Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

“Hello everyone. My name is Samantha, the new anchor in the anchor department.”

Everyone shifted their attention to her as she stood on the stage. She had a calm expression and a firm look in her eyes. There was even an indifferent little smile on her lips and she possessed her own unique aura.

Her posture was unlike that of a person who had done something wrong and allowed herself to come under public scrutiny. On the contrary, she looked like she was about to give a speech onstage.

Carl became increasingly uncomfortable when he saw the way she carried herself. He had not taken kindly to Samantha from the beginning because he did not know the inside story: all he knew was that Samantha got to where she was at Walter’s expense. She was seen to be a vicious and merciless person who strove to achieve her goals by all means necessary, and one would do well to be wary of her.

More importantly, she joined the company at the recommendation of the general manager, in addition to her status as Mrs. Barker. If she wanted to climb up the ranks, then the first person to be given the boot would undoubtedly be him!

The incidents leading up to that self-review was actually a trivial matter, something that one could just close one’s eyes to and leave it at that. After all, every anchor had their own approaches to doing things. Lychee TV celebrated multifaceted development as long as it was not illegal or disruptive. If good results could be obtained, the company would not interfere too much with the way their reporters or anchors did their job.

He initially wanted to use the incident to give Samantha a reminder, drumming into her the notion that the anchor department was his domain. If she wanted to work there in peace, then she should know her place and refrain from having any other ideas.

Since she did not know what was good for her and insisted on going head-to-head with him, she had no choice but to suffer the consequences of her actions.

She would most certainly leave a bad impression on everyone after doing a self-review in front of all the higher-ups. No one would come to her aid if later he came up with a reason to fire her. With that, the thorn that was Samantha could be removed once and for all.

Carl’s expression turned even colder when he thought of that and looked at Samantha.

A rich wife should stay home to please and serve her husband. Workplaces were not the kind of setting that people like her could use to amuse themselves.

Samantha noticed Carl’s gaze and turned around to look at him, after which her smile became even bigger.

Carl was surprised that she could still smile at such a juncture.

A bad hunch appeared in his heart.

Samantha looked at everyone again and spoke loudly, “Before I present my self-review, I would like to ask everyone to please read a piece of news before evaluating whether there is any need for me to continue with the self-review!”

As soon as she said that, Carl said, “What are you playing at, Samantha? Don’t waste everyone’s time!”

Samantha did not even look at him and continued to maintain her gaze on everyone there. She continued, “A criminal is not a criminal unless convicted. They can only be referred to as a suspect before conviction. Furthermore, a suspect is entitled to refute the accusations leveled against them and they will continue to have this right even after they are convicted. I disagree with the punishment of this public self-review so I am now asking for a retrial of sorts.”

“It takes only three minutes for you to read a piece of news. I ask only for three minutes to present a rebuttal. I believe that should be alright?”

Carl did not expect that she would play that card at the last minute and his cheeks turned red due to anger. “You…”

He suddenly understood why Samantha did not retort when he punished her previously. It turned out that she was waiting for this moment.

Since he was the one who was in control back then, he could easily shoot down whatever request Samantha made. With so many higher-ups present—including Ms. Goldman and the general manager—his turn to speak would never arrive.

Before the general manager could even say anything, Victoria was already a little interested and was the first to speak. “You can have three minutes. What news do you want us to read?”

The general manager had no objections since Victoria had already said the word.

“Thank you.”

Samantha smiled graciously and took out her phone. She then tapped on the phone screen a couple of times and projected it onto the big screen.

A Waybo landing page appeared on the big screen and she proceeded to tap on Selby’s account.

Selby published a new post a minute ago in which he wrote: [I have been hounded and harassed by reporters and major media companies in the past couple of days. It has taken a severe toll on my daily life as well as my physical and mental health. I know everyone is keeping tabs on this and I’m not reluctant to reveal the truth to the public at all. Unfortunately, media companies rarely pursue the truth for genuine causes. It’s mostly for traffic and popularity. I’m unwilling to let media companies who twist the truth, concoct fantastical stories and start rumors recklessly in their reports about me.]

[I have always been reluctant to accept interviews and reports from any media company, but there is one particular company that stands out from the rest. I was able to experience Lychee TV’s sincerity because they were able to put themselves in my shoes. I therefore make this official announcement to state my willingness in accepting an exclusive interview with Lychee TV. Thank you all.]

Everyone gasped after reading that post, notably the press and photography department. They had also sent their people to follow up with the news but had not been able to get anything in the past few days.

Selby came from an elite background because he was a wealthy young man. Crude methods, threats, or promises did not work against him, which was why everyone constantly thought that he was a tricky person to deal with.

Never would they have thought that the anchor department could manage to convince him.

He even made a public post on Waybo to declare that he would accept an exclusive interview with Lychee TV, meaning that Lychee TV had successfully beaten the other media companies to it.

Carl never would have imagined that Selby would immediately agree to accept the interview and was thoroughly stunned as a result.

Samantha spoke again and said, “Professor Cornell has agreed to accept an interview with Lychee TV. In other words, my actions that day did not annoy Professor Cornell or hinder the work of other anchors. In light of that, isn’t it unreasonable to have me conduct a public self-review for that reason alone?”

Carl came to his senses and said in a low voice, “Those are two separate thi—”

The general manager interrupted before Carl could finish, “Since the consequences were not unfavorable, the punishment can be nixed.”

Carl opened his mouth to try and say something but the general manager then continued, “Everyone is paying close attention to any news involving Selby. Now that we have secured exclusive interview rights, we must do our best.”

He looked at Carl and spoke in a more emphatic tone, “I have high hopes for you, Mr. Lewin.”

The pressure bore down on Carl and he could not bring himself to make a protest.

He knew deep down that the general manager wanted to put a rest to that matter. Clashing with his superior was obviously out of the question.

Carl could only nod, “I understand, Sir. I won’t let you down.”

…

After the meeting, Carl and Samantha returned to the anchor department.

Carl’s expression was gloomy and it was as if there were dark clouds over his head. As soon as they returned to the office lobby, he said in a cold voice, “Can all the anchors come in for a meeting please!”

However, he turned around and said loudly to Samantha, “This discussion will be held to decide who should be sent to conduct the exclusive interview with Professor Cornell. You can sit this one out!”

The implication was that Samantha had been taken off the assignment!