chapter 30 The consequences of being nosy

Seeing the confrontation between the two, the staff of the Human Resources Department were invigorated. One was a relative by marriage of the Griffith Family, and the other was a salesman valued by the Chairman, both with profound backgrounds. They were eager to know whom the Chairman would favour. Jackson had exceptionally acute hearing and overheard the employees' discussions. In reality, for a company like Griffith Group, it was highly frowned upon for family relatives to interfere. Everyone wanted a piece of the pie, making the interest calculations unclear, and ultimately leading to chaos in the company. There had been numerous examples proving the disadvantages of family businesses. With Apollo's capabilities, he should have avoided such situations. "Stop, stop!" Just as Jackson and Jett Griffith were about to start fighting, the elevator door opened with a ding, and a bespectacled beauty stepped out. Seeing this scene, she quickly intervened. "Alivia?" Jackson and Jett Griffith looked at her simultaneously. This girl with glasses had just asked Jackson for directions when he exited the elevator. Alivia had come to submit documents to the Finance Department and had bumped into Jackson on her way. She returned to find this scene, thinking something serious had happened. "Mr. Jackson, Deputy Manager Jett, why are you arguing?" Alivia asked. Just as Jett Griffith was about to speak, a cunning idea struck him. With a fake smile, he said, "Just a small misunderstanding, nothing serious." The employees of the Human Resources Department were shocked and disbelieving. Even Jett Griffith, a relative of the family, was backing down? And so decisively at that – they were almost fighting just a moment ago, and suddenly he backed down. Is this a joke? Everyone was still trying to process it. Only Jackson frowned slightly, finding the sudden submission odd and feeling something was amiss. However, Jackson didn't dwell on such trivial matters. Since Jett Griffith had backed down, he naturally wouldn't persist. After greeting Alivia, he left the Human Resources Department. Seeing the conflict resolved, Alivia couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat happy, thinking it was her arrival that prevented the escalation of the conflict. "Alivia, come to the office!" Jett Griffith said sternly. Alivia promptly responded, thinking Jett Griffith was going to praise her, and felt elated. What she didn't see was the sympathy and pity in the eyes of her colleagues in the Human Resources Department as she turned around. "She's a newbie who knows nothing." "Poor thing." "Why did she have to meddle in others' affairs?" Her colleagues shook their heads in secret. Even without deep thinking, with Jett Griffith's status, how could he let such provocation go? Alivia thought she had done a good deed, but in reality, she had made a classic workplace mistake, which was meddling in others' affairs! This is the typical case of more doing leading to more mistakes, less doing leading to fewer mistakes! As a subordinate, doing your own job well is enough. If a leader has a conflict, and you rush to intervene, making the leader lose face, what will the leader think? Even if you did a good deed and successfully resolved the conflict, as a subordinate, what right do you have to get involved? ... In the office. Jett Griffith lit a cigarette, enveloping the room in smoke, causing Alivia to cough continuously. "Deputy Manager Jett, I'm allergic to smoke," Alivia said softly. Jett Griffith glanced at her but didn't extinguish the cigarette. Instead, he asked, "Alivia, how long have you been with the company?" "Almost a year now," she replied. "A year is both long and short," Jett Griffith sighed suddenly. "Alivia, I had high hopes for you and planned to promote you soon." "Really?" Alivia's eyes lit up upon hearing this. "But your actions today greatly disappointed me," Jett Griffith said with a tone of frustration and shook his head. "Well, go to the Finance Department this afternoon to settle your salary. You don’t need to come to work tomorrow." "Why?!" Alivia was struck as if by lightning. Weren't they just talking about a promotion? Why was she suddenly being fired? Although the power of hiring and firing employees lay with Alaia, everyone in the company knew Jett Griffith's influence. Alivia knew that if Jett Griffith wanted to fire her, it was just a matter of a word. But what Alivia couldn't understand was why she was suddenly being fired. Where had she gone wrong? "Deputy Manager Jett, where did I go wrong?" Alivia asked, aggrieved. Jett Griffith snorted coldly, "Don't you understand even now? I am your leader, but just now, not only did you not help me, you actually helped an outsider!" Alivia's face turned pale as she defended herself, "Deputy Manager Jett, I... I didn't think that much..." "It's useless to say anything now, I looked bad because of you!" Jett Griffith said coldly. Alivia finally understood where she had been wrong and guiltily said, "Deputy Manager Jett, I'm sorry, it's all my fault!" "This has already happened and you don't need to feel too guilty. If you really know you're wrong, there might be a chance to salvage the situation," Jett Griffith said, waving his hand and speaking with a cunning look. "How can I make it right? Just tell me, Deputy Manager Jett, and I will do it!" Alivia said eagerly. Seeing Alivia's reaction, Jett Griffith knew his plan was mostly successful and smirked inwardly. He whispered into her ear, "Actually, it's quite simple. You just need to do this, like this…" "No, absolutely not!" After hearing Jett Griffith's plan, Alivia shook her head in horror. Although she really wanted to make up for her mistakes, if she did such a thing, she would feel even more guilty later! "Miss Alivia, one should always aim high. Think about it, if you lose this job, will it be easy to find a better company than the Griffith Group in the future? Your resume only has one year of experience, which large company would want you?" Jett Griffith spoke persuasively, his tone becoming increasingly tempting, "If you help me save my dignity, once it's done, I'll promote you to team leader. Then, both your salary and company benefits will multiply several times over what you have now." Hearing this, Alivia was indeed tempted, and her initially resistant mind-set began to waver. Alivia had been infatuated with many handsome men, and Jackson was just one of them. Choosing between a handsome man and work wasn’t hard. Aside from a little guilt in her heart, Alivia felt she should prioritize her work. "Besides, you don't need to lead this matter, you just need to play a guiding role. Even if it gets exposed later, I'll cover for you, what are you afraid of?" Jett Griffith injected the final dose of persuasion. Listening to Jett Griffith's promise, Alivia's eyes gradually firmed up. ... Sales Department. "Finally, it's time to get off work." After playing games all afternoon, Jackson stretched lazily, got up, and prepared to leave. The other employees looked at him enviously. Jackson could leave work early, but they couldn't. Sometimes, even after the work hours were over, they had to communicate with clients, so overtime was common. "Lucky to be a related-party!" The employees were green with envy. Seeing Jackson so unprofessional, Frederick, not far away, became even more determined. "Just play, you'll cry at the end of the month!" Frederick sneered in his heart. Since he could no longer rely on sucking up to Jackson, Frederick thought about stepping over Jackson to climb up. In just two days, Frederick had already secured deals worth 450,000 dollars! With this progress, Frederick believed, by the end of the month, reaching 3 to 4.5 million dollars would not be a problem! Buzz Buzz! Just then, a message came through on Jackson's Facebook app. "Mr. Jackson, could you come down to the lobby on the first floor?" The message was from Alivia, accompanied by a playful emoji. "Could it be a booty call?" Thinking this, Jackson got excited and quickly replied, "Wait for me, I'm on my way!" At the Lobby on the first floor. When Jackson arrived, Alivia was standing in a corner. She was holding a red bag, apparently having waited for quite a while. "Miss Alivia," Jackson greeted her with a beaming smile. Seeing Jackson arrive, a flicker of unnoticeable guilt flashed in Alivia's eyes. Although she agreed to Jett Griffith's plan for her own benefit, she still felt very sorry for Jackson. "What's up? Why did you want to see me?" Jackson asked. "I just hope Mr. Jackson won't be angry with Deputy Manager Jett. He's the deputy manager of the HR department and also a relative of the chairman. You can't afford to offend him," Alivia cautioned. "It's not worth getting angry over such a person," Jackson shook his head dismissively, "As for this so-called deputy manager and so-called chairman's relative, they are nothing in my eyes." Pausing, Jackson looked at Alivia, "But you, what you just did was actually very dangerous and could easily offend people. If that fatso Jett Griffith dares to take it out on you, just come to me, I'll make sure he gets what he deserves." Jackson's language was full of violence, but his tone was very caring. Hearing this, Alivia almost cried out of emotion, her guilt intensifying. She really wanted to tell Jackson right away that this was a trap set by Jett Griffith. But when she thought about losing her job, she dared not speak up. Moreover, since things had already progressed this far, backing out now would displease both sides. In the following few minutes, Alivia chatted with Jackson about some trivial family matters, saying things of no great importance. Jackson, having nothing else to do and with Violet still working overtime, casually engaged in the conversation. "Mr. Jackson, I want to go to the restroom. Could you hold my bag for a moment? I'll be back soon," Alivia suddenly said. "Sure." Jackson took the red bag she handed over, weighing it, "It's quite heavy, what's in here?" "Some decorative items for girls," Alivia said somewhat embarrassedly. "Got it, go ahead," Jackson said nonchalantly, waving his hand and leaning against the wall. He took out his phone, planning to read a novel. "Hey, that's my bag!" Suddenly, a middle-aged woman hurried over, reaching out to snatch the red bag from Jackson! "Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing, ma'am!" Jackson was immediately displeased. The bag was entrusted to him by Alivia for safekeeping, and he couldn't let the woman just take it away, protecting it behind him like a mother hen. "This is my bag! I wondered where it had gone, turns out you, this little thief, stole my bag!" the woman accused fiercely.