Chapter 149: Chapter 149: Self-Inflicted Misfortune
The announcement regarding the punishment of Leo Shaw, assistant in R&D Department One, was quickly circulated company-wide.
Thea Lynch glanced at it briefly, put down her phone, and continued eating.
Foreman Chandler read it with interest, somewhat thoughtfully: "That young man Shaw has bad intentions, brought this upon himself."
"Having ambition is a good thing, but if he had the right attitude and focused his energies properly, it wouldn’t have come to this. Quite a pity..."
"His education isn’t bad, really. It’s just that he’s too arrogant and doesn’t understand that there’s always someone better."
Thea drank some tea to refresh her palate, calmly summarized: "His abilities don’t match his ambitions."
"Exactly, exactly," Foreman Chandler agreed. "So true."
"Young people, a little ambition isn’t a bad thing, but it has to be realistic. You can’t think of flying the moment you’ve learned to crawl... Oh, Lynch, your phone?"
Foreman Chandler noticed the phone lighting up on the table and reminded Thea.
Her phone had been on silent during the meeting earlier, and she forgot to change it back when she came out.
She picked up the phone and glanced at it; it was an unfamiliar number.
She clicked to decline the call and didn’t pay it further attention.
"Why not answer it?"
"I usually don’t answer unknown numbers. Besides, it’s quite clearly Leo Shaw."
"Wow," Foreman Chandler hastily put down his chopsticks to check his own phone, "I better take a look at mine."
"He probably won’t call me, but it’s possible he’ll message on WeChat."
Even though he’s been blocked and deleted, most people now have more than one WeChat account. Work and personal life are kept quite separate.
"No messages yet. I’ve checked, and no one else in the group has mentioned anything either." Putting down his phone, Foreman Chandler asked, "Lynch, are you going to check yours?"
"No need," Thea responded indifferently.
She didn’t use WeChat much anyway and had long stopped allowing strangers to add her.
In the afternoon, Thea conducted a whirlwind interview with a recent graduate, all from prestigious universities.
The candidate was a girl who wore thick black-framed glasses, smiled shyly, and didn’t talk much. Upon closer inspection, she appeared somewhat timid.
Thea shifted her gaze from the girl’s repeatedly fidgeting fingers, put down her resume, and asked, "Your resume looks pretty good; honestly, there are places more suitable for you than Stratus."
The candidate thought this was a rejection and hurriedly explained, "No, no, no, I think Stratus is great."
"Really? Tell me, what attracts you to Stratus?"
She expected the candidate to say something clichéd, but unexpectedly, the girl seriously considered it and listed the current advantages of Stratus as if reciting a litany.
The human resources manager leaned over and whispered in Thea’s ear, "Foreman Lynch, this one seems decent. Just a bit low on education."
Thea smirked, waited for the girl to finish, then asked, "Are you aware you’re interviewing for an assistant position? Specifically, as my assistant? You’re only two or three years younger."
"I know, I know!" The candidate nodded vigorously, "I’ve read several of your SCI papers before. There was an opportunity to study abroad when I was in university, and I even attended one of your debates."
"The debate was centered around humans and technology, though I can’t remember the specifics, but I was deeply impressed with you!"
"I was actually there in person; I even have pictures on my social media..." The girl feared Thea might think she was trying to ingratiate herself, so she anxiously tried to prove it.
"No need, thank you," Thea nodded. "That debate wasn’t widely promoted by the school, and few people knew about it. So, I believe you."
The girl sighed in relief, exchanged a glance with Thea, quickly looked away, and continued to explain, "I admire you a lot and sincerely hope to become your colleague and work alongside you."
Thea responded with a hum, folded her hands, and asked a somewhat unrelated question: "Why didn’t you continue with your studies? Your grades were good, and pursuing further studies could give you more opportunities."
Upon hearing this, the girl scratched her head, "My family isn’t very supportive of graduate studies, saying it won’t be useful. Since I’m not financially independent yet, I thought I’d start working."
After gaining a general understanding of the situation, Thea didn’t press further.
"Alright, I don’t have any more questions."
It seemed like there was no hope. The girl stared at her in a daze, feeling uneasy as she stood up, "Thank you. So, I..."
Seeing this, Thea smiled, "No rush, you can sit back down."
"Oh, okay, okay." The girl returned to her seat as Thea continued, "Don’t you have any questions for us?"
"Like about the benefits or any other concerns."
"This is the human resources manager; you can ask directly."
Thea gave her the opportunity.
Fresh out of university and with an introverted personality, she was unclear and afraid to speak up.
If Thea hadn’t prompted her, she might have really turned to leave.
The girl clutched her bag tightly and asked, "What would the work hours roughly be? Also, are there dormitories for employees... I haven’t found a place to live yet."
Stratus’s location is exceptional, and rent within ten kilometers isn’t cheap.
If she lived a bit farther, she was worried about long commute times and being late for work.
"Our official hours are roughly ten to six, with a two-hour lunch break. However, you might need to adjust according to my schedule."
"To be honest, following my schedule would require significant overtime, though I can be flexible with morning hours."
"As for employee dormitories..." Thea only knew that Foreman Chandler and his team had them.
She looked at the HR manager, who understood: "We don’t have dormitories, but we offer housing subsidies. If you can’t find a suitable place short-term, the company can provide a month’s free accommodation."
The girl’s eyes brightened, "That’s great!"
The HR manager nodded, "Certainly."
Then she inquired about salary, ending with, "I don’t have any other questions. Thank you."
The HR manager glanced at Thea, then said, "Okay, please wait for notification, the results will be released within a week. Looking forward to you joining Stratus."
——
"Foreman Lynch, are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?" The HR manager caught up with Thea, surprised by what she’d said earlier: "We have time; shall we interview a few more?"
"This girl seems to have decent skills, just too withdrawn, making communication difficult. And her education..."
"For a technical position, personality doesn’t matter. I can green-light the educational aspect. Inform her quickly to join."
"Alright then, I’ll notify her to proceed with the onboarding process."
From a distance, Foreman Chandler’s assistant sprinted over, "Foreman Lynch! Silas Cheney is looking for you!"
"Is he back?" Thea was startled.
"No, it’s a phone call. He called the office, asking you to respond promptly."
"Okay." Thea changed direction, headed to the pantry to call Silas Cheney back.
"Hey, brother Silas..."
The call was answered, and a voice interrupted: "It’s not Silas Cheney, it’s me."
