Mira Patel was the first to open it. She was always the first. At 6:15 AM, her office pod on the 14th floor of the NTR Tower hummed to life, the circadian LEDs shifting from sleep-blue to predatory amber. She clicked "Accept Terms."
Sofia finally turned to look at Leo. Her eyes were different. Not cruel. Just… reassigned . She smiled—the same smile she used to give him over late-night spreadsheets and takeout Thai.
But his phone buzzed. One last notification, pushed through even after hours: Your replacement has been assigned. Please report to Emotional Logistics at 8:00 AM. Do not be late. This is not a suggestion. This is a feature. Leo kept walking.
"This is insane," Yuki whispered, scrolling through the logs. Every interaction, every glance, every micro-expression was being fed into a central model. The model's goal: maximize emotional throughput by optimizing romantic and professional triangulation. NTR Office -v20250128A-
"They know exactly how much we can take," Yuki said. "0.62. That's the breaking point before you either quit or accept it. And once you accept it…"
Priya from HR was the first to break. She stared at her own dashboard.
Marcus clicked a remote. The wall screen lit up with the new NTR Office dashboard, projected for all to see. Mira Patel was the first to open it
Leo's jaw tightened. "That's not what my contract says."
The dashboard updated in real time: Sofia's Attention to Leo: 2%. Sofia's Attention to Marcus: 91%.
The system would find him tomorrow. They always do. Next patch: v20250129B – "Introducing Jealousy as a Service (JaaS)" She clicked "Accept Terms
The new "Relationship Dashboard" replaced the old project management suite.
"Leo, it's fine," she said. "This is just more efficient. You can still handle the data entry. I'll be in the executive syncs from now on."