As soon as Jacob stepped outside, he spotted President Pei waiting at the foot of the stairs. The moment their eyes met, Jacob felt a surge of hatred and anger towards President Pei, a sharp re directed his way.
In stark contrast, President Pei greeted Jacob with an overly ttering smile. He quickly took a few steps forward to meet Jacob halfway on the stairs, sped his hand, and said with a heavy dose of shame, “Jacob, I’m truly sorry for what happened!”
Jacob, well aware that this was all just a performance, replied sarcastically, “President Pei, after knowing you for so long, I must say this is the first time I’ve recognized your talent for acting!”
President Pei’s face flushed with embarrassment as he stammered, “Jacob, I understand that you harbor a lot of resentment towards me. I won’t pretend otherwise. It was wrong of me to treat you that way. But I swear to you, Pei Qidong, I never intended to deceive you! I genuinely wanted to secure a director position for you…”
With determination, President Pei continued, “Let me be honest with you, the reason everything turned out differently in the end is… it’s all because of my extravagant wife! She kept whispering in my ear that if I helped you, it might create a mess I couldn’t handle. I was blinded by greed, thinking about the promotion I had waited so long for. I feared that if I didn’t take this chance, my future would be ruined. That’s why I made the choice to break my promise to you, albeit temporarily…”<h3 style="background-color:DodgerBlue">
Jacob regarded him skeptically and asked, “Isn’t it a bit inappropriate to shift the me onto your wife for this situation?”
President Pei, now anxious, responded quickly, “I’m not passing the buck, Jacob! I swear on my life that I was simply misled by my short-sighted wife. If I’m lying, may God take me tonight!”
Jacob found himself believing about 80% of President Pei’s words, and his anger began to fade.
With a wave of his hand, Jacob said, “Alright, let’s set this aside for now. What did you want to discuss with me today?”<fn8950> ??? ????? ???????s ??? ?????s??? ?? Find★Novel</fn8950>
President Pei hurriedly replied, “Jacob, I came here to invite you back to our Calligraphy and Painting Association. I have secured the director position I promised you. You can return anytime and take up the role!”
Hearing this, Jacob felt a wave of relief wash over him.
What he had longed for was indeed the director position.
Though he never dared to dream of being the executive vice president, the director role was more than enough for him.
Now that President Pei had made thismitment, Jacob felt he had finally achieved his goal.
However, he maintained a facade of indifference and shifted the conversation, asking President Pei, “President Pei, don’t you think your wife has a point? By protecting me, aren’t you putting yourself at risk?”
President Pei didn’t mention hisck of promotion prospects; instead, he replied confidently, “Jacob, as the saying goes, when enemies approach, soldiers will resist, and when water rises, earth will block it. If I do face bacsh from you, I’ll find ways to mitigate the impact. I can’t live in fear of problems that haven’t happened yet, can I?”
Jacob sighed, feeling a mix of emotions: “Honestly, after all that’s transpired, I’m too embarrassed to return to the Painting Association. It will be ufortable knowing others are gossiping about you behind your back.”
President Pei grasped Jacob’s hand firmly and said earnestly, “Don’t worry, Jacob. I’ve spoken to all the senior executives today. They understand the situation and won’t dare to criticize you. As for the others, I’ll ensure they keep their subordinates in check. When the timees, just treat everything that happened before as if it never urred. You have nothing to fear!”
Jacob paused, appearing to wrestle with a tough decision. Finally, he gritted his teeth and dered, “Alright! If you’re saying that, then I’ll go back!”