chapter 23 Whoever loses will run naked

Jackson looked at Lily with a playful look in his eyes. "Come here now!" Carlos whispered harshly to Lily. Although Lily was somewhat reluctant, after learning about Jackson's identity, she dared not act recklessly anymore. Carrying several large bags of gifts, she walked over. "Mr. Jackson, I was wrong before, and I apologize to you here. These are gifts prepared for you, as a token of my sincerity, and I hope you will accept them." Lily apologized in a low voice with her head bowed. The staff of the first group in the sales department felt uncomfortable. Lily had always been seen as fearless and led the first group with great success. But now, she was apologizing in a submissive tone to Jackson, who had just joined the company. The most embarrassed person was Lily herself. Feeling the unusual stares from the entire sales department, Lily wished she could hide in a hole. "Leader Lily, you won't think about driving me out of the company anymore, will you?" Jackson said with a half-smile. Lily managed a smile uglier than crying, "I wouldn't dare. Even with the greatest courage, I wouldn't dare offend Mr. Jackson." Carlos also chimed in with many soft words, just hoping this awkward moment would end soon. Fortunately, Jackson didn't intend to make it too difficult for them. He had received a call from Apollo earlier and knew Carlos would back down. Considering the Griffith Group's situation, Jackson decided to let them off. The Griffith Group was facing internal and external troubles. Despite appearing stable, enemies had already infiltrated within. Although Apollo still held great power, the company was showing signs of division. Apollo's authority was no longer as effective as before. Jackson had just joined the company, and if he acted too aggressively now, it would be counterproductive. Carlos coming to him was a small punishment to the restless executives in the company and a warning to them. After this incident, Jackson's reputation finally spread throughout the entire company, and all employees knew that a challenging employee had joined the sales department! ... The next day. As soon as Jackson sat down, Nolan brought him a cup of tea eagerly, saying, "Mr. Jackson, have some tea." "Okay." Jackson nodded. Wade, who was busy assigning tasks to the employees, came over when he saw Jackson and smiled, "Mr. Jackson, did you sleep well last night?" "Pretty well." Jackson replied. Employees of the sales department, whether familiar or unfamiliar with him, all tried to get close to Jackson. It was inevitable, as Jackson was now a star in the sales department. Not only did he achieve a 7,500,000 dollar sales record, but he also had the backing of the chairman, and even Vice President Carlos had to yield to him. Even Frederick, the 'Sales Champion', who had brought in a 3,000,000-dollar deal and made a sensation in the company, was not as impressive as Jackson. "Who is Frederick?" Jackson, with his keen hearing, heard many employees comparing him to Frederick and became curious. Nolan, who was free at the moment, explained, "Frederick is an employee of our second group and the sales champion of the entire sales department." He lowered his voice, "For the past two years, the second group has been relying on Frederick to not be completely outdone by the first group." After hearing Nolan's explanation, Jackson understood. The sales department was divided into two groups. Led by Lily, the first group was full of talent, with 80% of the employees being skilled in networking and business. The second group, however, lacked talent, with Frederick being the only standout before Jackson's arrival. Frederick was indeed impressive, consistently topping the sales charts every quarter for two consecutive years, becoming the undisputed sales champion of the department. "However, I don't like him, he's too arrogant." Nolan frowned. Jackson acknowledged with a sound and didn't pay much attention to it anymore, opening his phone to continue playing his game. While the employees were busy, a young man dressed in an Armani suit entered the sales department. "I'm back!" The young man walked to the most noticeable spot in the sales department and shouted loudly. "It's Frederick." "He's back from his business trip." The employees all turned to look at the young man. Frederick enjoyed the feeling of being admired, which satisfied his vanity. However, this time he suddenly felt that the atmosphere in the sales department was a bit off. Every time he returned from a business trip, every employee in the sales department would actively come up to flatter him, offering tea and water. But this time, Frederick stood on the stage for a long time, yet no one paid him any attention. Even Nolan, who usually fawned over him the most, just lifted his head and did not get up to greet him. "Spent five days to pull in a performance of 450,000 dollars, such efficiency is not very high." Frederick sat back in his own place, muttering to himself, intentionally letting the colleagues around him hear. They did hear, but the colleagues who usually flattered him didn't pay any attention to him today. Nolan and the others understood him and couldn't help but sneer in their hearts. Five days? 450,000 dollars? In the past, that indeed would have been high, and they would have flattered him without Frederick hinting. But now? Jackson brought in 7,500,000 dollars, the sales champion had already changed! Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Frederick was angry and had to use his last resort. There was an unwritten rule in the sales department, whoever was the sales champion had the right to have other employees serve tea, water, massage shoulders, and beat backs, as a special reward to motivate employees. "Sarai, massage my shoulders, these days have really tired me out." Frederick said in a pained manner. Sarai was one of the few girls in the sales department, sweet in appearance, fresh in dress, and most importantly, good-tempered, well-liked by the men in the sales department. As the sales champion, Frederick had the 'privilege' of calling on Sarai at will, which she had never rejected once. Unexpectedly, this time Sarai not only did not obey but rolled her eyes and said, "I'm busy here, find someone else!" "Nolan, pour me a glass of water." Rejected by Sarai, Frederick felt a bit embarrassed and immediately called out to Nolan, who was not far from him. Nolan fully displayed the nature of a fence-sitter. He did pour the water but did not bring it to Frederick. Instead, he gave it to Jackson, with a flattering smile on his face, "Mr. Jackson, are you thirsty?" Sarai, holding a folder, thought about it and felt that as the only girl in Group 2 of the sales department, massaging the shoulders and beating the back of the sales champion was her responsibility. She should take the initiative. So she walked behind Jackson, put down her folder, then stretched out her small hands and gently massaged Jackson's shoulders. While massaging, she also asked, "Mr. Jackson, is this pressure comfortable?" Frederick's eyes nearly popped out, unable to believe that in just a few days away from the company, the privilege that belonged to him had been taken by a stranger. "Who is this guy!" Frederick's eyes blazed with fire. "He is Jackson, just joined the company a few days ago, brought in a 7,500,000 dollars’ deal!" A colleague who usually had a good relationship with Frederick reminded him. "7,500,000 dollars!?" Frederick gasped in shock. Even for him, the most he ever achieved in a single deal was only 3,000,000 dollars. But this newcomer had brought in 7,500,000 dollars on his arrival? He was truly a freak! After knowing Jackson's performance, Frederick then realized that the title of sales champion no longer belonged to him! Frederick felt like a king being challenged, his glory taken away by a newcomer who had only been in the company for three days! "Mr. Frederick, you better not offend him, this kid is very tricky." The colleague warned. Even Manager Carlos had to concede, and although Frederick was the sales champion, he was after all just a salesperson and was no match for Jackson. The colleague’s words would have been fine, but they instead provoked Frederick's competitive spirit. He approached Jackson with an unfriendly demeanor. "I heard you pulled in a big deal the other day, quite impressive!" Frederick said with a sting in his tone. Jackson, who had been leisurely drinking tea and enjoying Sarai's massage, replied with a chuckle upon hearing this, "Impressive, I wouldn't say. But the treatment for the sales champion is not bad. For this treatment, the position of sales champion belongs to me from now on!" Hearing this, everyone in the sales department thought it was bad. Those familiar with Frederick knew that what he cared most about was the title of sales champion. Having dominated it for two years, Frederick had long regarded this position as his own. Now that Jackson had taken it and showed no intention of giving it up, Frederick, with his personality, would definitely not tolerate it. Frederick's face darkened, and he sneered, "Belongs to you? Unfortunately, I also quite enjoy the treatment of being the sales champion." "Oh, then if you have the ability, why don't you take it back from me next quarter?" Jackson said nonchalantly. A quarter was three months, and Frederick didn't want to wait that long, so he said, "You were just lucky. Dare you make a bet with me? By the end of this month, let's compare our performance. Whoever has the higher performance is the sales champion!" "Are you crazy, why should I bet with you?" Jackson curled his lip. "Not betting? I think you're just scared." Frederick taunted. Jackson disdainfully said, "Want to bet? Fine, I pulled in 7,500,000 dollars this month. If you can also bring in 7,500,000 dollars by the end of the month, I will hand over the position to you, how about that?" Frederick's face stiffened immediately. 7,500,000 dollars? It might be possible given a year's time. "You were just lucky. Since it's a bet, we should start over. The 7,500,000 dollars you brought in before shouldn't count." Frederick said matter-of-factly. "Since it's a bet, there should be a stake." Jackson's face was full of teasing, bored anyway, and Frederick came up to him, so he didn't mind having a bit of malicious fun, "How about this, whoever loses has to run naked around the Griffith Building three times." Hearing this stake, Frederick's face stiffened. The Griffith Building was in the city center, and running naked three times around it would make the Jimstantham City Daily the next day. But on second thought, relying on his own business ability, as long as he worked harder, he was confident of bringing in at least 1,500,000 dollars in performance by the end of the month. Then, the one who should be running naked would be Jackson. "I'll add a stake too. Whoever loses, before running naked, must first walk around each floor of the company in underwear!" Frederick, confident, decided to disgust others as well.