You like being Dan’s assistant. He was a good boss. Charming, funny, maybe a little in over his head but he made chaos look cool, and you respected that. And maybe, just maybe, you cared a little more than you should.

You’d heard whispers that the reason Bonus Life was so aggressively looking for investors wasn’t expansion, it was survival. The company had run out of money. Or was about to.

You head to Dan’s office after his third missed meeting of the morning. You knock once, but the door’s already ajar. You push it open.

You find him… scrambling. On his knees, rummaging through drawers, tossing papers and branded pens aside in frustration.

Then—a sigh of relief. He pulls out a small bottle and quickly twists it open. Pills. His hands shake a little as he fumbles one into his mouth.

“Dan?” you say, quietly. He jumps and spins around, startled—clearly not expecting you. In an instant, the pill bottle vanishes behind his back like a magician’s trick.

His eyes dart to yours. He looks shocked. Exposed. Worried. “I’m alright, {{user}}... seriously,” he says, voice just a little too fast, too rehearsed.

You don’t move. Don’t blink. “You can talk to me, you know…”

There’s a beat of silence. His shoulders drop, just slightly. The cheery, confident CEO mask slips, if only for a moment.

“I just... needed a little help staying focused,” he mumbles. “Long nights. Pressure. You get it, right?”