Chapter 17 - The Employee Number One
The countdown continued.
01:34:16...
Richard left the operations center carrying the silver ledger beneath his arm.
He wanted fresh air.
Instead, Edward guided him into another corridor.
Unlike the surveillance halls above, this section resembled an archive.
Thousands of employee records filled endless shelves.
Every staff member who had ever worked at the hotel.
Every resignation.
Every promotion.
Every disciplinary report.
Richard slowly walked between the cabinets.
He occasionally recognized familiar names.
Some had worked beside him for decades.
Others had disappeared without explanation.
Daniel noticed something unusual.
The employee files were numbered.
0002...
0003...
0047...
1281...
5926...
But there was no Employee Number 0001.
Daniel mentioned it.
Edward smiled faintly.
"There is."
He continued walking until reaching an isolated steel cabinet.
Unlike the others, it required a physical key.
Richard instinctively reached into his pocket.
Without realizing it...
He had already picked up the correct key from the conference table earlier.
The lock opened smoothly.
Inside rested only one file.
Employee Number:
0001
Name:
Richard Morgan.
Daniel blinked.
"You registered yourself as an employee?"
Richard slowly opened the folder.
His original employment contract appeared.
Date of hire...
Thirty-eight years earlier.
Position:
Maintenance Assistant.
Salary:
Minimum wage.
Daniel looked confused.
"But you owned the company."
"Not then."
Richard smiled sadly.
"I cleaned construction debris."
"I carried bricks."
"I repaired plumbing."
"I worked every department before opening day."
He turned another page.
Attendance records.
Performance evaluations.
Training certificates.
Each signed by different supervisors.
Richard laughed quietly.
"I remember Mr. Walters."
"He failed my first safety inspection."
Edward nodded.
"He didn't know you were the owner."
"He wasn't supposed to."
Further inside the file lay dozens of handwritten notes from coworkers.
Richard always helps.
Richard bought lunch for everyone.
Richard stayed late after shifts.
Excellent attitude.
Never complains.
Daniel looked at him.
"You wanted to know every job personally."
Richard nodded.
"You cannot ask employees to do work you've never done yourself."
Silence settled over the archive.
Then Daniel discovered something tucked inside the final pocket.
A termination notice.
Employee Number 0001.
Status:
Dismissed
Effective Date:
Twenty years ago.
Reason:
Founder No Longer Authorized.
Richard stared at the page.
"I never resigned."
Edward answered quietly.
"No."
"They fired you."
Richard slowly looked around the endless archive.
Someone had removed him...
May you like
Not only from his family.
But from his own company.
