Mr. Kane Got Blacklisted

Everyone could see what was happening. At the crucial moment of the competition, Darcie teamed up with Mallory and Jaylene. The reason was obvious. The prize pool was 10 million, with 80% going to the winner. To get a reward, you had to make it to the top ten, which was no easy feat. In reality, it was more about appearances than a fair competition.

Stella suggested expanding the prize to the top 20 and excluding Jaylene, making it easier for everyone to win something.

The 8 million championship prize was still up for grabs, and with Jaylene out of the picture, who wouldn't want to give it a shot?

People in the room exchanged looks, each considering their chances.

Darcie didn't need a vote to know the outcome. She looked at Stella and smiled. "No need to vote. I think your idea is good. Let's go with it. I hope everyone does their best. I'll personally host a banquet to celebrate." Stella met her gaze and smiled back. "Then I wish you all success in advance."

She started clapping, and everyone followed. As their eyes met, they silently acknowledged the tension between them.

Jaylene was furious. She stormed out as soon as the meeting ended and collided with a secretary carrying documents. Papers scattered everywhere. "Are you blind?" Jaylene snapped, her anger flaring. The secretary turned pale and quickly apologized.

Darcie frowned and called Jaylene's name, but Jaylene ignored her, shoved the secretary aside, and slammed the door on her way out, making a loud noise.

Everyone in the room felt awkward, especially Stella. She looked at Darcie with a helpless expression and quietly asked, "Aunt, is Jaylene upset? I didn't mean to target her. My suggestion was for the company's benefit. If she's really upset about the bonus, we can forget I ever mentioned it."

This comment made Darcie's blood pressure rise.

She forced a smile, holding back her anger. "Jaylene is just a kid. She wouldn't care about such a small bonus. She suggested the prize pool to me in the first place. She probably feels embarrassed that it seems like this award was set up for her. Please be patient with her."

Stella replied gently, "Jaylene has a big heart; it's me who was thoughtless. Aunt, please tell her that after the competition, I'll treat her to a meal and apologize."

Darcie nodded, said nothing more, and quickly left with her things.

Stella watched her go, then stood up to return to her office.

She reviewed the competition results. The perfume competition used a points system, with both individual and group rounds. Points accumulated with each round, and the lowest scores were eliminated. The highest score at the end would win.

This meant every round was critical. A mistake could take several rounds to recover from, making a comeback in the final round almost impossible. It tested not only a perfumer's talent but also their consistency and professionalism.

Among the 15 people who advanced, Mallory and Sonia ranked in the top ten overall. Mallory even took third place, Sonia was sixth, followed by Kiara at thirteenth, and Jaylene at nineteenth. Additionally, six others made it into the top fifty, so the results were quite impressive.

Because the preliminary round was the first to accumulate points, the rankings were somewhat random. Otherwise, how could someone like Jaylene make it into the top 20?

The next two rounds were group matches, testing teamwork skills. Teams could either be formed freely or assigned randomly by the system. Jaylene would definitely team up with Mallory, securing her spot in the next round without much effort. Stella was more concerned about Sonia.

Before the meeting, Stella had asked Sonia about her plans for choosing teammates. Sonia had said that random pairing would be fine. Stella, however, felt that random pairings were too risky. If paired with someone incompatible, it could drag them down, leading to possible elimination.

Stella scanned the list and thought that only Kiara might be a good partner for Sonia. But Kiara was on good terms with several other competitors from the company. Asking her directly might be awkward-if she already had a partner, refusing her would be uncomfortable, and agreeing would risk offending others.

She considered a few more people and marked two with calm personalities. She planned to ask them later. Just then, there was a knock on her office door. Kiara came in, holding two grapefruits. "Boss Jewell, are you busy?"Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

Stella closed the file. "No, what's up?"

Kiara stepped in, closed the door, and placed the grapefruits on her desk. "Boss Jewell, I'd like you to talk to Sonia for me and see if she'd be willing to team up."

Stella was surprised. "No one asked you to team up?"

Kiara looked a bit embarrassed. "They did, but I didn't agree. I want to team up with Sonia. When she created that S essential oil, it really impressed me. She made it into the top ten in the preliminary round too. We both did well. I want to team up and go for the win."

Stella asked, "Going for the championship?"

Kiara nodded. "You made the prize

pool so big-8 million! Who

Who wouldn't

e

be tempted? If we team up, even

splitting it equally, 4 million each is

worth fighting for."

Stella laughed. "Is the prize pool really that tempting?"

Kiara laughed too, joking, "Isn't that why we work so hard? We finally have a chance to earn some real money, so we've got to go for it."

Stella had originally wanted Sonia to partner with Kiara but didn't want to ask first. Now that Kiara had brought it up, she felt relieved and agreed.

Kiara left just as Wren came in with the expense report.

While Stella reviewed the documents, Wren noticed the grapefruits on her desk.

Stella signed the report and handed it to Wren, who didn't take it right away, lost in thought until Stella called her name.

Wren took the report, glanced at it, then asked, "Boss Jewell, did you buy this grapefruit?"

Stella said, "Kiara gave it to me. If you like it, feel free to take one."

Wren thanked her, picked up one, looked at the label, and suddenly said, "This brand of grapefruit is only available at the fruit supermarket e across from our company. Their fruit is very expensive-all imported and very fresh. The grapefruit costs 68 each, with a minimum purchase of six. Boss Darcie loves grapefruit and often orders from that supermarket. I've seen a lot of invoices from them."