Lucinda halted and flashed a professional smile, greeting Edgar, "Hey Edgar, how's it going?"
Edgar didn't smile, but his face was amicable. He gave a slight nod in response to Lucinda's greeting.
Lucinda assumed that he would walk past her, so she stepped aside.
But Edgar didn't move. Instead, he stood there, looking at Lucinda holding a pile of materials to deal with, and curiously asked, "What are you up to?"
"Jennifer said that these materials are no longer needed, so I'm assigned to dispose of them."
"Is that part of your job description?"
Lucinda was slightly taken aback. Her job title, printed on her badge, was assistant to a certain manager, but she had no clue what that manager looked like because she hadn't seen her direct superior since she started that job.
Later, she learned from others that her boss was at that time on a business trip.
So, her official duties were still unclear. She carried out whatever tasks people gave her.
"I didn't have other tasks, so I just thought I'd give Jennifer a hand."
Hearing Lucinda's answer, Edgar fell silent for a moment. In the midst of everyone's nervousness, he calmly said, "Yeah, newbies should learn more and do more. No matter the size of the task, doing it yourself would always teach you something."
Nobody started off handling big deals. Everyone started small.
Everyone's experience started from scratch.
Lucinda thought so too. She thanked Edgar, "Thanks for the advice, Edgar."
"But don't let people push you around. If anyone at Ascend Global bullies the newbies just to slack off, they'd get the boot."
Edgar's words implied that he had heard a lot.
Jennifer broke into a cold sweat, and even Linda started to get nervous after hearing his words.
They feared that their actions had been observed by Edgar and other higher-ups. Could they hold onto their jobs?
Lucinda responded with a smile, "Thanks Edgar. I won't let people walk all over me."
Edgar admired Lucinda's composure, revealing no weaknesses. He thought to himself, “Just like the boss' wife, acting so convincingly, this calmness is just like the boss.”
Turning to Jennifer and Linda, Edgar gave a little smile. He had to tread carefully around Lucinda, afraid of being caught out by her stealthy actions. Those people dared to openly set a trap for Lucinda, they really didn't fear trouble. Did they really think finding a job was that easy?
"Get back to work."
Lucinda's acting was convincing, and Edgar played along just as well. No one could tell that Edgar held a secret respect for Lucinda.
Lucinda left with the pile of materials to be dealt with.
Edgar and a group of senior executives lingered for a moment, without saying a word, then they also left.
After he left, everyone in the office looked at each other, reading each other's thoughts from their eyes.
Jennifer kept on wiping the cold sweat off her forehead with tissues as she was still trembling with fear.
She never thought that Edgar would come to the third floor with the senior executives. That had never happened before.
Thinking back to their climb up the corporate ladder, some people appeared to be highly capable, but in the end, they were unable to get a promotion. Everyone began to wonder if those who were promoted had special backgrounds. As it turned out, it was because the higher-ups would secretly observe their attitude and behavior in an office environment.
They would secretly observe their conduct.
Among two equally capable individuals, it was always the one with better conduct who got promoted.
Lucinda didn't know how everyone perceived that issue. Before she handled any documents, she would read them carefully first, and then dispose of them.
Company documents, regardless of their relevance, shouldn’t be leaked. They must either be kept safely or destroyed.
Under the same sky, different people were doing different things in different places.
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