As I walked through my own company disguised as a janitor, my top executive sneered, “People like you don’t belong here.” Her tone was the first warning something inside my empire had gone wrong. I stayed silent, memorizing every face that laughed. Thirty minutes later, I called an emergency board meeting and revealed who I really was… and by noon, my next move left the entire building in chaos.

Thirty minutes later, the executive boardroom hummed with tension.

I had sent a sudden summons to all senior staff and leadership. When the CEO calls a meeting without warning, panic follows.

Every seat was filled.
Chicago glimmered through the glass walls.
Executives whispered among themselves.

Veronica sat near the head of the table, tapping her pen impatiently. She likely assumed the meeting was about quarterly numbers — certainly not about the janitor she’d humiliated.

In my private office, I washed off the grime, shaved the beard, and donned a charcoal three-piece suit. I tightened my platinum watch and stared at my reflection.

Arthur Sterling was back.
But the disappointment on my face was something new.

I walked into the boardroom without knocking.

The room went silent.

“Mr. Sterling,” the COO sputtered, “we didn’t know you were here today.”

I said nothing until I reached the head of the table.

“I spent the morning touring our floors,” I began. “Not as myself — but as a new janitor.”

Confusion spread.

Then I placed a pair of smudged drugstore glasses on the table.

They clattered loudly.

“And I learned more in three hours undercover than in three years of management reports.”

Veronica frowned.
“Arthur… what is this about?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I set the “Caution: Wet Floor” sign on the table with a thud.

Recognition dawned.
Her skin drained of color.

“You…” she whispered.

“Yes,” I said quietly. “Me.”

I faced the room.