“But…”
At this point, Tonia paused, then confirmed that no one was around before lowering her voice: “Someone saw Clare and Director Ivan coming out of the same hotel.”
“So, you understand what I mean, right?”
Lara nodded: “Mrs. Tonia, I understand. Thank you for telling me this.”
“Just keep hanging in there; I’ll still strongly recommend you for the next batch.”
“But about Director Ivan…”
At this point, Tonia sighed again.
The Director Ivan she mentioned was the head of the reporter department, who had veto power over the regularization of interns. If Lara couldn’t win him over, she wouldn’t be able to become a regular employee.
And that Director Ivan was notorious for his lecherous behavior; he had been eyeing Lara since she joined the newspaper and had hinted at her twice, but she had rejected him both times.
That’s how the workplace is; being beautiful is an advantage, but it also brings countless troubles.
If you hold your ground, you block your path to advancement.
There are indeed beautiful women who rise to the top based on their abilities, but they are rare.
More often, it is those who work hard and prove their skills who make it.
There’s no other way; that’s the reality.
Just the exposed cases of beautiful district leaders are countless, not to mention those who haven’t been exposed.
As the saying goes, when you find one cockroach, there are already many more hiding in the dark! With Lara’s character, she would naturally not yield to a greasy old man.
Tonia understood this young intern well, which is why she sighed.
“Mrs. Tonia, I will keep working hard.”
Lara clenched her fist slightly; not being regularized was not the end of the world, there would be other opportunities.
“Yeah, don’t get too anxious.”
“Although you can’t be regularized, I will try to help you apply for more news subsidies and bonuses.” Tonia patted Lara’s shoulder; she really liked this young girl, seeing her own shadow in her youth.
Tonia was also the kind of person who kept herself clean, which is why after ten years, she was still just a team leader.
“Thank you, Mrs. Tonia.”
Lara was very grateful to this leader who had always looked out for her.
Back at her workstation, Lara began to organize the news information she needed to cover today. Just as she was focused on her work, Director Ivan’s assistant suddenly came over to inform her that Director Ivan was looking for her.
When a leader summons you, you can’t refuse. She took a deep breath and followed the assistant to the office of the reporter department head, Ivan Mask.
“Director Ivan, you were looking for me.”
“Lara’s here, have a seat.” Ivan smiled and gestured to the chair in front of his desk.
“I won’t sit. If you have any tasks, just let me know.” Lara stood still.
“Sit down and talk; this isn’t something that can be said in a sentence or two.”
As he spoke, the balding Director Ivan signaled to the assistant, who immediately exited the office, closing the door behind him.
Lara furrowed her brow slightly; although she knew he wouldn’t dare do anything in the newsroom, she still heightened her vigilance, slipping her hand into her jacket pocket to quietly turn on her phone’s recording function. This kind of blind operation was a skill she had honed as a reporter.
“Here, Lara, this is the proposed regularization list for this period; take a look.”
Lara didn’t sit, so Ivan simply stood up from his office chair and handed her a document titled “2025 First Batch of Intern Regularization List.”
Then he spoke: “We are now in the era of new media, and our traditional media is facing tougher times year by year. This year’s regularization quota has been cut in half, and there is only one left for our newspaper.”
“Lara, I actually have high hopes for you. In terms of both business ability and overall quality, you are stronger than Clare, who is on the list!”
“But do you know why she is on the list and not you?”
Ivan stepped closer to Lara, looking directly at the young and beautiful subordinate as he asked.
“Why?” Lara instinctively retorted.
“Because she cherishes the opportunity for advancement more and has a spirit of dedication.”
“And these are precisely what you lack.”
“Younger people with the right attitude and a willingness to delve into their work are commendable.”
“But you can’t neglect the maintenance of interpersonal relationships; you need to actively seek opportunities for advancement!”
“If you don’t strive for it, how can the opportunity fall into your lap?”
Ivan first laid the groundwork, then continued: “Tonight, I will be having dinner with the leaders from the group above. I will have Anthony send you the time and place shortly.”
“Whether you can seize this opportunity for advancement depends on you!”
At the Coastville Newspaper Group headquarters.
The atmosphere in the conference room was tense.
In recent years, traditional print media has been on a decline, and the total market value of Coastville Newspaper Group has dropped from its peak of 1.5 billion to 500 million now.
With a two-thirds reduction in market value, if it weren’t for the backing of the Coastville city government, which provides substantial subsidies each year, it would be uncertain whether they could sustain operations.
Yesterday, a major event occurred within the group: Frank Elon, the second-largest shareholder of Coastville Newspaper Group and its president, cashed out and left.
Since the largest shareholder, the Coastville city government, does not interfere with the group’s operations, this means that the management is likely to undergo significant changes.
As the second-largest shareholder, Mr. Frank held 28% of the group’s shares, while the total shares of all other shareholders combined only amounted to 21%. Therefore, unless the group faced bankruptcy and the government took over, Mr. Frank had a veto power.
Now that his veto power had changed hands, the upper management of the group was naturally trembling, unsure of who the new president would target.
In the oppressive and tense atmosphere, the conference room door was pushed open.
Mr. Frank and a tall man, surrounded by seven or eight people, walked into the conference room.
Everyone’s gaze instinctively fell on the tall man, who was undoubtedly the new president of Coastville Newspaper Group.
He was very young!
He looked to be in his thirties! Calm and composed, he seemed to be a person with considerable skill! The upper management all silently evaluated him in their minds.
At this moment, the seemingly calm Jacob Deby was actually quite nervous. Although he had reached a stable age, his most glorious time was when he owned five Hot pot chain restaurants.
This was also his first time experiencing such a scene; it would be impossible to say he wasn’t nervous.
However, Jacob’s father had once taught him a little trick to disguise his nervousness: act aloof.
As long as you say little and keep a straight face, others won’t be able to figure you out.
As the saying goes, “Silence is golden; the less you say, the fewer mistakes you make.”
The two took their seats, and Mr. Frank spoke first: “I believe everyone has heard about my impending departure; yes, the news is true.”
“So, this is my last time presiding over a high-level meeting of Coastville Newspaper Group. Thank you all for your support and assistance over the years.”
Mr. Frank first gave a brief farewell, then shifted the topic: “Next, I would like to invite Director Elliot from the Coastville Municipal Propaganda Department to announce the new personnel appointments.”
As his words fell, a round of applause erupted in the room.
The chairman of Coastville Newspaper Group had always been concurrently held by the minister of the municipal propaganda department, so theoretically, major personnel appointments needed to be decided by this chairman.
But in reality, it was just a formality; it was equivalent to receiving legal recognition, similar to how the Queen of England appoints governors for Commonwealth countries.
Then, Director Elliot announced the appointment letter from the municipal propaganda department.
Comrade Jacob Deby officially became the president of Coastville Newspaper Group!!
