章 24: A Great Deal With The Committee
"Have you heard the latest circulating rumor in this company?" Damian asked Irene the next morning when she came to deliver his morning coffee.
"Which one?" Irene asked, pretending to be oblivious.
"The one about Primavera using a globally acclaimed perfume competition to find a new R&D manager?"
"Ah. Yes, I heard about it."
She did more than hear about it. She was the one who planted the rumor.
Irene resisted the urge to sneak a glance at Damian. Did Damian know? Was he trying to test her?
Damian shook his head in disbelief. He took a sip from the fresh cup of coffee and sighed.
"Foolish people. And so many people fell for it, too."
Irene made a stunned expression.
"Really? How many?"
Damian smiled at Irene.
"More than half of the R&D Department employees."
"Oh, that is many."
"And all of them are coveting the manager position."
It was no wonder.
Irene too was once in line for promotion. She knew how brutal the competition on the ground floor could be.
"Unfortunately, it is too late to disproof the rumor now. All we can do is go with it and hope for the best."
Irene nodded in agreement.
"Otherwise, all of them will be disappointed."
"Correct."
She was barely able to prevent a smirk from showing up on her face.
Most companies would rather go along with something as harmless as this scheme than lose face.
Especially companies like Primavera that cared too much about their superficial appearance in public.
Damian rose to his feet and straightened his suit.
"Either way, we must make a friendly visit to the competition committee's office today to assure them that we are not trying to disrupt the event."
"Alright."
Fifteen minutes later, they were already inside a luxurious black Jaguar XZ, heading to the west region.
The International Best Original Perfume Competition 2022 was sponsored by all the bigwigs in the fragrance industry. The goal was to scope out hidden talents and at the same time boost the confidence of their own perfume scientists.
Ideally, every company was only allowed to send up to 5 contestants to prevent the new talents from being outrun by the seasoned professionals.
Thanks to Irene's little lie this time, 23 people from Primavera signed up for the competition. That was more than four times the original quota!
This naturally called for an intervention from the competition committee's side.
"Mr. Henderson! What a pleasant visit!" Mrs. Baker, the committee chairman who welcomed them, exclaimed with delight upon their arrival. "We did not expect the CEO to come himself. Please take a seat, no need to be so formal!"
Because she came with the CEO, Irene was also treated like a first-class guest. A plate of warm blueberry scones and two cups of milk tea were quickly prepared and served before them.
"Our canteen's specialty for today," the elder woman told them. "Does Mr. Henderson know that we are also holding the International Best Original Dessert Competition 2022 in a few months to come?"
Damian cracked a polite smile.
"Yes, I heard that it is no less prestigious than the perfume one."
"Exactly. Now, shall we talk about the issue at hand?"
Irene was more than happy to end the empty talk and move on to the reason why they were even there.
Same with Damian.
"Gladly."
"This year's competition is going to take place in Glasgow. We provide accommodations and meals three times a day for all participants. You understand that this is why we keep a strict amount of participants."
"Uh-huh."
"That being said, we would rather have Primavera conduct a preliminary selection within the company to get the five best contestants to join the competition in Glasgow. How does that sound?"
Damian shook his head.
"Unfortunately, that is not an option. It is the company management's fault for not being open about the quota that each company reserves for the competition. I guarantee that this will not happen again in the future, but I need the committee to close one eye and let all of them compete this one time.
What about, Primavera takes over the cost for the 18 other people? Will that do?"
Mrs. Baker grinned at him.
"There is also the matter of fairness toward other contestants, be it the professionals or the amateurs."
Damian leaned forward and looked at Mrs. Baker above his steepled hands.
"I am sure that the committee can arrange for fair competition. I will leave it up to you."
Mrs. Baker too leaned closer to Damian.
"I would rather Primavera increase its support by advertising the competition across your advertisement channels. We don't want amateur talents to miss out, do we?"
Damian smirked.
Now they were talking.
"Primavera will only expend the same amount of cost it requires to provide for the 18 additional contestants."
"Deal. I will have the proposal drafted and sent your way."
Damian nodded at Irene.
"You can give the details to my secretary. She will handle this from Primavera's side."
Baffled by the sudden assignment, Irene raised her eyebrows at Damian.
The chairwoman gave Irene an appreciative nod.
"I am happy to see that Mr. Henderson gives his secretary important jobs as well. A lot of women are stuck with menial jobs just because they fill the secretary position."
Irene beamed at both Damian and the chairwoman.
"Thank you very much for the opportunity, Mr. Henderson. I will not disappoint you and Mrs. Baker."
"Don't worry, young woman. You are in good hands. We will make the competition a success," Mrs. Baker gave Irene encouraging pats on the back.
The discussion was over less than an hour after their arrival. Having reached an advantageous deal for both sides, the three people continued chatting amicably until it was time for Damian and Irene to leave.
Once they were inside the car, Irene turned to speak to Damian.
"That was surprising," she remarked. "Is this not something that the general manager is supposed to handle?"
By general manager of course she meant Chris Henderson.
Damian chuckled. He crossed one of his long legs over the other and narrowed his eyes at Irene.
"Chris is not suitable to handle this matter. Besides, was it not you who spread the rumor?"
Irene swallowed hard.
-- 贈り物
が届きました 
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット