Chapter 366 - 364: There Is Only One Reason

"Terminate the contract?"

Miles Coleman was startled. He clearly had no idea what had happened with Blair at the company yesterday.

Just then, Chuck Lawson silently pushed the door open and walked in. Cecilia Sterling glanced at him and spoke up at the opportune moment. "Mr. Lawson here was the one who received us yesterday. If there’s anything you don’t understand, Mr. Coleman, you can ask him."

Chuck Lawson was still standing in the doorway when he felt Miles Coleman’s dagger-like glare. Terrified, he quickly chimed in, "It’s like this, Mr. Coleman. Yesterday..."

He spilled everything that had happened yesterday in a single breath, neither hiding anything nor embellishing the facts. As the head of the company, it was impossible for Miles Coleman not to know about its operations and the unwritten rules hidden between the lines of the contracts.

So from his perspective, Chuck Lawson had done nothing wrong yesterday.

But he couldn’t say that now, because Blair’s value had changed.

Knowing how to play to your audience was a survival skill these people had perfected.

So Miles Coleman slammed his hand on the table and furiously berated Chuck Lawson. "Nonsense! Why didn’t you follow the contract’s procedures?"

Chuck Lawson wasn’t an idiot. He knew he had to be the one to take the fall right now, so he played along, repeatedly admitting fault and apologizing. "Yes, yes, it’s our fault. We’ve been really short-staffed after the New Year, so we haven’t been able to satisfy every signed streamer. We’ll conduct an internal review and self-examination."

As he spoke, he even walked up to Blair and apologized with a sincere expression. "Miss Blair, the company certainly wants every streamer to do better and better, but oversights are inevitable. I sincerely apologize for our dereliction of duty!"

He finished with a ninety-degree bow.

Blair watched him, her face devoid of expression.

Estelle curled her lip in disdain.

Cecilia Sterling couldn’t help but let out a scoff.

It was just loud enough for everyone in the meeting room to hear.

"My apologies. It’s just that Mr. Lawson’s attitude yesterday and his attitude today are such polar opposites, I couldn’t help myself. I’ll try to control it."

Though Cecilia Sterling’s words were apologetic, her tone and attitude held not a shred of remorse, only mockery.

Chuck Lawson could only offer an awkward, apologetic smile and mumble another "I’m sorry."

"The company’s management of its employees has been inadequate. That’s on us," Miles Coleman said.

This good cop, bad cop routine was so obvious that even Estelle could see through it. The tactic was truly clumsy.

"The company has already sorted out the team issue."

Miles Coleman was a seasoned veteran. Not giving them a chance to dwell on yesterday’s events, he moved on directly to the introductions. "These people will be on Blair’s team. The person in charge is a senior employee from the planning department, Shane Webb. He’s been in the social media planning industry for many years and has a wealth of experience."

As soon as Miles Coleman finished speaking, all the Wanderlust employees in the room wore intriguing expressions.

Everyone knew how bad Shane Webb’s temper was and how difficult he was to communicate with. He was universally acknowledged as the single hardest person in the entire company to deal with and work with, bar none!

The other members of the team, in particular, looked miserable. Since Shane Webb was the team leader, it meant they all had to listen to him.

However, just when everyone thought Shane Webb would remain aloof and unmoved in his seat as usual, he suddenly stood up and walked over to Blair.

An unmistakable light of excitement danced in his eyes. He even wiped his hand on his pants before extending it. "Hello, I’m Shane Webb from the planning department. I saw your video yesterday, and I watched your stream, too. In fact, I watched all nine hours of it from start to finish! I’ve been a wuxia fan since I was a kid, but I’ve never seen someone who can actually do martial arts in real life. You’re so awesome! I’ll definitely lead our team to serve you well!"

The Wanderlust employees: "...?"

’What the hell?’

Shane Webb had an approachable side, one that was even borderline sycophantic?

Chuck Lawson was dumbfounded too.

’Huh?’

’Is this right?’

’I sent Shane Webb over to give Blair a hard time!’

"Hello. Blair Golding!"

Blair extended her hand and gave his a light shake. She could feel that his attitude was sincere.

Hearing her name, Shane Webb grinned foolishly. "Your name sounds great, too! So badass!"

Seeing that Blair seemed to have accepted the company’s team, Miles Coleman spoke up at the right moment. "From now on, all of Blair’s streaming work will be handled by Shane Webb’s team. If any issues come up, just communicate promptly. This wave of popularity is unprecedented, and likely unrepeatable. The company will do everything in its power to help you capitalize on it."

Upon hearing this, Blair instinctively looked toward Cecilia Sterling. Cecilia had been thinking this whole time, and upon seeing Blair’s glance, she gave her a slight nod.

With the contract still in effect, the only thing Blair could do now was cooperate with the company and not give them any leverage against her.

As for the supplementary contract in front of them, Cecilia Sterling didn’t even have to think to know it was a contract meant to "deeply bind" Blair to the company. After all, the current Blair could bring the company enormous revenue and profits.

So, before Miles Coleman could speak, Cecilia Sterling beat him to it, picking up the contract. She looked at him and said in a light tone, "Mr. Coleman, we can’t sign this supplementary contract for now. Allow us to have a professional lawyer review it before we consider anything. That way, we can avoid you playing word games with us like yesterday. Once bitten, twice shy. I’m sure you can understand, Mr. Coleman?"

Miles Coleman knew that if they insisted on not signing, he couldn’t just force them to sign on the spot.

So he adopted a magnanimous attitude to improve their impression of the company. "Of course, no problem. Take your time to consider it. We are definitely very sincere. After all, only through deep cooperation can we truly achieve a mutually beneficial outcome."

"Besides, all of the company’s top-tier streamers have signed this contract. If there were a problem with it, why would everyone be willing to sign it? Don’t you agree?"

Cecilia Sterling just smiled without saying a word. ’I couldn’t care less if there’s a problem with this contract. I’m just stalling for time. As soon as I find a suitable way to terminate it, I’ll help Blair walk away!’

"Well, if there’s nothing else, we’ll be heading back," Cecilia Sterling said, standing up. Blair and Estelle immediately stood up as well.

Just then, Shane Webb, who was off to the side, suddenly stood up and asked Blair, "Um, Blair, can our team have a quick meeting?"

Seeing this, Miles Coleman tactfully said, "Then you can just have your meeting here. We’ll head out and won’t disturb you."

After Miles Coleman and the others left, when Shane Webb turned to face the other members of his team, his entire aura changed. "Didn’t you all pull an all-nighter preparing the proposal for Blair? Hurry up and get ready. We’ll meet back here in five minutes for a meeting!"

The others nodded and practically fled to make their preparations. Shane Webb also went to his desk to grab his computer.

A short while later, Estelle, who had gone to the restroom, rushed back in.

She shut the door behind her and said with a nervous expression, "I was just in the restroom and I overheard some people from their company talking about that Shane Webb. They said he’s the most ill-tempered, hardest-to-deal-with person in the whole company! This damn company did it on purpose, didn’t they? They assigned him to Blair just to piss her off!"

Blair frowned at this. Recalling Shane Webb’s attitude toward her just moments ago, she was puzzled. "Huh? I didn’t think so at all!"

They both turned to look at Cecilia Sterling, but she just smiled, her train of thought taking an unusual turn. "This is great. For someone universally acknowledged as ill-tempered and difficult to still have a job at the company, there can only be one reason!"

Question marks practically appeared over their heads.

’What reason?’

"He’s highly competent, of course!"