sit. He paced like a caged tiger, his tailored jacket pulled taut across his broad shoulders. He waited until the glass door hissed shut, sealing them in a soundproof bubble of fury.

"Turn it back on," Rajesh commanded, his voice low and dangerous. "Turn. It. All. Back. On. This is a direct order, Sterling."

Alex met his gaze, his expression a carefully constructed mask of neutral concern. "As I explained to Ben earlier," he began, his voice infuriatingly level, "my employment was terminated. My system access is a security oversight that I am not authorized to exploit. To do so would be a violation of company policy. I am only here, as per my email, to discuss the terms of that termination."

Rajesh stared at him, a vein throbbing in his temple. He had expected fear, capitulation, a desperate plea for his job back. He had not expected his own corporate jargon to be turned into a shield and used against him so effectively.

"You think you're clever," Rajesh hissed, taking a step closer. The air crackled with his rage. "You think this little stunt is going to work? You are a pathetic little code monkey who got lucky finding one line in a contract. That means nothing. I run this department. I run you."

Alex remained silent. He let the tirade wash over him. He could feel his heart rate begin to climb, the old instinct to flinch and appease rising in his throat. But then, a familiar blue box shimmered into existence in his vision.

[New Active Buff: Executive Fury] Description: You are the target of a superior's rage. Absorb the verbal assault without retaliation to convert emotional damage into Karma Points. Conversion Rate: 1 KP per 5 seconds of sustained invective.

A slow, profound realization dawned on Alex. This wasn't a punishment. This was a resource to be farmed. Rajesh’s rage was a currency, and Alex was about to become very, very rich.

As if on cue, Rajesh's volume escalated. "Are you listening to me?! You are nothing! A janitor! You will fix what you broke, or I swear to God, I will personally ensure you never work in this city again! I will blacklist you with every recruiter, every headhunter! You'll be lucky to get a job fixing cash registers!"

[+5 KP - Absorbing Executive Fury] [+5 KP - Absorbing Executive Fury]

Alex’s lips twitched. He fought to suppress it, but a small, knowing smirk bloomed on his face. It was not a smile of amusement; it was the quiet satisfaction of a gamer watching their XP bar fill up.

That smirk was the lit match tossed into the gasoline.

"You think this is funny?" Rajesh roared, his voice now a full-blown shout that was likely audible even through the soundproofed glass. He was red in the face, spittle flying from his lips. "You're enjoying this, aren't you? Wrecking my department? Making me look bad?"

[+10 KP - Absorbing Executive Fury] [+10 KP - Bonus for Direct Accusation]

Alex didn't say a word. He just held Rajesh’s gaze, the infuriatingly calm smirk fixed on his face. His inaction was no longer passive. It was an active weapon, a mirror reflecting Rajesh’s own impotent fury back at him. From the outside, to the terrified employees watching the silent movie unfold, the scene was surreal: a senior executive, completely unhinged, screaming at a subordinate who looked, for all the world, like he was peacefully enjoying the show.

The meeting ended when Rajesh ran out of breath, his chest heaving. He pointed a trembling finger at the door. "Get out. Get out of my sight."

Alex nodded politely and walked out, the door hissing shut behind him. The office was dead silent. He walked back to his desk, sat down, and folded his hands in his lap, a perfect statue of malicious compliance.

The afternoon became a grim trilogy of meetings. At 2:00 PM, Rajesh dragged him into 'The Fishbowl,' a smaller room with a view of the terrified junior analyst pool. The threats escalated from blacklisting to legal action, with vague mentions of "corporate sabotage" and "gross negligence." Alex remained calm, his smirk unwavering, and his Karma Points ticked steadily upward.

At 4:00 PM, it was 'The Cube,' a cramped, windowless room where Rajesh, now hoarse, tried a different tactic. He made promises. A bonus. A promotion. A glowing letter of recommendation. "Just fix Kronos, Alex. We can make this all go away. We can say it was a system error."

Alex simply replied, "I look forward to discussing a mutually agreeable path forward regarding my termination," parroting the line from his email. The rage returned with a vengeance.

[+150 KP - Resisted Executive Bribery]

The final confrontation of the day wasn't in a meeting room. Rajesh strode back to Alex's desk, his face pale with exhaustion and fury. He slammed his hands down on the desk, rattling the coffee mug in its coaster. The entire floor flinched.

"This is your last chance, Sterling," he rasped, his voice a raw whisper that carried more menace than his earlier shouts. "The board is calling me. The CEO knows your name now. This doesn't end well for you."

Alex looked up from his monitor, his expression one of perfect, untroubled serenity. The smirk was gone, replaced by an unnerving placidity. He had absorbed all the fury Rajesh had to give. He had weathered every threat. And he was still there, a calm, immovable object in the center of the chaos.

Defeated, Rajesh straightened up. He gave Alex one last look of pure, undiluted hatred, then turned and retreated to his glass cage, finally silenced.

A final, magnificent notification filled Alex's vision.

[Daily Quest Complete: Weather the Storm] Rewards: +450 Karma Points New Skill Unlocked: 'Unflinching Poise' (Passive: Greatly reduces the psychological effects of workplace intimidation)

Alex allowed himself a small, genuine smile. He had done nothing all day but sit and be yelled at. It was the most productive day he’d ever had at OmniCorp. The systems were still broken. The company was still bleeding money. And his war of attrition had just won its first decisive victory.