The Python Team spent the day in joy, going from despair to hope, and from hope to victory. The three women transformed themselves like a phoenix reborn.
Taking advantage of this momentum, they made dozens of phone calls and achieved over $800, 000 in sales, boosting the Python Team’s sales performance to 13 million.
This number made the Python Team third from the bottom. Although it didn’t sound good on the surface, many people felt the threat posed by the Python Team.
The Moon Team at the bottom was in a panic. Almost everyone in the group went out in the afternoon, visiting clients in an attempt to avoid being fired.
The three women worked very diligently. They could finally hold their heads high in front of their colleagues, and no one mocked them for being useless anymore.
Darnell was pleased to see that the three women were no longer as weak as before. They dealt with all kinds of people confidently and assertively. This was a sign of growth.
Approaching five o’clock in the afternoon, Eliezer, who had been missing for most of the day, appeared with a smile on his face. He clapped his hands to signal everyone to quiet down and then cleared his throat.
“Everyone, I have two pieces of good news.”
Eliezer beamed with joy, “Firstly, all teams have met their targets, and the department’s business volume has reached a new level. This is the result of everyone’s hard work. Therefore, there will be no elimination this quarter. Secondly, our performance is impressive, and headquarters is very pleased. Tonight, there will be a banquet to celebrate our achievements.”
“The banquet has been arranged, and the hotel is booked. Tomorrow is the weekend, so everyone can enjoy themselves tonight.”
The whole room erupted in cheers, shouting praises for Mr. Izzard’s generosity.
Only Casey and her companions looked at Darnell, unsure why Eliezer’s smile made them feel uneasy.
“Mr. Izzard!”
Darnell suddenly raised his hand and shouted, “Can we not attend the celebration banquet?”
Eliezer seemed to have anticipated Darnell’s words and smiled as he asked when the room fell silent, “Mr. Halford, you have made significant contributions. It wouldn’t be appropriate for you not to attend, right?”
He chuckled and added, “Actually, tonight’s banquet is even more significant for your Python Team. You’ve gone from zero sales to 13 million, improving departmental interests and bringing in potential clients. This quarter’s most dazzling achievement is none other than the Python Team. It knocked our socks off!”
Although Shayla and her companions felt that Eliezer’s words had a hidden meaning, they still found it pleasing.
Darnell helplessly said, “Mr. Izzard, you’re flattering me. It’s just that we are not available tonight.”
Eliezer was taken aback. “You’re not available tonight?”
“Yes.”
Darnell pointed at Casey and her companions. “They’re on period and don’t feel good. As their team leader, I feel a responsibility to take care of them. So we don’t want to go tonight.”
Bailee blushed instantly and almost pinched Darnell’s waist on the spot.
Eliezer rarely showed anger. Instead, he burst into laughter and feigned praise, saying, “Mr. Halford, you’re quite the jokester. You have a sense of humor. This is exactly the quality we expect from the salespeople at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. Everyone should take note and strive to build rapport with all kinds of clients, just like Mr. Halford, and make significant contributions to the company.”
The crowd applauded immediately. “Learn from Mr. Halford! Learn from Mr. Halford!”
Darnell shyly lowered his head. “Please stop. I’ll get conceited.”
Then Eliezer pointed at Darnell and said with a serious tone, “Mr. Halford, tonight is both a celebration for the sales department and an award ceremony for you. In other words, you are an indispensable protagonist. Do you remember our bet? I have prepared a check for one million dollars.”
“I will personally hand it over to you tonight in front of everyone.”
Eliezer smiled brightly. “Mr. Halford, do you pity poor me? Do you want to save me one million dollars?”
Darnell raised his hand promptly. “Rest assured, Mr. Izzard. I will attend the banquet on time tonight. My girls are feeling much better now.”
Casey and her companions rolled their eyes at him. He was such a pushover.
“Remember, 8 p. m. at Windford Hotel. No one should be absent.”
Eliezer addressed the crowd with a smile. “Miss Fanshaw and Mr. Gower may also attend.”
The crowd cheered again. “Thank you, Mr. Izzard.”
At seven o’clock in the evening, Darnell arrived at the parking lot opposite Windford Hotel. His Lamborghini only had two seats, so he let the three women go to the hotel on their own.
He arrived a bit later himself.
It was a weekend today, and the hotel was crowded with people. Darnell couldn’t find parking spots there and didn’t want to attract too much attention either since many female colleagues had been fawning over him for half a day, so he parked his car in the mall’s parking lot across the street. After locking the doors, he prepared to cross the road and head to the hotel.
Just as he reached the middle of the crosswalk, a hoarse voice suddenly came from behind him. “Young man in red clothes, wait!”
Darnell was slightly startled and turned his head to look back. He saw an old lady tottering towards him as if she could fall at any moment.
But instead of helping her out like any decent person would do, everyone around just kept their distance from her as if they were afraid she would cause trouble for them.
Darnell boldly rushed up to her aid and held onto her trembling arm. “Hello, ma’am, what can I do for you?”
The old lady with gray hair managed to say, “I want to cross the road, but no one helped me. I had no choice but to call you.”
Darnell couldn’t help but open his mouth wide in surprise before laughing lightly, “Where do you want to go? Let me take you there.”
As he held onto the old woman up close, Darnell noticed that she didn’t match her weathered appearance. Her skin was smooth as if she were only fifty years old at most, and her hair carried a scent of dyeing chemicals. Darnell’s eyes quickly darted around. Just as he was about to let go and run away from her grasp, she firmly held onto his arm without giving him any chance to escape.
Darnell felt chills down his spine. “Ma’am, what do you want?”
The gray-haired lady coughed hoarsely before speaking with a bit of roughness in her voice, “Young man, I want to go to Windford Hotel.”
She pitifully continued, “But my legs are weak, and I feel dizzy too. I can’t find my way to the hotel. Can you take me there?”
Darnell looked at the old lady with a puzzled expression. “Windford Hotel? Ma’am, I’m sorry, but I’m not familiar with it since I’m not from here.”
“And besides,” he added while pointing at himself. “I’m illiterate. I can’t read either. Maybe you should ask someone else for help.”
The gray-haired lady was stunned. “You can’t read?”
Darnell nodded while extending two fingers. “I don’t even know what number this is.”
“You don’t know ‘two’ either?”
The gray-haired lady angrily exclaimed, “What do you take me for, an idiot? I don’t care whether you can read or not. You must take me to Windford Hotel!”
Darnell furrowed his brows, looking troubled. “But I really don’t know where Windford Hotel is.”
The gray-haired lady pointed across the street, scolding him, “Moron, isn’t that Windford Hotel right across there? Are you blind?”
Darnell chuckled, “Since you know it’s across there, why don’t you just walk over yourself?”
He patted his own pocket. “Ma’am, I don’t have any money. Please don’t cheat me out of my money.”
Thud!
As Darnel’s words fell, the gray-haired lady stumbled forward before falling flat on her face while clutching onto Darnell’s thigh tightly, a sinister smile appeared on her face:
“You either give me twenty thousand dollars or I’ll scream for help! It was you who knocked me down!”
Darnell looked frustrated. “Ma’am, this isn’t fun. I really don’t have any money.”
The gray-haired lady sneered, “You can leave your Rolex watch then.”
Then she started moaning weakly, “Help! Help! Someone hit me and wanted to run away!”
“Help! He’s running away!”
Darnell saw many people looking over immediately. Feeling helpless, he spoke up, “Ma’am, please stop being so unreasonable.”
The gray-haired woman completely ignored him, her cries growing louder as she clung tightly to Darnell’s leg, refusing to let go.
Darnell was clearly unhappy. “Ma’am, if you keep this up, don’t blame me for being rude.”
She scoffed, “If you have the guts, go ahead and hit me. It won’t just be two thousand. It’ll be twenty thousand!”
With a swift motion, Darnell whipped out his belt, undid one of the buttons on his shirt, and started shouting, “What are you doing, ma’am? This is sexual harassment!”
“This woman is assaulting me!”
“She groped me! Somebody help!”
Countless people stared wide-eyed, excitement lighting up their faces as they seemed to relish the explosive scene unfolding.
The gray-haired woman was momentarily stunned, her hands dropping away from Darnell’s leg as she raised them high to show she was not innocent.
Her face was flushed with embarrassment.
“Give me two thousand.” Darnell quickly added, “Otherwise, I’ll make a big fuss about this matter. Do you think the media and the public would be more interested in me hitting an old lady, or in an old lady sexually assaulting me?”
“So hurry up and give me two thousand dollars.”
She said resentfully, “You little brat, I hope you meet a bad end!”
Darnell smirked, “You’re running out of time. People are coming over. Are you going to pay or not?”
He suddenly shouted loudly again, “This old lady molested me! Someone call the police!”
He undid another button, putting on a pitiful expression.
The old woman quickly pulled out a wad of cash from her pocket, her expression one of deep anguish as if she were losing a part of herself.
Whoosh!
Darnell snatched the wad of cash and ran. “Hah, do you really think you can outsmart me? Nice try!”
Five minutes later, the gray-haired old woman hid in the shadows, pulling out her phone, her voice choked with tears, “What bad luck!”