News Day Publishing Company might not have been counted among the top ranked media houses in the country, but things had begun to change rapidly in recent months.
Everything shifted after the interview with Mr. Queen.
The moment Oliver Queen's name was publicly linked to the company, attention followed like a storm.
Stock prices rose steadily.
Advertisements flooded in.
Marketing agencies began reaching out daily.
Even live streaming platforms wanted collaboration deals.
What was once a struggling publishing company now stood at the edge of transformation slowly climbing from the top 100 toward the top 10.
And because of that…
No employee dared miss today's meeting.
Not even those who usually found excuses.
Today was too important.
Miss Chan's messy exit from the restroom had already become the silent topic of the hallway.
One of her colleagues, heading toward the meeting room, slowed down when he saw her rushing away.
"Miss Chan? Are you alright?"
But she didn't stop.
She practically bolted to her desk.
Her hands moved quickly as she tried fixing her appearance with whatever makeup she still had left in her drawer.
Foundation.
Powder.
Lipstick.
But it was useless.
No amount of rushed touch-ups could compare to proper grooming.
Still, she refused to show up looking ruined.
Not today.
Not in front of everyone.
After a few frantic minutes, she stood up, adjusted her clothes, and headed straight to the meeting room.
The conference hall was already filling up.
The room wasn't overly large, but it was well-arranged capable of holding about fifty employees comfortably.
Today, however, only around thirty staff members were present.
Most of them had already taken their seats.
Miss Chan scanned the room carefully before choosing an empty chair.
She sat down.
And then froze slightly.
Opposite her
Was Dinah Wellington.
Dinah was seated calmly, her posture straight, her attention focused on her phone as if nothing around her mattered.
Miss Chan's expression darkened instantly.
The anger from earlier returned like a flood.
Her cheek still carried a faint sting from what she couldn't remember, and yet… the frustration felt real.
Too real.
She stared at Dinah intensely.
But Dinah didn't even look up.
It was as though Miss Chan didn't exist at all.
That made her even angrier.
"Tap tap."
Miss Chan blinked.
A voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Are you okay?" the person asked. "Why are you lost in thought?"
She turned slightly.
It was the same colleague who had tried speaking to her earlier.
Mr. Ken.
"Oh… Mr. Ken," she said quickly, adjusting her tone. "I didn't notice you were there."
Of course she noticed him.
She had seen him the moment she walked in.
But she didn't want him seeing her face like this.
Not like this.
Mr. Ken looked at her with mild concern.
He genuinely liked Miss Chan.
Not in an obsessive way, but with sincere admiration that had grown over time.
However, Miss Chan never took him seriously.
To her, Ken was simply a colleague.
A safe option.
Not a desirable one.
She had always aimed higher.
Better status.
Better wealth.
Better connections.
Ken, on the other hand, came from a modest background.
He was indirectly linked to Natasha's family the wife of Mr. Adams Christopher.
And Ken's family has always been dependent on Natasha's family , and with the fact that everything can still be stripped from him any moment is one of the reasons she doesn't want to consider Ken.
The entire family of Natasha all has messy backgrounds which actually brought them fame..
And in Miss Chan's eyes, it all made Ken look… ordinary.
Useful, but not impressive.
So she quickly shut the conversation down.
"Oh," she said suddenly, glancing toward the front of the room. "The General Manager is about to start his speech."
Ken hesitated, then nodded quietly.
The moment was gone.
The lights in the conference hall subtly shifted.
Attention slowly turned toward the front stage area.
The General Manager stepped forward.
He adjusted the microphone lightly and smiled at the staff gathered before him.
"Good morning, everyone," he began warmly. "I welcome you all to this meeting."
A pause.
"I know this was called unexpectedly, but I'm glad you all made it on time."
There was a respectful silence in the room.
Everyone straightened in their seats.
This wasn't a casual meeting.
Something important was about to happen.
The General Manager raised a hand slightly.
And immediately, staff members began distributing drinks across the room.
Small bottles of juice and sparkling beverages were placed in front of each employee.
Miss Chan accepted hers quietly but didn't drink.
Her eyes drifted back toward Dinah again.
Still calm.
Still unreadable.
Still irritatingly composed.
The General Manager cleared his throat.
"So," he continued, "today's meeting is to acknowledge a group that has made the most significant impact on the company's recent revenue growth."
A soft murmur spread through the room.
Everyone leaned in slightly.
This was it.
The announcement everyone had been waiting for.
The reason the company had been gaining attention so quickly.
The General Manager smiled.
"Before I continue," he said, lifting his glass, "let us toast to the team responsible for this transformation."
He raised his drink higher.
"Cheers to the team that brought News Day Publishing Company into the spotlight."
The entire room followed.
Glasses lifted.
Bottles raised.
And a unified sound filled the room
Clink.
Applause followed immediately after.
Some staff smiled proudly.
Others whispered among themselves, trying to guess which department was being recognized, though it was clear about the team that will be called out ..
Miss Chan also lifted her drink slightly.
But her eyes never left Dinah.
Because something about this meeting felt different.
Strange.
Almost like the spotlight was about to land exactly where she didn't want it to.
News Day Publishing Company might not have been counted among the top ranked media houses in the country, but things had begun to change rapidly in recent months.
Everything shifted after the interview with Mr. Queen.
The moment Oliver Queen's name was publicly linked to the company, attention followed like a storm.
Stock prices rose steadily.
Advertisements flooded in.
Marketing agencies began reaching out daily.
Even live streaming platforms wanted collaboration deals.
What was once a struggling publishing company now stood at the edge of transformation slowly climbing from the top 100 toward the top 10.
And because of that…
No employee dared miss today's meeting.
Not even those who usually found excuses.
Today was too important.
Miss Chan's messy exit from the restroom had already become the silent topic of the hallway.
One of her colleagues, heading toward the meeting room, slowed down when he saw her rushing away.
"Miss Chan? Are you alright?"
But she didn't stop.
She practically bolted to her desk.
Her hands moved quickly as she tried fixing her appearance with whatever makeup she still had left in her drawer.
Foundation.
Powder.
Lipstick.
But it was useless.
No amount of rushed touch-ups could compare to proper grooming.
Still, she refused to show up looking ruined.
Not today.
Not in front of everyone.
After a few frantic minutes, she stood up, adjusted her clothes, and headed straight to the meeting room.
The conference hall was already filling up.
The room wasn't overly large, but it was well-arranged capable of holding about fifty employees comfortably.
Today, however, only around thirty staff members were present.
Most of them had already taken their seats.
Miss Chan scanned the room carefully before choosing an empty chair.
She sat down.
And then froze slightly.
Opposite her
Was Dinah Wellington.
Dinah was seated calmly, her posture straight, her attention focused on her phone as if nothing around her mattered.
Miss Chan's expression darkened instantly.
The anger from earlier returned like a flood.
Her cheek still carried a faint sting from what she couldn't remember, and yet… the frustration felt real.
Too real.
She stared at Dinah intensely.
But Dinah didn't even look up.
It was as though Miss Chan didn't exist at all.
That made her even angrier.
"Tap tap."
Miss Chan blinked.
A voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
"Are you okay?" the person asked. "Why are you lost in thought?"
She turned slightly.
It was the same colleague who had tried speaking to her earlier.
Mr. Ken.
"Oh… Mr. Ken," she said quickly, adjusting her tone. "I didn't notice you were there."
Of course she noticed him.
She had seen him the moment she walked in.
But she didn't want him seeing her face like this.
Not like this.
Mr. Ken looked at her with mild concern.
He genuinely liked Miss Chan.
Not in an obsessive way, but with sincere admiration that had grown over time.
However, Miss Chan never took him seriously.
To her, Ken was simply a colleague.
A safe option.
Not a desirable one.
She had always aimed higher.
Better status.
Better wealth.
Better connections.
Ken, on the other hand, came from a modest background.
He was indirectly linked to Natasha's family the wife of Mr. Adams Christopher.
And Ken's family has always been dependent on Natasha's family , and with the fact that everything can still be stripped from him any moment is one of the reasons she doesn't want to consider Ken.
The entire family of Natasha all has messy backgrounds which actually brought them fame..
And in Miss Chan's eyes, it all made Ken look… ordinary.
Useful, but not impressive.
So she quickly shut the conversation down.
"Oh," she said suddenly, glancing toward the front of the room. "The General Manager is about to start his speech."
Ken hesitated, then nodded quietly.
The moment was gone.
The lights in the conference hall subtly shifted.
Attention slowly turned toward the front stage area.
The General Manager stepped forward.
He adjusted the microphone lightly and smiled at the staff gathered before him.
"Good morning, everyone," he began warmly. "I welcome you all to this meeting."
A pause.
"I know this was called unexpectedly, but I'm glad you all made it on time."
There was a respectful silence in the room.
Everyone straightened in their seats.
This wasn't a casual meeting.
Something important was about to happen.
The General Manager raised a hand slightly.
And immediately, staff members began distributing drinks across the room.
Small bottles of juice and sparkling beverages were placed in front of each employee.
Miss Chan accepted hers quietly but didn't drink.
Her eyes drifted back toward Dinah again.
Still calm.
Still unreadable.
Still irritatingly composed.
The General Manager cleared his throat.
"So," he continued, "today's meeting is to acknowledge a group that has made the most significant impact on the company's recent revenue growth."
A soft murmur spread through the room.
Everyone leaned in slightly.
This was it.
The announcement everyone had been waiting for.
The reason the company had been gaining attention so quickly.
The General Manager smiled.
"Before I continue," he said, lifting his glass, "let us toast to the team responsible for this transformation."
He raised his drink higher.
"Cheers to the team that brought News Day Publishing Company into the spotlight."
The entire room followed.
Glasses lifted.
Bottles raised.
And a unified sound filled the room
Clink.
Applause followed immediately after.
Some staff smiled proudly.
Others whispered among themselves, trying to guess which department was being recognized, though it was clear about the team that will be called out ..
Miss Chan also lifted her drink slightly.
But her eyes never left Dinah.
Because something about this meeting felt different.
Strange.
Almost like the spotlight was about to land exactly where she didn't want it to.