"Don't go poking your nose around about who it is—it's not something to brag about. Only a handful of people know, and if word gets out, people will hate you." John Reed, who had been an official for half his life, was more cautious than most would imagine. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become Mayor David Carter's trusted confidant. He continued, "That little bastard never had any respect for me, and even openly or secretly harbored feelings for William Harris."

"William Harris? That bastard actually dares to openly have feelings for William Harris? Isn't William Harris his superior?" Big Mouth Harris opened his mouth, and just thinking of William Harris's alluring face made him drool.

"Hmph!"

That snort from John Reed was loaded with disdain, envy, and bitterness.

In official circles, beautiful women—especially those whose husbands are bedridden after a car accident—rarely escape gossip, but William Harris was an exception.

Unlike Big Mouth Harris, Deputy Secretary-General of the city government William Harris came from the The Harris Family, which had extensive connections in Donghua City.

Not to mention the elders of the The Harris Family, William Harris had many siblings, all either in business or politics, all prominent figures in Donghua City, with significant ties to the province as well.

William Harris herself started working in the city government early on, later marrying into the family of a former municipal party secretary as a daughter-in-law. Even as a woman, she had a smooth career in Donghua's officialdom, was ambitious, and not even thirty yet had already become Deputy Secretary-General of the city government.

Not to mention that the The Harris Family wouldn't allow outsiders to bully her; William Harris's father-in-law was the former municipal party secretary. Though retired, his influence remained. Who would be foolish enough to make a move on his daughter-in-law?

Big Mouth Harris hadn't expected that this bastard Brian Sullivan, upon arriving in Donghua City, would so brazenly set his sights on William Harris.

Of course, even as clueless as Big Mouth Harris was, he understood one thing: all arrogant people, if they haven't been crushed, it means they still have the capital to be arrogant.

So Big Mouth Harris no longer mentioned finding someone to secretly mess with Brian Sullivan, but was still curious about what kind of background this bastard had. He asked, "What's this kid's story, anyway?"

"The personnel file transferred from the Organization Department only says that his parents divorced when he was young, and his mother died of illness when he was twelve. After that, his guardians were his maternal grandparents. He attended secondary school in Yanjing before going abroad, and returned to China three years ago. He didn't go back to Yanjing, but instead idled around Huaihai for over half a year before joining the Provincial College of Economics as a lecturer. They say he applied for the job, but there were people pulling strings behind the scenes."

"How old is this kid?"

"Twenty-four." John Reed had been keeping an eye on Brian Sullivan for some time, so he recited the file details offhand. But the file was so sparse, it revealed nothing substantial.

"Doesn't seem like he has much of a background. He can't possibly be the child of some central bigwig, right?" Big Mouth Harris speculated, "Since Mark Brooks is protecting him so much, could there be some other unspeakable connection?"

John Reed knew his brother-in-law wasn't too bright, but was surprised he could pick up on something. He thought to himself that working as a mid-level manager at the city steel plant had given him some experience.

Being a secretary had always been a shortcut to promotion in officialdom. Being close to the center of power made advancement easier; on the other hand, as a trusted confidant, one could share in authority that shouldn't be available at that level.

Take Brian Sullivan, for example. Although he was only a section-level cadre, he could brazenly beat up Big Mouth Harris in front of John Reed. Ultimately, he was sharing the power and prestige that should have belonged to Standing Committee Vice Mayor Mark Brooks.

Because of these special circumstances, secretary positions in power organs were often given to young people with backgrounds but lacking experience, who needed training.

But regardless, when leaders chose secretaries, they always picked someone cautious, steady, capable, and trustworthy.

Brian Sullivan, with his unruly, reckless, troublemaking nature, was in fact an unlearned, incompetent person.

Mark Brooks was a scholar-type official, valued work efficiency, and was strict—one could even say harsh—with subordinates. Yet he tolerated someone like Brian Sullivan as his secretary, which was truly baffling.

Some people in the city government even secretly said that Brian Sullivan might be Mark Brooks's illegitimate son...

Wasn't that possible? Aside from that relationship, there was really no other explanation for why Mark Brooks would force himself to use this troublemaking brat as his secretary.

Looking closely at Mark Brooks's resume, it roughly matched up with the period before Brian Sullivan left Yanjing to study abroad, when Mark Brooks was also working in central ministries. Later, he was transferred to Huaihai, and before joining the Provincial Planning Commission, he had a stint at the Provincial College of Economics.

Comparing the resumes of Mark Brooks and Brian Sullivan, anyone paying a bit of attention could spot something fishy...

If Brian Sullivan's background was so strong that Mark Brooks had to put up with him, it would only make sense if Brian Sullivan was the child of a central bigwig.

But if a central bigwig's child wanted to enter officialdom, even as a secretary, aside from the State Council, Central Military Commission, and National People's Congress being a bit harder to get into, there were still plenty of positions in central ministries, provinces, and directly governed cities for them to get experience. Why bother coming to a backwater like Donghua, which was only at the prefecture level and in the middle of nowhere?

Chapter Six: The Pitfalls of Past and Present Lives

Brian Sullivan parked the car under the shade of the trees on Taowu Road.