Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Even though there was nothing Carl could do about Samantha at the meeting, he could easily handle her when they were back at the anchor department. It was his domain after all.

Despite having escaped from the public self-review, Samantha was not going to have it easy under his watch!

After saying that, he turned around arrogantly and strode into his office, slamming the door shut behind him.

The other two anchors had a feeling of schadenfreude as they looked at Samantha. After all, their own chances were boosted with one less competitor, and they were particularly happy because Samantha was a very strong rival.

They got up one after another and walked towards the conference room.

Harmony got up too, but instead of going in, she walked up to Samantha and smiled unceremoniously at her.

She moved closer to Samantha and lowered her voice to whisper in Samantha’s ear, “Samantha, does it really matter if the general manager protects you again and saves you from having to do that public self-review? You’re out of luck in the assignment, and you’re even more down on your luck on your chances of becoming Ms. Goldman’s apprentice.”

Samantha looked up and chuckled rather than getting angry. “Do your best then. When you get the chance to do the interview, I’ll be sure to buy you a flower basket to congratulate you.”

Harmony could clearly hear the mockery in her tone, but was not at all annoyed because she was confident in getting success. “I don’t mind letting you in on a little secret in advance, but the reason you could escape the public self-review was all thanks to me, so you can start preparing your flower basket now! I’d be happy to accept it!”

“Sure. Guess I’ll wait and see then.” Samantha was still smiling.

Harmony merely viewed Samantha’s smile as a desperate attempt to hide despair. She flicked her long hair back then turned around and walked towards the conference room as her high heels clacked on the floor.

Samantha returned to her desk and sat down.

A cup of hot coffee was suddenly placed on her table.

Samantha looked up to see Annabelle—the young secretary—smiling and saying warmly, “I made you a cup of coffee, Ms. Larsson. Sugar-free and extra milk, just the way you like it.”

It was clearly a comforting gesture from Annabelle.

Samantha was a little surprised. Carl was the anchor department’s boss and no one dared to stand on her side when he so clearly targeted her. She would even be alienated because the others feared being dragged down along with her.

She was completely shocked that Annabelle would be the first person to show her kindness.

Samantha smiled in return. “Thank you. I’ll take my time to enjoy it.”

Annabelle raised a fist in a cheering gesture before turning around and leaving.

Samantha watched as Annabelle left before picking up the cup of coffee. She blew on the coffee to cool it down a little before taking a sip.

The taste turned out to be just perfect.

…

Carl looked at the three anchors before him inside the conference room. Two of them had been working under him for a long time. They were loyal and obedient, but their achievements were nothing to shout about and were frankly quite mediocre.

He had no idea how he was supposed to even recommend either of them to do the interview.

The new anchor Samantha was a thorn in his side, and he knew too little about Harmony to decide whether or not she was worth recommending. As a result, he could only continue observing them.

After mulling over it for a moment, Carl said, “The ball is in your court to decide which one among you three will get the chance to conduct the interview with Professor Cornell. This means that the person who secured the interview opportunity will also have the right to report on the news. I’m sure you all know what a rare opportunity this is!”

He leaned back on the swivel chair and glanced haughtily across the three anchors. “I’ll give each of you one minute to tell me why you should be given the chance to do the interview.”

“Would anyone like to go first?”

The other two anchors raised their hands enthusiastically as soon as he asked that, but all Harmony did was sit there indifferently without trying to vie with the others.

Carl was a little curious and raised his eyebrows as he asked, “What’s the matter, Harmony? Don’t you want this opportunity?”

Harmony raised her eyes to look directly at Carl. She smiled and said in a proud, confident tone, “It’s not that I don’t want the opportunity, Mr. Lewin—this opportunity is already mine.”

Carl seemed intrigued when he heard that. “Are you that confident that I’ll choose you?”

Harmony was pretty sure of herself. “This isn’t about whether you choose me, Mr. Lewin. Professor Cornell has already chosen me.”

After a pause, she continued in a leisurely manner, “The reason Professor Cornell wrote on Waybo that he would only accept an interview with Lychee TV was because I specifically went to him during the weekend. He was convinced by my sincerity.”

Carl was actually surprised that Selby would post such a statement on Waybo that morning and had been pondering over it while walking back to his office. Little did he expect that it was due to Harmony’s efforts.

“Was it really you who convinced him?”

Harmony nodded. “Yes! I planned to let you know as soon as possible, but I didn’t get the chance to do so because you went to the meeting as soon as you arrived at the company this morning.”

“That’s perfect, then.” Carl laughed out loud. “I’ll leave the interview in your hands!”

He got up as he said that and walked over to give Harmony a pat on the shoulder. “Well done, Harmony. Do your best. I’ll be waiting to see your interview.”

Once Harmony completed the interview and made the report to everyone’s satisfaction, he could proceed to concentrate on nurturing her talents.

Harmony smiled confidently. “Don’t worry, Mr. Lewin. I’ll do my best!”

…

When the meeting ended, Harmony walked out like a proud peacock in stark contrast to the other two dejected-looking anchors.

It was obvious which one of them secured the chance to interview Selby.

As Harmony returned to her seat, she saw Samantha playing poker on her cell phone and made a point to say, “Would you like me to help you intercede with Mr. Lewin? I can let you tag along with me during the interview so you can play a supporting role and learn a thing or two while you’re at it.”

Samantha continued tapping on her phone and blurted out all of a sudden, “Royal flush!”

The word ‘victory’ was displayed on the phone screen.

She had ignored Harmony completely.

Harmony was not at all upset and merely sneered. “Rather than grabbing the chance I’m giving you, you decide to indulge in imaginary victories.”

Samantha started a new game of poker.

Harmony felt that her attacks were going nowhere, so she snorted coldly and deliberately picked up her cell phone to call Selby’s assistant.

Once the other side picked up, she smiled and said in a gentle tone, “Hi, I’m an anchor from Lychee TV. I’d like to make an appointment with Professor Cornell to do the interview.”

“So that’ll be this afternoon at two, am I right? Sure, no problem. I’ll be there on time.”

After ending the call, Harmony could sense all the envious looks coming from around her.

It fed her vanity considerably.

When Victoria ridiculed her in front of everyone, she was thoroughly humiliated and had the nagging feeling that everyone was mocking her in secret. At long last she felt vindicated after seeing a turn in her fortunes.

Harmony had always been in the spotlight, for a hale surrounded her all the time in both her career and love life.

She was certainly better than some other individuals.

Harmony narrowed her eyes at Samantha with disdain and began preparing her draft for the interview.

…

Harmony arrived at the university 20 minutes before two.

The assistant led her to Selby’s office and told her to wait briefly because there was another ten minutes before the professor’s class ended.

Ten minutes later, the office door was pushed open and Selby walked in.

Harmony immediately straightened her appearance and stood up to face the man.

Selby walked over.

Harmony stretched out her hand towards him. She smiled charmingly and said softly, “Nice to meet you again, Professor Cornell. I’ll be conducting the interview with you today..”