Chapter 137 Office Politics
Chapter 137 Office Politics
"After the meeting about thest quarter, your marketing department confidently promised an 80%
payment rate, but what happened? Do you know that if this continues, thepany''s cash flow will
be tight and could easily break?"
"Ms Martinez, Ms Knight has only been with us for three days. She doesn''t fully understand these
matters yet. Can you..."
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"It shouldn''t be an excuse. If she sits in this position, she must take responsibility for it!" Isabe
Martinez interrupted Ava Jones. "If we don''t hold her ountable just because she''s new here, then
who will be responsible when your marketing department changes leaders every other day? Who
will manage sales and payments for thepany?"
"But..." Ava Jones tried to speak up again.
"Ms Martinez, hello!" Harleen interrupted Ava Jones and stood up. "I''ve looked at some reports over
the past few days and I agree that our payment rate is a bit low. However, I promise you that
starting this quarter our payment rate will rise above 80%."
"Anyone can talk big," Isabe Martinez sneered. "The previous three marketing managers all
talked like you did."
Before Harleen could respond to herment, Isabe continued speaking. "For now let''s put
aside future promises, on behalf of thepany, I''m officially notifying you that all members of the
marketing department are having their bonuses andmissions of thest quarter withheld in full!
If we still can''t achieve an 80% payment rate by end of this quarter then don''t even think about
getting any year-end bonuses!"
"Ms Martinez! This isn''t fair!" Ava Jones protested loudly.
"The reason why we didn''t reach our target was because a former manager signed arge order
without collecting payments before being fired by thepany, which brought down our overall
percentage. But the marketing department has achieved the 80%, why shouldn''t the other
colleagues receive their bonuses andmissions?"
"Rude!" Isabe Martinez responded angrily. "What are you saying? Watch your tone and
remember your position!"
"I''m just telling the truth. If thepany thinks I''m a problem, they can fire me!" Ava Jones replied
indignantly.
"You!" Isabe Martinez''s face darkened. "Do you think thepany won''t dare to fire you?"
"Ava, calm down first," Harleen said, then turned to Isabe Martinez. "Ms Martinez, let me
understand this situation before we discuss it further. Besides, even if thepany does want to
deduct our bonuses andmissions, shouldn''t we have a meeting first and then have an official
notice from the marketing department?"
"What do you mean? Are you saying I don''t have the authority to issue this notice?" Isabe
Martinez responded coldly.
"You''re in charge of the finance department while we''re in the marketing department. What do you
think about that?" Harleen''s tone also became colder.
"Very well!" Isabe Martinez snorted coldly. "You''re quite tough for a new marketing manager! You
want thepany to issue an official notice? Good timing then! Mr Patton is back from his business
trip and you''ll be able to see it soon!"
After speaking, she looked at Ava Jones again and said, "Mr Patton asked me to inform you that he
wants to see you in his office right away!"
After finishing her words with another cold snort, Isabe turned around and left.
"He... he came back so soon?" After Isabe Martinez left, Ava Jones shivered all over her body.
"Ava, what happened?" Harleen noticed something was wrong with her.
"Ms Knight, I... I don''t want go into his office..." Ava Jones'' face was slightly pale.
"Why not?" Harleen asked curiously.
"Just now I introduced thepany''s affairs to you. There is one thing that I haven''t had a chance
to tell you," Ava Jones took a deep breath and continued. "Our marketing department has already
changed three managers this year, and the previous three were alldies. Actually, their work
abilities were quite good, but they were dismissed by thepany due to special reasons."
"What special reason?" Harleen hesitated for a moment.
"The Mr Patton that Isabe Martinez just mentioned, named Gerald Patton, he''s thepany''s
executive vice president. He has been on a business trip recently and you haven''t met him yet. He
is a dirty old man who often harasses female colleagues in thepany, relying on his social
connections in Ozin. Several female colleagues in thepany have already fallen victim to him.
The previous three managers before you were all fired because they refused to sumb to his
sexual harassment. And the reason why Isabe Martinez dares to be so domineering in the
company is because she has sucked up to him!"
Startled, Harleen asked, "Doesn''t the General Manager care about it?"
"Ms Rodriguez also has her own difficulties. She is just a professional manager, and Mr Patton
doesn''t even consider her." Ava Jones responded.
Just at that moment, Ava Jones'' phone rang. She picked it up and her face changed again upon
seeing what was on the screen.
"I got it!" After hanging up the phone, Ava Jones took a deep breath and looked at Harleen. "Gerald
Patton asked me to go to his office!"
"Has he harassed you before?" Harleen frowned slightly.
Ava Jones nodded and said, "It''s happened two or three times already, where he tried to touch me
in his office."
"What a jerk!" Harleen said angrily.
"Here''s the deal. You go see what he wants from you first. If he tries anything funny, message me
and I''ll talk to him, okay?" Harleen said.
"Ms Knight, forget it. I can''t let you get involved in this. You just started at thepany and if you
confront him, he won''t back down." Ava Jones shook her head. "Besides, Isabe Martinez was
probably rude to you earlier because she thinks you''re too pretty and is worried that Mr Patton might
have feelings for you instead of her. If you cause any more trouble, she''ll definitely convince Mr
Patton to fire you!"
"Don''t worry about it!" Harleen responded. "You should go first. If it''s work-rted, it wouldn''t be
appropriate for you not to show up anyway. Plus, sooner orter I''ll have to deal with him."
"Okay... alright then..." Ava Jones nodded slightly before leaving the office.
Meanwhile on the floor above them in one of therge conference rooms a group of men and
women were having a meeting.
If Billy were there, he would immediately recognize the man sitting at the head of table with a smug
expression as the chairman of World Group, Derek Hines.
SunPark Group used to be owned by one of Ozin''s three major families - the Watkins family. Since
those families had fallen into trouble, Derek Hines had gradually acquired all their prime assets
ording to Billy''s orders, and SunPark Group was one among them.
Today was Derek''s first meeting after integrating SunPark Group into his portfolio where he would
listen aboutpany operations while also getting acquainted with its management team.
Sitting next to Derek on his left was a young woman who looked like she wasn''t even thirty yet,
reporting work progress using projection equipment.
Harper Rodriguez, the general manager of SunPark Group, stood tall and elegant in her dark grey
suit. Her features were refined and her demeanor exuded confidence and efficiency.
"Mr Hines, this is the current state of ourpany''s operations." Harper said as she finished her
presentation and turned to Derek with a respectful tone.
"Hmm, not bad," Derek nodded slightly. "Please introduce each department head briefly to me so
that I can recognize them in the future."
"Okay," Harper Rodriguez nodded.
Soon after, information about thepany''s management team began to appear on the projection
screen.