By the time he, dizzy and disoriented, finally found Pioneer Electronics Co., Ltd., it was already noon. He entered the elevator together with a food delivery guy. Seeing the man carrying two lunchboxes, he couldn’t help but swallow, his stomach growling loudly.

“Sir, this is our takeout contact number. If you need anything, you can call this number.” The delivery guy smiled warmly—far more professional than Edward Clark by a hundredfold. Even while working, he didn’t forget to promote his little shop. Edward Clark didn’t refuse, took the card to have a look, and slipped it into his pocket, thinking to himself, “This guy’s not bad. I’ll give him some business at lunch.”

This time, thankfully, he didn’t get the wrong floor. When the elevator doors opened, Edward Clark glanced around furtively like a thief. After searching for a while, he finally spotted the sign for Pioneer Electronics Co., Ltd. at the end of the corridor. The company wasn’t big—just over a hundred square meters. You could see the whole place at a glance. Edward Clark took two glances and found Olivia Foster. She was staring at her computer screen, typing on the keyboard—most likely not playing games.

‘Ahem, ahem,’ Edward Clark cleared his throat twice and walked in with a smile. “Hello, President Xu!”

After looking around for a while, he realized there were no extra chairs. There was a sofa in the distance, which he could sit on, but he didn’t have the nerve to go over there!

Olivia Foster shifted her gaze from the monitor to Edward Clark’s face, her expression one of utter disappointment. “May I ask, Mr. Ye, what time did we agree to meet?”

“Ten thirty,” Edward Clark replied.

“And what time is it now?” Olivia Foster asked coldly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Edward Clark glanced at the quartz clock on the wall. “Looks like it’s a bit past eleven.”

“It’s not just past eleven—it’s eleven forty-five.” Olivia Foster said coldly, “You’re exactly one hour and fifteen minutes late!”

“Traffic jam,” Edward Clark found an excuse, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“I can tolerate your sloppy appearance, and I can understand that you’re under a lot of pressure and can’t remember the names of our products.” Olivia Foster sighed. “But seeing you squat down yesterday to pick up documents for me, instead of ignoring others’ difficulties like everyone else, no matter your intentions, I still wanted to give you a chance.”

Edward Clark lowered his head, feeling like a wall of dirt—completely hopeless.

“But the most important thing for a salesperson is punctuality. I had the front desk call you at 9:10, and we agreed to meet at 10:30. In that hour and twenty minutes, you could have traveled from the east side of S City to the west. Yet you were still an hour and fifteen minutes late, and you didn’t even make a single phone call. Am I supposed to expect my salespeople to tell clients, ‘Sorry, please wait another hour, I’m still on the way’?” Olivia Foster said, clearly angry.

Edward Clark nearly bowed his head to his feet, but finally looked up. “I’m truly sorry for letting you down.”

After saying this, he turned to leave. Olivia Foster sighed, placed the application materials on the desk, and looked disappointed. This Edward Clark had no eloquence, no tolerance—he couldn’t even respond to a single comment. How could he be a salesperson like this?

Ashamed, Edward Clark walked to the door and, not paying attention, bumped into a fat man coming in. He hurriedly said, “Sorry!”

“Edward Clark, is that you, kid?” The fat man’s face lit up with surprise as he grabbed Edward Clark. “So are you working at Pioneer or Pioneers? I just got off the plane and have been looking all over for you—what a hassle!”

“And you are?” Edward Clark pushed up his glasses, sighing inwardly at his failing memory. This guy seemed to know him well, but he had no recollection at all.

“Damn, you look so listless—too much womanizing, can’t get out of bed, huh?!” The fat man ignored Olivia Foster’s darkening expression. “You don’t even recognize me? Half a month ago you called me about some drying equipment, right? Where is it? Let me see. I came here in person this time to handle some business and donate something to Hope Primary School—anything will do. I’m giving you a three-million-yuan order, and you’re not even going to treat me to the fanciest massage parlor in town for a good time?”

Section 8 David Bolton

Although there’s a saying that pies falling from the sky are usually poisonous, Edward Clark didn’t care about any of that. He patted his head and thought carefully, “You’re David Bolton? I contacted you twice last month?” This wasn’t because he had a good memory, but because he’d only made two business calls last month—and both were to the same person!

“You brat, you finally remember me! I told you, as soon as I got to S City, you’d be the first I’d look for.” David Bolton beamed, his mouth stretched wide, and gave Edward Clark a hearty slap on the shoulder. “Have you eaten? I have no idea where to find something that suits my taste in this dump.”

Olivia Foster had already stood up in anger, and even when she heard “three million,” her face was still furious. This was a workplace, yet the visitor was shouting like a bum. She was about to ask them to leave, but when she heard the name David Bolton, her eyes suddenly widened in disbelief as she stared blankly at the fat man who was almost round.

“But I’m not hungry yet.” David Bolton patted his belly. “I just ate a bit on the plane. Business is business, pleasure is pleasure—let’s get down to business first. Where’s the drying equipment you’re selling? Where is it?”