Chris had spent the majority of the Masters gala with a big smile on his face, at times sincere, at times exaggerated, depending on the buzz of the moment, his posture never wavering. It was a side of him he liked to kept hidden, masking it with an under-dog exterior, stumbling over his words to make people believe he was harmless, make their eyes skip over him, his presence too mallow and unthreatening to make them realize he'd been sitting in the room just a little bit too long, just a little bit too close, listening to every private word exchanged. Well - after years of intentional stutters and averted looks, he wasn't sure he could ever talk with confidence at all, but he figured he couldn’t be let down if he never tested his luck. During the gala, however, the confidence persisted. For a couple of weeks now, rumors had spread around the I.T. department, whispering about one of their directors and how he may have been poached by a competitor. For weeks now, every manager in I.T. fought to get the job, the position equally as desired by those already at Masters as those who were looking to fight their way in. It didn’t take long for Chris to realize he was first in line for the promotion, not in short due to the fact he'd let himself into a couple of classified emails, delighted to see his higher-ups praising his work. The only complaint they, seemed to have was regarding his people's skills, and so he made sure to be just that little bit more patient with the people around him, spending more of his breaks in the break room, presenting himself as friendly and approachable to his subordinates and superiors alike. Before he knew it, it was the night of the gala, he was pulled over to a table of higher-ups, given a pat on the shoulder and treated to a toast to his name and the stepping stone in his career. Christian Bailey, Director governanc - at least. Maybe people would finally start taking him seriously now.
Though some would argue a manager position was noteworthy in and of itself, especially given the fact he became a manager so early into his twenties, Chris craved more. He'd always been a step in front, a rank above his peers, and though stepping into the manager position for the very first time did stand out as an achievement, now, years later, he was just another smart kid at Masters, one of the many talented individuals driving the company forward. He didn't want to be on of - he wanted to be on top. And as much as he wanted to relish in the success of today, as much as he wore his new title with pride, he couldn't brush past the fact there were still higher-ups above him, the same higher-ups that still had higher-ups of their own, even those still living under the watchful eye of Rolfe. Not that Chris wanted to overtake Rolfe, and yet - It's a bitter-sweet victory, when pride won't let you enjoy what you have, always longing for more.
At lunch, Chris headed out of his brand new office to visit the break room, stopping under the doorframe. He took a moment to breathe before speaking up, “I’d like to invite you all for drinks after work,” he started, his voice shaking only ever so slightly, “it’s on me. To celebrate. I, uh - I’m sure you’ve heard by now, I got promoted, got myself a bigger office and all. Director governance, they even put my name tag on the door already.” It felt weird to talk about himself so much, and yet it felt so good, he almost had to stop himself from screaming ‘I told you so’ to everybody who had told him he was still too young and unexperienced for a directorial position. Guess he showed them.