As soon as Janet sat down at her desk, Gerda swiveled her chair around to face Janet. "Did you hear the news? The annual intermediate designer evaluation is about to begin. Everyone's been running around like headless chickens trying to prepare for it. By the way, why'd you go on leave again yesterday?"
"Something urgent came up at home." After taking a sip of water, Janet glanced around at the bustling office. "It seems everyone's excited."
"Of course everyone's excited. This is a good chance to be promoted. Besides, the fall-winter fashion week is approaching. Everyone is secretly competing with each other." Then, Gerda leaned over and whispered in her ear, "There are only three positions. All the new designers are itching to get a spot. I know of two who have been working here for a while now, and they both have performed excellently. I just know that they'll get the promotion—but as for the third position, it's hard to say who will get it." "There's a lot of people in our department. The competition must be tough." Janet pressed her lips nervously, sensing that a fierce battle was about to begin.
While the battle had not yet begun per se, people were already loading their weapons.
"Well, what choice do we have? I know I'm way out of their league, so I'm pretty chill. After all, there are too many strong competitors this year.
I feel like I'll just be cannon fodder out there." Gerda sighed bitterly. Then, she looked at Janet and her eyes lit up. "You and Kaya might have a chance."
"Kaya?" Janet blinked at her colleague questioningly.
"You know, Kaya Dixon—oh, right! She went abroad to study so you haven't met her yet." Gerda's eyes wandered towards the tea room and she pouted. "That's her."
Janet followed her gaze and saw a slender woman with short hair.
Kaya's eyes met hers. She strode towards Janet, high heels clicking against the floor, and she asked, "Are you Janet Lind? Nice to meet you. I'm Kaya Dixon."
"Hello." Janet smiled and shook hands with her politely.
"I heard that the company has a big upcoming project, and that many designers will need to participate. It's said that this will be used as a reference for the promotion. I'm looking forward to your performance," Kaya nodded and smiled at Janet with grace.
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