RULES AND ETHICS

The marketers of the ninth floor huddled together to listen to the tale of the new employee as soon as they returned from their lunch break. The few individuals who had been in the office when the big event occurred became instant celebrities.

Among them was Jian Ru. Jian Ru was not exceptional in any way, but she had numerous delusions of grandeur. She was the kind of person that people could not help shaking their heads at when she talked. Simply speaking, she believed that she was at the top of the world; it was just that most people could not see it.

She smiled smugly at her colleagues as she recounted the tale of how angry the President had been when he had found Hu Lei sleeping. She was quite certain that the woman would not only be fired. And she would not receive a recommendation. It was unlikely that she would find another job.

"Why would the CEO come all the way here just to fire a small new employee?" one of the cleverer co-workers asked.

Jian Ru smiled sneakily at them.

"Perhaps he wanted to come to the floor, and he found a good excuse." She explained.

The people listening did not understand what Jian Ru meant, but they nodded. He had to have had some other purpose. In truth, Jian Ru believed that President Zhong had come to see her, but he could not see her openly because of their positions.

She had believed that they were meant to be since the day that they had been in the lift together. She had been in the elevator and he had stepped in. It should be noted that the CEO had an exclusive elevator and did not need to share his space with his employees.

Therefore, what other reason could he have had to share a lift with her? He only wanted to be with her.

Naturally, as a delusional person, Jian Ru was only overthinking things. The executive elevator had been under maintenance on that particular day and could not be used. In the mind of a crazy person, it had turned into the story of Romeo and Juliet, in love but separated by positions.

On the tenth floor, Lin Man felt some anger when she found out about the incident. It was obvious that Hu Lei thought of herself above the rules and ethics of the company because she had been hired personally by the CEO. She even dared to sleep so soundly during work hours.

She detested women who did not work hard or depend on themselves for success. Every time she saw a woman act helpless to gain sympathy votes from men, she felt like throwing punches. Her disappointment in Hu Lei was not too great though she had expected something like this would happen.

She wondered if she should go forward immediately and issue an apology on behalf of the girl. It was not because she sympathised with the weak woman. It was because it reflected poorly on her as a manager associated with the ninth floor and the head of International Relations. She also felt responsible because Assistant Chen had left Hu Lei in her care. After some thought, she decided to make the necessary amends at the end of the day.

It would be unwise to disrupt Assistant Chen during the work hours when she was not clear about the reason the CEO had come down. Moreover, she had so much to handle before the international conference begun.

However, before she could resume her work, one of the women from the ninth level appeared before her in her office and bowed politely.

"Manager Lin, Hu Lei has made some mistakes. However, our marketing group feel that she should not lose her job because of this small issue. She is still new and is not used to the work. We have voted to go forward to the boss and plead her case." Jian Ru spoke in a small voice.

Lin Man looked at the young woman before her with scepticism. She did not believe a single word coming out of Jian Ru's mouth. She had seen this scene before under different circumstances. This marketer only wished to find an opening to get closer to the big boss.

In a casual situation, she would encourage this type of woman to pursue her dreams and allow her delusions to be crushed in the worst way possible. If this type of fake woman approached a man like the CEO, she would be cast down into the deepest hell.

However, Lin Man knew what was proper and could not take risks in a professional situation. She did not understand anything about Hu Lei and her situation. However, she remembered that her position was directly connected to the President.

Careless actions could endanger her job unnecessarily. Secondly, she was not directly in charge of marketing. She was only involved in dealing with marketing projects involving other countries. Stepping into another manager's jurisdiction could attract animosity for nothing.

"Miss Jian, I am not your direct boss. You should not consult me without speaking to your manager first." Lin Man said.

"But I thought since you are the one who brought Hu Lei…"

"You should concentrate on your own work and stop worrying about matters that do not concern you." Lin Man spoke with finality.

Jian Ru felt angry, but she did not dare say another word. She bowed stiffly and returned to her workstation. In her mind, she believed that Lin Man wanted to use the opportunity for herself and snatch the boss from her. She would not allow that to happen. She would find another way.