Chapter 137
Eric frowned slightly. “You go check out the merchandise department first. I’ll swing by in a bit.”
“I want to see the excitement tool” Cassie chimed in as she headed toward the HR section. She had just heard someone mention a “Simon” from across the room. She thought, ‘It can’t be the same guy I know, can it? He’s in the gaming industry too, working in the same park.
“What’s the problem? You can’t just argue like that here!” the pete HR girl said as tears brimmed in her eyes, being scolded by a tall, square–faced man.
“What’s going on? Why’s there a commotion in the office?” Eric said, his voice stern.
“Eric…” the HR girl was about to explain when the square–faced man, raising his voice, interrupted.
The square–faced man shouted, “Director Eric, I emailed HR yesterday about my pay raise, and they say you rejected it, right?”
“You have three years in the industry, but you don’t have any experience managing projects. A salary of 15 thousand a month is impossible,” Eric replied without hesitation.
“Fine, then I quit!” the man scoffed. “Don’t belittle me over a few bucks. This is a new company, and Summit Group is ready to pay me double. If you think I’m not worth it, someone else is!”
“Leila, please process his resignation. Standard deductions for tardiness and absences apply,” Eric said, dismissing the man without further argument.
As Cassie glanced at the man’s name tag, she thought, ‘Dennis, huh? No wonder his face is so square; it totally matches his name!‘
Dennis, feeling embarrassed that Eric wasn’t trying to keep him, shot back, “Eric, I heard you were good at marketing. I only came to help you out, and look how you treat me!”
“What exactly did you help with?” Cassie asked, intrigued. “Currently, Celestial Realm Studios is running only three projects, and you definitely weren’t involved after school. Which projects have you worked on?”
Dennis was momentarily at a loss for words. Celestial Realm had just started, and he saw Eric’s job ad offering a monthly salary that was over five thousand more than what he made at his old job. He jumped ship, but after a month, all he had done was deal with some minor tech issues.
“Who even are you? Why do you get a say in this?” Dennis shouted as he stepped toward Cassie. But just as he took a step, Eric grabbed his arm and executed a swift shoulder throw, sending Dennis crashing to the ground.
“Ouch! Let go! That hurts!” Dennis yelled.
“Don’t you think you can just bully everyone here. Grab your things and get out!” Eric barked.
Once Eric let go, Dennis scrambled up. He was a typical bully–quick to push around those he thought weaker but hesitant to actually fight back. He pointed at Eric, “You’ll regret this!” Then he bolted out of the office.
“It’s alright,” Eric whispered to Cassie, trying to reassure her. “He hasn’t officially started yet.” Eric and Sam were both cautious when it came to choosing core personnel for projects. They would keep an eye on people like Dennis, observing them further before deciding to involve them.
Dennis didn’t have much motivation and his skills were subpar compared to the seasoned pros at Celestial Realm, which is why he hadn’t entered a project team yet.
..
Cassie shrugged it off, “Who knows, we might run into him again.”
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Char 137-
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Eric didn’t catch what she said. “Ilmum?”
She shook her head, “Let’s keep exploring.”
Eric took Cassie around the development area. The vibe in the core zone was clearly different from the front office. Here, top talents from all over the world had gathered, each with their own quirks.
At Celestial Realm, Cassie accepted everyone’s eccentricities. As a result, the core area felt like a zoo.
As they walked in, Cassie spotted a pink corn snake curled up on a man’s head, flicking its tongue at her. The man had a glass tank on his desk with a giant spider inside. It looked toxic.
Cassie wasn’t easily spooked, but seeing live creatures like that still gave her goosebumps.
As they went deeper, she noticed a few adorable cats. To prevent the cats from attacking the snake, they were all behind a netting. One fluffy golden cat was swinging lazily from the net as they passed.
“Hey, Eric brought a girlfriend!” someone finally noticed Eric and Cassie.
“Cut it out! Let me introduce you all. This is Ms. Murphy,” Eric said.
“That name sounds super familiar,” the guy with a wild hairstyle and a toothbrush cup in hand, probably just back from brushing his teeth, remarked. These quirky folks had been at Celestial Realm Studios forever, and Cassie even rented them single apartments. To her knowledge, out of the seven units, not a single one had anyone living in it yet.
“Isn’t she the daughter of the Murphy Group?” the guy with the messy hair yawned. “Just here for a little inspection, huh? You look completely clueless.”
“No, I’m just here to help a friend interview for a designer spot,” Cassie explained. The guy with the wild hair looked pale, almost unhealthy.
“You guys do your thing. I’m just showing her around,” Eric said casually.
“Playing games? I’m pretty good! Did you beat the game after school? Want me to give you some tips?” the messy–haired guy grinned, flashing a bright smile.
“She beat it ages ago,” Eric replied.
Suddenly, all seven of the big shots, who had previously been lounging around, perked up. “You beat it?”
Cassie nodded. “It was pretty tough. It took me a while.” Even though she had written the game script, rearranging the choices meant every playthrough was different. While it wasn’t super challenging for others, it wasn’t a walk in the park either.
“Do you play any other games?” asked a man with dark circles under his eyes that nearly reached his chin. “Alright, don’t scare her off,” Eric interjected, taking Cassie by the arm. “Come on, let’s go check this out,”
The others eyed them enviously. “An attractive girl who plays games? Impressive!”
“Do you guys realize she’s going to inherit a business empire?” the messy–haired guy sighed dramatically. “I was so close to flirting with her–just a split second away from marrying into wealth!”
Everyone shot him a blank stare before returning to their tasks. The dark–eyed man was a cat owner; after he lay back down, the fluffy cat hanging from the net pounced right onto his face.
“Do they do this every day?” Cassie asked as she glanced back.
“Pretty much,” Eric replied. “You seem a bit distracted today.”
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Chapter 137
Cassie blinked. “Do I?”
“Yeah,” Eric pointed at her eyes. “They used to sparkle, but today, not so much.”
3
Cassie’s heart sank for no reason. “Maybe I didn’t get enough sleep,” she said with a smile. “I was feeling inspired and wrote until five in the morning.”
Eric caught on that something was bothering her. “Last time, you helped me a ton with my brother’s situation. It eased our relationship a lot. So… if something’s on your mind, you can talk to me about it. Who knows, maybe I can help?” His tone was gentle.
Cassie sighed, feeling a little helpless. “I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s complicated. I’ll sort it out myself first.”
“I’m always here whenever you need to talk,” Eric smiled.
Cassie managed a smile back.
After they walked around for a bit, Cassie’s phone buzzed. It was an unknown number.
“I’ll take a quick call,” Cassie told Eric, stepping aside. She didn’t have this number saved, but she recognized it.
“Ms. Murphy, it’s Joe.”
“I know. What’s up?” Cassie replied.
+5
“The boss has run into some issues. He wanted me to tell you not to worry. He’ll explain everything once it’s sorted,” Joe said. Cassie’s eyes fell. She almost asked Joe what was going on, but the words stuck in her throat. “Got it,” she finally answered.
As she hung up and turned around, Sheryl came out. “Did you negotiate successfully?” Cassie asked.
“Yes!” Sheryl beamed. “They offered a great price, though their demands are high. Don’t worry; I’ll make it work.”
“Glad to hear it,” Cassie nodded and looked at Eric. “If it’s settled, I won’t hold you any longer.”
“Okay,” Eric replied, “Just call if you need anything.”
“Sure,” Cassie said.
Cassie left the office with Sheryl. The sun was blazing outside, and they hopped into the car. Sheryl was still buzzing with excitement.
“Eric just told me to take you out to buy new equipment. The company will cover it,” Cassie said.
“Really? I’ve just bought some new stuff,” Sheryl replied.
“You’ll be working on character design next, which means you need a clearer screen, a better processor, and a high- sensitivity drawing tablet,” Cassie said, looking straight at her. “If the company is paying for it, you’d be stupid not to use the best gear. It’ll make your work so much easier.”
Sheryl was convinced. She nodded slightly, “Alright! Let’s go now.”
Cassie smiled and shot a quick WeChat message to Sam, then drove straight to his shop.
and gear for him. Even though Sam had moved to Celestial Realm Studios, his accessory shop was still running with new hires. When they arrived, the new manager came up to greet them right away. Cassie had written a detailed list of specs The company is amazing, even setting up all the equipment for me!” Sheryl said, her face glowing with gratitude. “Cassie, I swear I won’t let the boss down!”
Cassie just smiled and said–nothing.
