Meanwhile, his mother-in-law, Sabrina, and her colleagues were gathering together for dinner in the room next to Brucille’s. They gathered for a reason. The most outstanding employee of the previous year would be announced the following month.
Naturally, their leader and department director Lawrence Fong sat at the head of the table.
He arrived later than the rest because of the traffic jam.
After Lawrence took his seat, Sam Leung, the most outstanding employee winner from the previous year, quickly filled up a glass of wine for Lawrence.
“Director, thank you for finding time to attend this banquet despite your busy schedule. We know how much you care for your subordinates,” he said.
Another colleague, James Chao, refused to allow an opportunity to flatter Lawrence slip. He added, “Yes, director. You commence work before dawn, but only leave late at night. That is definitely outstanding. You should be the one regarded as the most outstanding.”
Sabrina stared at them coldly. The selection of the most outstanding employees seemed to be fair and transparent every year, but there were only three spots among a group of over thirty people.
Therefore, the competition was extremely stiff. However, the winners every year were almost the same people.
No one would mind if people like Sam and James were actually outstanding at their work.
However, it was not the case. Despite having held her position for more than ten years, Sabrina had never been nominated for the award.
Ever since Tyrion had retired and stayed at home, she was no longer treated well as she had been in the past.
The dinner was obviously held for Sam. When he was elected as the most advanced employee again, everyone should not have any objections. After all, his uncle was Kobby Nie. He would be transferred either that year or the following year.
Everyone clinked their glasses and toasted to each other’s health…
Clearing his throat, Lawrence announced, “Great, everyone’s here today. I want to let you know that we have recruited a new group of young people to our department. After the meeting, I will make some adjustments to the positions of a few senior staff members.”
Initially, Sabrina felt that the dinner had nothing to do with her. Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case.
Lawrence’s speech must have a hidden meaning. What did he mean when he mentioned the senior staff members?
Earlier on, she had heard that Lawrence had recruited his niece into the tax department. Therefore, Sabrina was likely to be forced into retirement.
Sabrina was in a bad mood the whole night, but was forced to smile. Most people were flattering each other for their own benefits. However, she had no one to depend on, hence it was useless for her to flatter anyone.
Lawrence was bombarded by many people. He couldn’t stand it anymore, so he excused himself to the bathroom.
When he walked out of the bathroom, he ran into Kobby. “Kobby, why are you here?”
“Hey, Lawrence. I’m here with Charles and the others for old times’ sake. We’re all good friends, after all.”
“We’re going to change the taxation policy soon. I’m afraid that my colleagues will feel bad if they work overtime, so I gathered everyone together to chill for a little while.”
Lawrence’s ability to make irresponsible remarks was a talent that he was born with.
After returning to the room, he informed, “Everyone, Mr. Nie is right next door. He is also one of the leaders in the system. Let’s have a toast to him.”
Bringing work-related matters into a restaurant was his specialty.
Sam didn’t care. Kobby was his uncle anyway. He only needed to say a few words in front of him, and the most outstanding employee award would be his.
Lawrence led the rowdy bunch to the room next door. Spotting them, Charles jumped in fright. “Oh my gosh, Lawrence. I thought we were about to be attacked when you brought so many people over.”
“Mr. Wong, don’t make fun of me. We just want to have a toast to all of you. Here’s to our leaders, a toast to a successful career.”
Seeing Sabrina in the crowd, Brucille quickly stood up.
“Mom!”
Because she was an ordinary staff member, Sabrina stood at the corner near to the entrance. If it wasn’t for Brucille’s good eyesight, he wouldn’t have spotted her.
“Brucille, why are you here?”
Sabrina knew the people in front of her. They were the directors of the Food and Drug Administration, the Merchants Bureau and the Local Tax Bureau. Her son-in-law was at the same table with them and seated at the head of the table.
Kobby didn’t know that Sabrina was Brucille’s mother-in-law. He immediately got up and approached Sabrina. “Miau, is Brucille your son-in-law?”
“Yes, Mr. Nie, he is. Do you know him?”
Grabbing Brucille’s shoulder, Kobby beamed at her. “We’re not just friends, we’re good friends! Ah, it’s my fault for not knowing you’re his mother-in-law. Madam Miau, I’d like to give you a toast. You have a good son-in-law.”
Sabrina had never been treated like that before. The director personally toasted her.
Charles took the opportunity and walked over immediately.
“Miau, Brucille is a treasure. I was not feeling well a few days ago, and thank goodness I had Brucille. I have to thank you too.”
In a turn of events, Sabrina felt like she was on cloud nine.
Holding her hand, Brucille nagged, “Mom, you should drink less. Take care of yourself.”
“Yes, yes!” She laughed heartily.
Seeing that Sabrina had a son-in-law who was getting along with the three directors, Lawrence immediately had a change of heart.
After they returned to their seats, he poured himself a glass of wine.
Then, he raised his glass and said to Sabrina, “Madam Miau, I’m going to assign you to the audit department of our branch office. It’s commendable that you’ve been working hard for more than ten years. We should learn from you!”
The others all exchanged glances. The work at the audit department was basically a relaxed job. For an elderly like Sabrina, it was practically tailored for her. It was better than staying at the front desk every day to help people with their tax matters.
Lawrence’s attitude had changed drastically. Just a moment ago, Sabrina had thought that she would be demoted. However, to her surprise, she was awarded the easiest job.
She knew that it was all because of Brucille.
After the dinner, Brucille and his mother-in-law left for home together. When they reached home, they saw Tyrion and Monique watching TV in the living room.
Tyrion didn’t seem too surprised that they had arrived at the same time. However, their return shocked Monique. After all, her mother had always been quite stern with her son-in-law, and was even quite dissatisfied with him.
But, at the moment, the two of them were talking and laughing upon their return.
Sabrina told him, “Brucille, you have had a lot of alcohol today so you should head to bed earlier. It’s my rest day tomorrow, so don’t go out for lunch. I’ll cook for you at home.”
“Sure, Mom.”
Monique thought that she had misheard their conversation. She thought that Brucille had changed his strategy. He knew that she had no feelings for him and didn’t even like him. Was he trying his luck with her parents to gain their support?
Was that so?
It seemed to her that Brucille had lost all his laziness, and cowardice after he survived the disaster.