Miss Jenkins was still on her phone. David Carter pretended to get up and gathered the empty cardboard boxes from the two cubicles, making a show of cleaning up... A little later, Miss Jenkins finally finished her call. She reached out her hand to David Carter: “Let me introduce myself, my name is Claire Jenkins, welcome to the team... To be honest, I didn’t expect Mr. Thor to act so quickly. He’s just arrived in China, and the two people he’s just met, he’s already hired both.”

Claire Jenkins’s hand was very soft and fair, but her grip was firm, as if she wanted to express her attitude through it: “I think your presence is so that we can supervise and keep each other in check. So, there’s still one position left to fill in our company, and I don’t want to make the decision alone. I plan to post a public job ad in the newspaper, and when it comes to interviews, the two of us will do it together. Only if we both agree will we hire someone. That’s the only way to be fair... What? You say you don’t care about company operations... Fine, then I’ll take full responsibility, but I hope you’ll be involved in the whole recruitment process too. I think: only by doing this will the company feel at ease. That’s the only way it’s fair to me.

Alright, since I just mentioned fairness, I hope we can also maintain an impartial attitude at work—focus on the matter, not the person. I really value this job. For me, this job is like stepping up to a new level, allowing me to stand on a higher platform and connect with people and things at a higher level. Now that I’m here, I don’t want to be knocked down because of my own mistakes and have to start climbing from the bottom all over again.

That kind of thing—falling from a high place and having to climb up from the bottom again—is really tough. It’s not something a woman like me has the perseverance to do. I know several people like that. When they were at the top, they felt ambitious, and their overconfidence made them think everything was a given. But when they fell, it was too late. Even after many years, they still couldn’t get back up—trust, once lost, is very hard to regain.

So, I really, really ‘truly’ value this job. I don’t want you and me, in our future interactions, to let personal bias get in the way of the company’s normal operations, or for me to be treated unfairly... Do you understand what I mean?”

David Carter nodded silently. Claire Jenkins’s words weren’t just useful for her; David Carter repeated them to himself several times, reminding himself to stay alert. David Carter agreed with her—having this platform makes us special talents; without it, we’re just nobodies. The difference between talented people and ordinary people is really just whether you have a stage to show your abilities. But there are many talented people, and not many stages.

Seeing that she’d made her point, Miss Jenkins pointed at the pile of cardboard boxes at David Carter’s feet, then burst out laughing, a little friendly, a little approving: “You really are diligent. The office equipment from my previous company—you handled it very carefully, and this too... Oh, when I was tidying up the office, I wanted to throw out all these boxes, but before he left, Thor specifically told me: everything about the equipment is your responsibility, including the trash.

Just now on the phone, I was still discussing this with Thor, and I didn’t expect you to come over so quickly to take care of it... Very good, keep up this careful and hardworking attitude, and let’s earn our salaries honestly.”

After a pause, Miss Jenkins hesitated and said, “Although it’s a bit inappropriate to ask, I still want to know—how many years did you sign for, and what’s your annual salary?”

David Carter hesitated for a moment, then cautiously said, “I signed a ten-year contract... but can I ask first, what’s your annual salary?”

Miss Jenkins gasped, her eyes darted, and she waved her hand: “Forget it, let’s not talk about salaries between us. If the higher-ups found out... Hmph. But I’m just a little unconvinced that your contract is longer than mine... Is being good at video games really that impressive?”

David Carter smiled and drew a circle in front of him with his finger: “All the computer equipment in this room was installed and configured by me. The company’s core secrets are all in here. So, tell me, shouldn’t I be more trusted?”

Miss Jenkins was stunned for a moment, then immediately put on a look of realization: “The way you put it, I do feel a bit better. But actually, I feel even more encouraged—you know, I only signed a one-year contract. At first, I thought this job wouldn’t last long, that maybe they were just testing the waters in China. But since you could sign a ten-year contract, it means the company at least plans to expand in China for the next ten years. As long as I work hard enough, I believe I can secure my place here.”

After she finished, Miss Jenkins stood up, looking like she was about to leave: “Looks like you really are more trusted than me... Well, there are a lot of secrets in this company. Thor told me in advance: I’m not allowed to touch this, not allowed to touch that... Since you’re coming to the company in the middle of the night, you must have some secrets you don’t want others to know. Go ahead and do your thing, I’ll take my leave. Here, this is the iPhone I promised you—I owed you this, now we’re even!”