Chapter 23
Chapter 24:
My mouth is back on the straw again. This time, no matter how bad the ice American is, I will tasteless.
It took about five or six seconds before someone between us spoke again. It’s what I said: “Interesting.”
“It’s not interesting to me.” Kevin used the glass reflection to tidy up his hanging hair. “You know, Yao, I’m in a set.”
“Look,” I licked my upper lip, “It’s still important to manage upwards, because if the boss’s requirements are too out of the ordinary, it will be difficult for us to handle it.”
“Yes, so now you are still discussing upward management with me.” Kevin seemed unconscious about my schadenfreude. I always feel as if he has unloaded a burden at once, maybe this is the first time he has said it. Kevin said: “Is there anything else I want to know?”
“I asked you this question.” I emphasized my position first, and then said, “Have you chosen the right side?”
Kevin looked at me and didn’t answer the conversation rashly. For a moment, he asked: “Have you chosen?”
I smiled and said, “Without the boss’s appreciation and good luck, I cannot rise so quickly at my age. I have feelings for the company.”
“And me,” Kevin also said, “being the head of a department across industries has nothing to do with the courage of the big boss.”
This is a signal. I decided to test it out.
“I’m pretty sure we all want to see better development in the company. It is a very fulfilling thing to achieve results in work. On the other hand, when stocks are rising, no one will be unhappy about it.” I said, “In Southeast Asia, we have no rivals, but when we can break into the hinterland of the company next door, and when we can cut into the real Red Sea, these are still unknown. If the company falls into internal friction, let alone the markets that need to be explored in Europe and the mainland. Whether it can hold Southeast Asia is a problem.”
“you are right.”
“I think your contract shares should be at least twice mine. Can I think so?” I watched his every move. “The stock price is more important to you than salary.”
Kevin got an insight into my meaning. He paused and said, “It’s difficult to answer simply.”
“Then you answer complicatedly.”
“Well,” Kevin breathed a sigh of relief, “I don’t think I can have such a big influence. I’m just a department head, not a big boss.”
I laughed: “Don’t be so pessimistic.”
Kevin was obviously misled by the pen incident. Even if he chose the right side, it is not easy to express his position in front of me due to the vagueness of my position.
He could not hold back his anger to come to me, in fact, he has proved himself innocent. At least until now, Kevin has no intention of picking another team. Comparing heart to heart and being set off by the big boss himself, Kevin is probably facing the abyss now, walking on thin ice; if I sell him well today, he will naturally appreciate it.
But things like switching sides can be done at any time. I wouldn’t be digging my heart out with him because of this.
I said, “Is there anything you want to know, Kevin?”
Kevin took a breath and shook his head. Next, neither of us spoke much. Just when I thought it was about to end, Kevin said: “Do we still have a chance to play golf together?”
I became alert and said, “Of course. Besides, you are the one who played the ball. I was just watching the game from the side that day.”
Kevin raised his eyebrows and nodded.
I was shocked. I really can’t underestimate him, Kevin turned his head and missed me.
When things have come to fruition, of course I have to report to the boss immediately. The one who appeared in front of the boss with me was a cash register receipt with a pen. It stands to reason that I should have an anger with Jocelyn, but this matter was handed over to me by the boss. The boss’s instruction is only my guess, and I will not leapfrog to claim credit. The boss was very satisfied with the result and asked me about the process of talking with Kevin in detail.
The BCG matter was blown by the big boss beforehand. I hesitated for a long time about this news, but decided to tell the boss.
This is a surprise for us. If the news is true, it is equivalent to the big boss using Kevin as a drum to listen to us. Kevin does not say that he suffers, and the situation is obviously leaning towards us-but it is very cryptic. If Kevin does not tell me the matter From an outsider’s point of view, this tug-of-war still has a slight advantage on the side of Kevin who knew beforehand.
The big boss obviously didn’t let us know. In this way, Kevin became the stage for the game between him and the group.
I can’t give the boss a misleading message, and relaying Kevin’s words to the boss shows my position and judgment, and I really believe that he told the truth. As for the relationship between Kevin and the group, there is still a question mark.
Most importantly, assuming everything he said is true, what did he discuss with Miss Pande during dinner?
They are all consultants, and they may have many common topics. Even if it’s just chatting about jewellery, jewellery, clothing crafts, tourist attractions, if Miss Pan De thinks about it, they can even have a good time talking about airline mileage, right?
The question is, why does Miss Pande want to eat with him?
She always appreciates my invitation, and occasionally invites me on the initiative. Although we almost never talked about specific work when we met alone, all the reasons seemed to come from work. I’m not surprised at this: don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I’m so attractive that no one in the talented consulting industry can get into Miss Pan De’s eyes. She has to use the Internet to talk to one of my client’s employees. Huan—I am the person in our department who is most coordinated with their work, and it is extremely important to be responsible for the business, and I report directly to the big boss. If I am willing to release goodwill, why not accept the struggling BCG?
Kevin is different. Kevin ranks higher than me, and now it can be said that he is in the eye of the storm and is much more noticeable than me. Because he had just been stabbed by the big boss, he only maintained the most basic peace with us. If he wanted to make some achievements, he took the initiative to approach Miss Pan De to understand the situation and explore the situation. This is understandable.
But Miss Pan De agreed to the invitation, and the meaning behind it is very intriguing.
Several junior staff, including Xiao Chen, are currently in charge of the docking work with the BCG side. I am fully responsible for this matter. The boss occasionally asks about the situation, but does not interfere with my decision. Considering that I was going to work under Xu Xin’s guidance, and I had to benchmark against Kevin at the level, at least I had to be able to pass it, so I appointed a manager Raymond to be the team leader. Raymond was the one who brought him up by hand, and he could be trusted.
I have taken a lot of thought on the selection of these junior staff. Take Xiao Chen as an example. Chen Yifeng is a student, shallow-minded and willing to do things, but he rarely considers the overall situation. Different from those jobs that can be done by graduate students and junior high school students, our department still has very high requirements for professional training background and smart brains. Graduates from National University may not be stable, but they have been immersed in related industries for more than ten years. Those with low academic qualifications are certainly no problem. Xiao Chen is sloppy and slow, but if I think he is not appropriate, I must have been transferred long ago.
The few who entered the group are all locals. They give full play to the traditional Singaporean spirit of “fear of losing” and make new progress almost every day. Although most of it is useless information, occasionally, someone will hit the Universiade and bring back information that can provide an effective reference for understanding the current situation.
For example, the two people in the Shanghai office did indeed arrive in Singapore a month ago. In fact, they still spent Christmas here.
For another example, Xu Xin, the actual person in charge of the project, came from the National University of China. After graduation, he advanced to BCG Singapore and then transferred to Shanghai. Calculating from the number of years, Kevin was there when he was in the Singapore office.
These two people were once colleagues.
I also thought about whether to ask Jocelyn to verify whether what Kevin told me on Tuesday was the truth. But this is too difficult, not to mention whether I’m sure to do Jocelyn’s words. The big boss is secretive. Obviously it is not something that our department knows. If I ask, what should I do if I become self-defeating? I didn’t know that this relationship was good. Once I knew it, I was a little uneasy: If they were very close at the time, what if Kevin’s news really came from BCG? Is this Xu Xin’s personal meaning, or BCG Singapore’s meaning?
Or, considering that it is the group that invited the consulting company, what if the person who paid the money is instructing it?
I’m not good at being a human being inside or out. There have been so many things in the past few months, and this matter has to be put on hold for the time being.
On Thursday afternoon, I just went to the third party to see the venue and came back. The lobby is sparsely populated, and apart from the front desk and security, there are no personal shadows. I walked a bit slowly. Today’s lunch was used in the open air. After a while in the sun, I was blowing cold wind indoors. My body was obviously uncomfortable.
There were already people in the elevator, but it was only halfway through that I found that the door had been left open, and they were obviously waiting for me. I hurriedly walked a few steps, and came to the front-it turned out to be Miss Pan De.
“Thank you.” I whispered.
She nodded slightly, and the elevator door closed.
She is wearing a sleeveless straight skirt today, the skirt is very narrow, almost straight down the curve. It was the first time I saw her wearing a dress, it suits her too well, the fabric is extremely high-quality, even if it is just reflected by the elevator door. Strips of chalk were left on the dark flannel, and the undulating lines corresponded to her unattached arm. It was very difficult for me to control myself not to turn my head and stare at her.
The reflection of the mirror is so faithful that I collided with her in the mirror, and she was also looking at me.
The brushed metal of the elevator door became ripples on the water surface, and the safety sign in the corner was like a reflection. The depth of field was stretched to be distorted in the repeated mapping back and forth. Only the two people standing in the elevator, Miss Pan De and I, because they were closest to the door, were able to temporarily get rid of this kind of entrapment.
I was looking at her, and she was looking at me too.
If things go on like this, we will never escape this entrapment.
In the water, her deep eyes became gentle and soft, and the vibration of the eyelashes made me distinguish the interval between the brushed metal, and I was taken back to reality from the mirror. Her lips parted, making a slight noise, and her teeth revealed a shadow under her lips—today, her lip color is not conquering, only focusing on defense, but her teeth are still the same white, with the very strong norms of the class language. She is neat and tidy, just like her words, obscure and orderly.
“So…” The silence was torn apart by her, “Is it an honor to invite you to a concert? This Friday night.”