Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Inside the office, Samantha stood at the desk and watched as Carl sat coldly behind the desk. She asked gently, "What can I do for you, Mr. Lewin?"

Carl had a calm expression and did not answer her. Instead, he asked coldly, "What did you do when you were out on the field today, Samantha?"

Samantha cocked her eyebrows slightly and had a rough guess as to what was going on, but she suppressed it and replied, "I went out to chase leads on Professor Cornell."

"Are you really going to continue your act in front of me?" Carl slammed the table and raised his anger-filled voice. "It wasn't easy for the professor to make a public appearance, yet I received a report that you privately let him go. Did that happen?"

It turned out to be that incident.

As for the report, Samantha knew exactly who was behind it.

That was probably why Harmony grinned so strangely at her earlier.

Both Samantha and Harmony went to the field to do their job, but while Samantha was focused on finding ways to obtain information, Harmony's focus seemed to be on Samantha and Samantha alone.

The evidence provided must have been conclusive if Harmony was behind the report, so Samantha did not deny it and came clean. "Yes. I let Professor Cornell go."

"Well now, your job was to get information, not only did you fail to do it, you even interfered with the job of the other anchors. What's the matter? Do you prefer working as Professor Cornell's bodyguard rather than an anchor?" Carl was furious.

"Mr. Lewin." Samantha looked right at him and answered solemnly, "Professor Cornell was surrounded by plenty of reporters at the time. He was deliberately being provoked because he refused to answer any of their questions. Some reporters even declared him guilty just to create a sensationalist news report. They have no intention of wanting to find out the truth. On the other hand, you tasked us to find out the truth and report that truth to the public."

"In my opinion, those reporters' actions are a violation of professional ethics. Under such circumstances, it is only right for me to help Professor Cornell out of trouble, both in my capacity as an anchor and as a bystander."

"Ludicrous!" Carl seemed appalled at her unwillingness to admit her mistakes and became even angrier. "You were sent there to get information using whatever means possible, but you allowed Selby to leave and prevented everyone from getting anything whatsoever. On top of that, you still strongly believe that your actions were righteous and you did nothing wrong?"

Samantha frowned, "Mr. Lewin, it is my duty to investigate the truth and I will find a way to do so without forcing others. I don't think I did anything wrong in this matter."

"Amazing. You're acting all high and mighty rather than admitting to your mistakes." Carl was at wit's end and immediately ordered, "Alright then, Samantha, you should reflect on your actions when you're home and write a self-review of at least five thousand words. You are to read it out in public at the meeting next Monday, and you're barred from working on the assignment before you present your self-review. It's either that or you can withdraw yourself from the assignment!"

…

When Samantha came out of the office, everyone looked at her in a different light and started whispering to each other.

Carl's berating earlier was so loud that almost everyone outside could hear it clearly.

Harmony smiled happily when she saw that.

She had not yet been on her A-game in the past and had been toying with Samantha all this while. Samantha had a false sense of victory and became smug to the point that she did not take Harmony seriously anymore.

It was time for Harmony to get payback.

Samantha's expression did not change much. She did not even look around her when she walked through the office lobby and headed for the pantry.

She seemed to be holding up well...

Harmony snorted, then got up and followed behind.

She would not pass on the chance to savor Samantha's humiliation.

In the pantry, Samantha took a paper cup and fetched herself some warm water. She drank it slowly to try and calm herself down.

Harmony walked in and leaned against the table. She had a little smirk as she looked at Samantha and everything that came out of her mouth was the same old farce she always had. "Are you okay, Sammy? Why did Mr. Lewin lash out at you so severely just now?"

Samantha was confident that she surpassed Harmony in many aspects, but when it came to being a b*tch, that was the one thing she could admit that Harmony was better than her.

Never before did Samantha meet someone who was the very epitome of a b*tch.

Samantha slowly finished her water then threw the paper cup into the trash can before turning around and looking at Harmony.

Rather than ignoring her or viewing her with disdain like before, she smiled instead and asked emphatically, "Are you proud of yourself for rubbing that cheap ploy in my face?"

After a pause, she smiled even more tauntingly, "Or is it that these cheap, underhanded tactics are all you've got to show?"

"You..." Harmony's expression changed and she immediately tried to suppress her emotions. However, she was no longer able to maintain her facade and sneered. "You're all talk, Samantha. You joined Lychee TV and received the kind of good treatment that no one else has ever received before, yet at the same time you also set a record for being the first ever anchor to be punished on the second day of work by being ordered to present your self-review at the meeting next week. Congratulations."

"By the way, I should remind you that the general manager and all the other top brass will be there. The general manager had been really optimistic about you back then and even gave you first place to make sure that you joined the company. I'm now curious about the expression he'd have once he hears your self-review at the meeting."

"He might feel that you have destroyed the reputation he's built up. Oh, how you've embarrassed him, Samantha."

Samantha's expression did not change at all as she listened to Harmony's ridicule. She even laughed and made the most insipid of remarks, "You're really afraid of me, aren't you, Harmony?"

Harmony was stunned that Samantha would react like that and even make such a remark. "What do you mean by that?"

"You'll either rob me of my achievements to highlight yourself or use these dishonest methods to hold me back. That's the only way you have a sure chance of completing the assignment. You're afraid of a fair fight because you know, deep down, that your chances of winning are zero with me around."

"I'm not the one who's all talk. You are."

Her tone was faint but her confidence was unparalleled.

Harmony did not want to admit how strong of a blow it was to her psyche. Her expression sank immediately and she looked at Samantha with a bitter and resentful expression.

She gritted her teeth and forced out a nonchalant smile. "You're free to say that if it makes you feel better, Samantha."

"Go ahead and write your self-review. When you finish it, I'll be done with my investigation and I'll get the right to report it."

"Don't worry, I'll give it my all. Make sure you watch it all when the time comes. I'll be the one reporting the news on television and becoming Ms. Goldman's apprentice."

Harmony flashed a victorious smile as she said that and added in an insinuative tone, "Samantha, what's mine will always be mine.. I'll eventually get all of it back, be it this assignment or anything else."