Chapter 70: The Perk of Afternoon Tea
Chapter 70: The Perk of Afternoon Tea
The hotel room was really soundproof so the yelling in the room did not affect the lively conversations
between the assistants outside.
Jackson kicked the wooden table in the room. The camera wobbled a few times on the corner of the
table and finally fell to the ground with a loud thud. The camera which was worth hundreds of
thousands of dollars instantly broke into pieces.
Bastain stiffened and his facial expression changed. Only then did he realize the seriousness of the
matter.
"It's just a few photos. It won't cause any problems for her this time. Look, after you released your
statement last time, I heard that the fans sent her gifts. It's very nice..."
Seeing Bastain's attitude, Jackson's face grew darker. He wandered around the room, kicked the
camera, and it crashed into the wall.
"How many times have I told you not to drag her in the limelight? Don't you know how much trouble this
would cause? Do you want to lose your job?"
Jennifer's attitude was unusually cold today. It was not only because he used Rose to invite her to
lunch. She was very perceptive, she must have seen the reporter. That was why she said those words.
Bastain panicked and said in a hurry,
"I'm doing this for your own good. I made a reservation in the restaurant for you. If they see you having
a meal with your fans, it would solidify your fan base and increase your exposure. Isn't this good? This
is a win-win situation. Remember, even though you made the statement last time and apologised, but
we didn't take any action to show the fans we are sorry. There are already haters on the Internet who
are kicking up a fuss over this!"
Jackson's eyes were bloodshot. Thinking about his already distant relationship with Jennifer worsening
because of this incident, he was so angry that he wanted to smash something. His tone was cold.
"That's why you were so enthusiastic to arrange a restaurant and help me get rid of the paparazzi... ...
to hide it from me. How smart you are!"
"Jackson, listen to me..."
"Get out..."
"I..."
"I said, get out..."
Bastain frowned, but he didn't dare to disobey him. He sighed, picked up his bag on the sofa, and
walked out of his room.
The large room was filled with all kinds of gifts, like cards, flowers, chocolate, expensive musical
instruments, exquisite cakes, and endless fan letters.
He took a bottle of red wine from the wine rack and sat on the carpet, feeling a little absent-minded.
In the secretary's office of the Joy Group.
Rose lay on the table with a sad face.
"I'm so hungry..."
Jennifer tidied her hair. "Do you think I'm not hungry? I only ate one piece of biscuits and gave you the
rest. You are the reason why we are in this state."
When they returned to the canteen, not only the fried chicken was gone, but even the most boring
salad was sold out too.
Aunt Lucy in the canteen had a very bad attitude.
"There's only some pasta left, no sauce. Do you want it?"
Previously, Rose once complained in front of the lunch ladies that the food that day was the most
terrible meal in the world. Unfortunately, Aunt Lucy was the one who made the meal, and the animosity
between them had appeared since then. Today, they were unlucky and it was Aunt Lucy who was on
duty.
Seeing that Rose was about to start a war with Aunt Lucy, Jennifer hurriedly dragged her out of the
canteen and gave her the last bag of biscuits left in her drawer. Only then did she calm down Rose's
anger.
When Hans passed by the secretary's office, he looked at them and found that they were very lifeless
today. He didn't hear Rose's chattering. One of them was lying on the table and sighing, and the other
was sleeping in front of her laptop.
James was about to speak, Hans raised his hand to stop him and they went straight into the president's
office.
"What's wrong with the two of them? They are not doing well?"
Hans unbuttoned his suit and sat down.
News spread around the company fast and James had always paid attention to it. He smiled lightly.
"I heard that Secretary Rose and Secretary Jennifer went to the canteen late today, and it was Aunt
Lucy on duty. She had a quarrel with Secretary Rose before. So they didn't have any lunch."
Hans's face darkened.
"Who is this Aunt Lucy? Who gave her the right not to provide the employees with a meal? Who
recruited such a person?"
James quickly explained, "Here's the thing. In order to promote the image of the company, we
participated in an environmental event, part of which was the 'Operation Empty Plate'. Therefore, the
amount of food in the canteen is fixed every day and it is only served until half-past eleven. This is the NôvelDrama.Org owns all © content.
rule from the logistics department."
So basically, anyone who hadn't gone to lunch at half past eleven was assumed that they were not
having lunch at the canteen that day.
The secretary department was different from other departments too. They only had an hour lunch
break. Even if they wanted to go out to have lunch, they would have to rush in the busy business
district and wait in long lines.
While Rose was starving in the office, Jack, who came to deliver some documents, exclaimed in
surprise, "Secretary Jennifer, why didn't you two go to get the snacks for afternoon tea today?"
"Afternoon tea?" Rose reflexively jumped up from the chair. "What snacks?"
Jack was puzzled. "Didn't you read the company announcement? The new adjustment in company
welfare. In the future, there will be afternoon tea and snacks every afternoon. Everyone just has to line
up to get one."
Seeing that both of them were at a loss, Jack said resignedly, "No wonder the two of you were staring
at me when I came out of the elevator. You must have thought that I was here to deliver the snacks, but
you guys have to send a representative to get the snacks for the secretary's office."
Jennifer paused as she flipped through the documents and asked in confusion, "Who made the
announcement? Why is it so sudden? I didn't see the company's logistic department propose this
before."
"James sent it. You'll see it when you open the front page of the company website. You're probably too
busy to notice it."
Rose had already finished browsing the notice and sprinted toward the elevator.
It was like she found an oasis in the desert.
James sat in front of his desk and browsed through the replies to the announcement he had just made.
Most of it was just flattery to their boss, he smiled lightly.
Hans had never been an advocate for a comfortable working environment. He felt that harsh
environment built characters. Any enjoyment during the working hour was a waste of time and money.
When Thomas was still around, they used to have snacks for afternoon tea too. But when Hans took
over the company, he cancelled it. He was a rational businessman. He paid his employees' salaries, so
their working hours belonged to the company. They should not think about enjoying themselves.
But when he suddenly proposed to restore the perk of afternoon tea today, James suddenly felt that
even though no one could find any trace of emotion in him, maybe he had just used it all on
Jennifer.