Chapter 2The Secret CEO's Accidental Promotion

Personally, I was very satisfied.

Twelve years in the company, zero presence. "That Girl" was my name.

Anyone could order me around. Hard work, no complaints.

Even interns learned to dump their grunt work on me.

Despite this, I never thought about quitting.

Because in my forgotten corner, I spent my days writing novels, quietly getting rich.

I thought I'd be invisible forever, until the promotion dropped from the sky.

The company went public. The CEO, Mr. Sterling, wanted to reward the founding employees with stock options.

A headcount revealed me.

Mr. Sterling finally noticed me, the veteran entry-level employee. He was moved by my spirit of "never abandoning the ship."

He decided on the spot to give me the COO position that everyone was killing each other for.

At the executive meeting, Mr. Sterling announced the news. Everyone's eyes shot daggers at me.

Me, dragged in cluelessly: "..."

Is the boss crazy? Me? COO? Chief Operating Officer?

My direct superior, one of the founding members and Marketing Manager David Summer, was the first to object: "Her? Boss, you're joking. She's a little clerk in Marketing. What qualifies her to be COO?"

I looked at Mr. Sterling and nodded in agreement: "Yes, I'm just a tiny analyst. I haven't even gotten any certifications since I joined. I'm still entry-level. I'm really not qualified."

COO sounds busy. With that energy, I could write more novels and sell more rights. Isn't that better?

One of the top contenders, the high-achieving Operations Manager Wayne Hart, also objected: "The COO role should be about ability and strength, not just seniority. Tenure shouldn't push out capable people."

I continued to nod at Mr. Sterling: "Yes, I have no strength or ability. I just stayed because it was easy to slack off. Leave the opportunity to capable people."

If I become COO, I won't have time to slack off. What about my readers waiting for updates? I'm not that irresponsible.

The founding faction stood up: "If the standard for choosing a COO is this casual, we can't have any expectations for the company's future."

I just agreed: "Yes, yes, it can't be this casual."

The new generation faction stood up: "We won't accept her. If someone like her can be COO, so can we."

I sincerely agreed: "Yes, yes. If I can be COO, everyone can."

Everyone couldn't take it anymore and roared at me: "Can you shut up?"

My cooperation did not earn me respect.

Maybe I should just resign!

But finding a job with a $1200 base salary, full benefits, weekends off, and no overtime where I can slack off is hard.

As if seeing the thought of resignation on my face, Mr. Sterling, who had been silent, spoke up.

He stood up and declared against all objections that although I seemed like a small clerk, I was actually stronger than everyone present.

Me: ...

I accepted everyone's gaze again. Everyone was surprisingly in sync, their faces saying two words: Her?