The next morning, Darnell arrived at work on time, biting into a sandwich as he walked towards Spectrum Pharmaceuticals.
Areli had already made it clear and even rewarded him with the panda. He had to take up the position, despite the eighteen billion dollars weighing down on him like a mountain.
He quickly reached the seventeenth floor, which had undergone a regime change. As he munched on his sandwich, he pondered how to solve this problem.
“Do you think Darnell dares to take up the position?”
“Of course not. Although he led the Python Team to become a dark horse, being a director is still far beyond his reach. Even with Miss Fanshaw’s support, it won’t work.”
“Exactly. The director’s position is not easy to fill. There were twenty people in the sales department, and more than half were loyal to Mr. Izzard. Her two female assistants were especially devoted fans of his.”
As Darnell stepped out of the elevator, he saw three graceful female colleagues walking ahead, holding stacks of documents and discussing his appointment in low voices. Their swaying waists were quite pleasing to the eye.
“Darnell will voluntarily hand in his resignation within three days at most.”
“Three beauties, if I last more than three days, can I get a kiss from you?”
Darnell approached them with a grin. “If I manage to get a foothold in the department, can we go on a date?”
The three women screamed in surprise but then covered their mouths and giggled when they saw that Darnell wasn’t angry. They gave him a flirtatious glance before walking away with pleasant laughter.
From afar, a soft response echoed, “Mr. Halford, we believe in you.”
Smelling the lingering fragrance in the corridor, Darnell couldn’t help but smile. It seemed that Areli’s announcement had spread throughout the company, making him the focus of attention. Whether he could get a foothold was now a much-anticipated drama at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals. He felt a bit depressed. He only wanted to be an assistant but ended up becoming the director of the sales department.
Despite his frustration, he knew he had to secure his position. After thinking for a while, he went to the printing room and soon came out with a pile of documents. He leisurely walked towards the office.
Today was bound to be the most difficult and intense moment. He had to hold on.
As he approached the door, just as Darnell expected, the sales department was unprecedentedly chaotic and noisy.
Before pushing open the door, Darnell heard an angry woman’s voice.
“Let me tell you all, I only recognize Mr. Izzard as head. No one else can sit in that seat!”
Then someone slammed the table. “Exactly! Who does he think he is? How can he compare with Mr. Izzard? What right does he have to be our leader?”
“Miss Fanshaw is too muddle-headed. Her decision was hasty. Even though Mr. Izzard made mistakes, this position shouldn’t go to him.”
“If Darnell becomes the director, I’ll lead my team and leave for Pioneer Properties.”
Darnell listened with interest behind the door. These guys dared to insult Areli and threaten to go to Pioneer Properties. They were likely supported by Eliezer and Roberto.
Otherwise, why would they care who became head of the department? They should be more concerned about their performance.
“Casey, Shayla, Bailee, tell Darnell that being a team leader is fine, but being head of the sales department is not.”
“If he’s smart enough to turn down the promotion voluntarily, we can still chat amicably in the future.”
“If he insists on being the director, I’ll…”
Bang!
Before the man finished his sentence, Darnell pushed open the door instantly. “If you have issues, come at me. Don’t trouble my girls.”
The excited crowd fell silent and turned their eyes towards the door where Darnell stood as their focal point.
If looks could burn, Darnell would be on fire now.
Shayla and her two friends stood up with a hint of grievance on their faces. “Mr. Halford!”
Darnell nodded at them before ignoring everyone else and walking straight to the podium where weekly summaries were reported. He cleared his throat and addressed a hundred people with complex expressions.
“Let me formally introduce myself. I’m Darnell, the director of the sales department. The appointment letter is already on the company website.”
“Headquarters has approved my appointment as well. So from now on, I’m not just the team leader of Python Team but also the head of the department.”
He pointed at the crowd before adding, “And your direct superior.”
The atmosphere froze momentarily before becoming restless again. Many wore defiant expressions.
Darnell continued, “I heard some of you have problems with me being appointed as the director?”
A tall man slammed his hand on the table and shouted, “Of course we have problems! Who do you think you are? What qualifications do you have to be the director?”
A glamorous woman also stood up and said aggressively, “Exactly! To be a director of the sales department, one must have real ability. It’s not a position that someone like you, who relies on connections, can handle.”
Darnell remained calm. “This month alone, I’ve achieved twelve million dollars in sales, which is top for this month, and helped Miss Fanshaw secure two hundred million dollars in deals while reviving Python Team with clients like Chandler and Mya. Can’t that prove my capabilities?”
“A single month’s sales performance means nothing. Anyone can get lucky once. Consistent good performance over years is what’s hard.”
The glamorous woman challenged again, “We won’t accept someone promoted based on one month’s sales alone.”
The tall man joined in. “Right! We don’t accept it!”
Darnell glanced at their nameplates, Gia Simpson and Paul Hopkins. These two people were clearly most vocally aggressive, as Darnell just heard from outside the door.
As Casey and her friends looked worriedly at him, Darnell leaned on the table and said curiously, “So what if you don’t accept it?”
“I’m taking this position. What can you do about it?”
Darnell laughed loudly, “Bite me!”
Gia and Paul hesitated momentarily. They were indeed unable to do anything against Darnell but continued shouting,
“We don’t accept it, and we’ll file complaints with headquarters!”
Darnell pointed at the door. “Go ahead. I’m not stopping you.”
He had an indifferent look on his face, as if saying, “I enjoy watching you dislike me yet being unable to do anything about it.”
Gia and Paul almost choked from anger but couldn’t retaliate effectively.
“You can shout all you want but pose no real threat to me. In contrast, I have absolute authority over rewards and punishments here.”
Darnell smiled smugly. “At ten o’clock sharp, twenty team leaders must attend a meeting in the conference room. I expect every single one present.”
“It’s now nine fifteen. If any team leaders aren’t there by ten, they needn’t come back ever again.”
He scanned around noticing several team leaders were absent, clearly another pressure tactic from Roberto.
Gia and Paul’s faces changed slightly. They hadn’t expected such bold words from Darnell, but felt even more disdainful towards his youthful arrogance, thinking this was mere bluffing. How could they be intimidated by Darnell’s bluff?
Paul gritted his teeth. “Darnell, even though we can’t deal with you directly, we’ll protest against your abuse of power!”
Gia stared sharply at him too. “If headquarters shields you as Miss Fanshaw does, my team and I will quit!”
“Good! Now that you mention it.”
Darnell laughed loudly, interrupting Gia, slamming freshly printed documents onto tables, voice turning stern as he said,
“I printed resignation letters earlier. Anyone who wants to quit can sign these immediately. Any resignation letters you submit, I will approve without delay.”
Silence fell across everyone, not expecting such ruthlessness from him, bringing resignation letters directly.
Paul squeezed out words. “If everyone gets fired, how will you explain to Miss Fanshaw?”
Gia echoed supportively, “Exactly, with so many gone, the company won’t function properly anymore!”
“If it comes to that, you’ll have a hard time explaining to the higher-ups in the company!”
“I never planned on explaining myself. At worst, I’ll fire all of you and quit being the director of the sales department myself.”
“But before that, I still have the power to fire you.”
His tone suddenly became stern. “Anyone who wants to resign, come over and sign.”
The room fell dead silent, with no one responding.
Soon, Gia clenched her teeth, straightened her chest, and shouted, “Me!”
Paul also looked disdainful. “And me!”
As the two stood out, they used their gazes to pressure the crowd. In the next moment, their team members, hesitating, also stood up, raising their hands high:
“Me!”
“Me!”
“I…”
More than twenty people stood up at once, exerting pressure on Darnell.
Gia sneered, “I want to see if you have more resignation letters or if we have more people.”
“Very well!”
As Casey and the other two women worriedly looked at Darnell, he remained unfazed and took out a large stack of resignation letters. “Since you two are so dissatisfied with my promotion and are willing to resign over it, I’ll accommodate you today.”
Holding the resignation letters, Darnell slowly walked up to Paul and, with a slap, threw one in his face. “Sign and get out of here!”
Then, he stood in front of Gia and, with another slap, threw another one on her. “Get out.”
Both of them, with pale faces and a bit surprised, didn’t expect Darnell to actually give them resignation letters. They were furious but helpless.
Darnell took out twenty more and threw them on the table in front of Gia and Paul’s team members. “Anyone else who wants to resign, hurry up and sign the resignation letter and get out.”
“Anyone who wants to resign can come up and get one. After signing, hand it to the Python Team and you can leave.”
“Also, the salaries and bonuses of those who resign will all be distributed to those who stay.”
Darnell picked up a resignation letter and continued, “I prepared a hundred resignation letters. Ninety-nine for you, and one for myself.”
After he finished speaking, no one dared to step forward again.