THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

Marvin walked through the entrance of the company building to the reception. Upon reaching where the receptionist was and upon sighting him, her eyes were wide out of shock.

"Good morning Master Marvin." She greeted.

"Good morning Mrs Flora, how is everything?"

"Everything is fine. How about you?"

"I am good." Replied Romeo.

"So sorry about what happened to you, I on you must be going through a lot right now."

"I know Mrs Flora, but what would I do, my father has made his decision." Marvin shrugged his shoulders.

"You know I really wish you had the synapticore force within you, you surely would have been a great leader." She was aware of how hardworking and passionate Marvin was during his time at the company.

"Well, I don't have it."

"About your wife…"

"No Mrs Flora, don't go there, I don't wish to remember anything about Martha Arceneaux." Marvin interrupted.

"I am sorry about that master Marvin, but what I really wanted to say, is that I have a niece that you could get married to, she is a good girl, she is strong and hasn't been deflowered yet."

"Mrs Flora, you are such a kind lady, I appreciate your concern for me, but my time here is limited. However I wish to check in and get my stuffs out of my office okay."

Mrs Flora nodded.

"So check me in, at least for one last time." He smiled at her.

After being checked in, Marvin used the elevator to arrive at the fifth floor were his office was.

Almost suddenly, he walked out of the elevator and in a few minutes, he was in his office.

While he walked towards his office, he heard a discussion between two staffs who where complaining about the shipment containing iron and aluminum which had not yet arrived.

Marvin couldn't do anything but smile. "You guys haven't seen anything yet, by the time I am done with dealing with this company, Daniel would surely regret ever treating me badly." He muttered under his breath.

Marvin began to arrange his files and important items into a big bag he brought with him.

Just then David Noue walked in.

David Noue was the Chief Financial Officer, and not just that, he was Marvin's former course mate while they were in college, however, he never liked Marvin because Marvin was way smarter than him.

As David Noue strolled into the office, his posture was relaxed, but his eyes were gleaming with a mixture of amusement and condescension.

He watched Marvin silently for a moment, leaning casually against the doorframe as Marvin continued to pack his things.

There was cruel satisfaction in his gaze, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

"Well, well, well." David finally spoke with a voice that was dripping with mockery. "If it isn't the former golden boy, packing up and leaving like a thief in the night."

Marvin didn't bother looking up as he continued to stack his files neatly into the bag.

He knew what was coming, and he wasn't in the mood for a confrontation.

Despite Marvin's effort to avoid David Noue, David wasn't going to let him off that easily.

He sauntered over one of the chairs in front of Marvin's desk and flopped into it, making himself comfortable.

"I always told you Marvin." David continued, crossing his legs and smirking. "I always said that without the mark, you would never be valued. I said that you would never be truly respected. And look at you now…no synapticore, no respect, no position. Just a disgraced son, packing up his things like a common employee."

He let out a laugh that echoed around the office, and they were annoying sounds on Marvin's nerves. "Looks like I was right all along, huh? All that hard work, all that passion, and for what? To be thrown aside the moment they realized you were nothing special. Nothing at all. which is the truth. There is absolutely nothing special about you at all."

Marvin paused, his hands were tightened around a particular file as he fought to keep his composure.

David's words stung, but they also fueled the fire burning inside him.

He had expected this kind of response from David—he had braced himself for it—but hearing it aloud was something else entirely.

"Do you ever get tired of hearing yourself talk, David?" Marvin finally responded, his voice was calm but it was laced with steel. He looked up at David with cold eyes.

"You think your wish for my downfall has come to pass? you think you have won because I am leaving? Because I have been forced out?

"Well Yes I am happy you are being thrown out, but let me also break it to you that I have been able to get on Daniel Richmond's good side and guess what? My wages are going to be increased by seventy percent. I have been assured that allocations to my financial department would be tripled. So yeah, I have won." He shrugged his shoulders.

"David, let me tell you something, what you don't understand is that this is just the beginning. I may not have the mark but I have something that no one in this company has—and that is resolve. The fact that I was able to do all I did, build all the strong connections that were necessary for the growth of this company, the fact that I was able to do all this without the synapticore mark is a miracle, it is a wonder, but unfortunately you are too myopic to see any of that." Marvin's voice was firm.

David Noue let out a laugh. "You say you built strong connections for this company, come on Marvin, that talk is so laughable. How do you expect me to believe that you built strong connections for this company when you weren't able to build a strong connection with your wife?"

David's words hit Marvin like a punch to the gut. The insult about his wife hurt him deeply, and it was something Marvin had tried to forget. But now, David had brought it all back, and the pain and anger bubbled up inside him.

Marvin tried to stay calm, but his hands started to shake, and he felt his heart pounding in his chest.

He didn't want David to see how upset he was, but the insult was too much to handle.

The room felt smaller, like the walls were closing in on him, and David's laughter made it worse.

Marvin reached into his pocket and slowly pulled out his phone, his grip was so tight that his knuckles turned white.

He forced out a smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. There was something serious and dangerous in the way he looked at David, something that made David's smug expression waver a little.

"Watch me closely, David," Marvin said quietly, but his voice was full of cold determination and some subtle wickedness. "Watch how I’m going to turn this company upside down in an instant."