Lily was the first to break the silence in the room. "Her academic results are good. But she has mostly worked in retail. Boss, you seed unusually eager to recruit her. Why?"
Eleanor leaned back slightly in her chair and replied calmly, "She was a salesgirl at Louis Vuitton just a few days ago. During her ti there, she received several sales awards. But she lost her job because she stood up for against a spoiled rich girl."
"She stood up for you?" Teresa raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
Eleanor nodded. "Yes. That rich girl didn’t take that small episode lightly. She not only got her fired but also blacklisted her from other retail stores in the city. Luckily, I saw her washing cars at the gas station. After that, I looked into her background."
She paused before continuing, "I discovered her educational qualifications were solid. But her family situation was bad enough that she had to earn cash by washing cars. That’s when I decided to send soone to her ho and invite her here."
"If she proves herself capable, you can make her your assistant," she added, glancing at Lily.
Teresa gave a short chuckle. "So... this is your version of humanitarian recruitnt."
"You could say that," Eleanor said without emotion. "Lily, call the recruitnt office and have her sign all the necessary paperwork today. Also, make sure they provide her an advance on her salary."
"Understood, Boss," Lily replied. She took out her phone and typed a detailed ssage, sending it promptly to the HR departnt.
Once that was done, Eleanor looked up. "You may go now. Teresa, is Juliette at her office?"
"Yes," Teresa replied. "She ca in early today."
"Good. Send her to my office."
"Right away." Teresa stood and left the room with Lily and Maya.
As the door closed behind them, Eleanor opened her laptop. Her fingers moved swiftly as she began reviewing and clearing her pending files. A few minutes later, there was a soft knock at the door.
"Co in," she said without looking up.
Juliette stepped inside and bowed politely. "Good morning, Boss."
"Good morning," Eleanor responded, gesturing to the seat in front of her desk. "Please, sit."
Juliette obeyed, crossing her legs as she settled in.
Eleanor closed her laptop and fixed her gaze on her advisor. "What’s the progress on selecting a candidate for Pri Minister?"
Juliette sighed. "Sebastian provided a list of party officials linked to the Stockport case. Nearly half of the upper echelon is involved. That makes it difficult to choose from the remaining top leadership. I’ve started shortlisting a few potential candidates and investigating their backgrounds. At the very least, we need soone clean to represent your interests."
"You don’t need to search anymore," Eleanor said. "I already have soone in mind."
Juliette’s eyes brightened with interest. "Who?"
"Baron Anthony Hayward Chapman of Bethnal Green."
Juliette frowned slightly. "He’s a good man, no doubt about that. But I’m afraid he won’t accept the offer."
"Why not?" Eleanor asked, her voice was calm.
Juliette leaned forward. "Back when his party had a majority, he was offered the position of Chancellor of the Exchequer. He turned it down. The man has no political ambition. He’s currently the party’s co-chairman only because of his moral integrity and his late father’s legacy."
She continued, "After his wife’s untily death, he distanced himself from the material world. He spends most of his ti doing humanitarian work and volunteering at church. Within the party, people see him as a symbolic figure... an untarnished face to present to the public."
Eleanor’s lips curled into a faint smile. "That’s exactly why he’s perfect. His clean image will make him acceptable to the public, and we can use the corruption files to pressure the other party leaders into supporting him as the next PM candidate."
Juliette hesitated. "Even so, we can’t force soone who has no interest in the position. He has to accept it willingly."
"Leave that part to ," Eleanor said confidently. "All I need is one eting with him to present my proposal. I’ll convince him."
Juliette blinked. "You think you can persuade a man like him that easily?"
"I’ll take care of it," Eleanor said again. "What I need from you is a foolproof plan. I’m going to London to et Baron Chapman. Once I secure his support, I need you to lead the operation here while I work on the lords."
Eleanor stood up and walked toward the window, speaking as she gazed at the skyline. "The Shadow Team will break into the vault of Stockport MP Oliver Brown and collect all incriminating evidence... cash, offshore docunts, illegal transfers and valuables. Only the docunts and a sufficient amount of money that can completely destroy him will be left in the vault."
She turned back to Juliette. "Once the files are in our hands, my team will approach the party leaders one by one. Those who agree to support Baron Chapman will be spared. Those who resist... we’ll send the docunts to the authorities."
"And even if they agree," she added, "we’ll still have leverage over them in the future. They’ll have no choice but to stay loyal."
Juliette folded her arms thoughtfully. "They’ll support Chapman if it ans protecting themselves. And if Chapman agrees, I can manage the rest. The party will abandon Oliver Brown without hesitation once they sense danger."
"Good," Eleanor said. "That’s the rough plan. Your job is to turn it into a complete, executable strategy."
Juliette nodded. "Give a week. I’ll finalize everything."
"Thank you," Eleanor said.
"I’ll be in my office. Let know if you need anything else." With that, Juliette stood and walked out.
After Juliette left, Eleanor watched Freya’s school feed for a while. Seeing her daughter laughing and interacting with other children brought a rare smile to her face. Once satisfied, she returned to her files, clearing up the pending approvals one by one.
A short while later, Teresa walked in with a folder in hand.
"Your flight to Nigeria has been confird," she said. "You’ll depart tomorrow at 9:30 AM from Manchester Airport. The journey will take six hours, and you’ll arrive at Maiduguri International Airport at 3:30 PM local ti."
Eleanor glanced up. "And the return?"
"The return flight will be on standby after 6:00 PM local ti. You can depart as soon as you arrive at the airport. Return ti will be approximately six hours again."
Eleanor nodded thoughtfully. "That ans I’ll miss Freya’s pick-up tomorrow. I need to arrange that now."
She picked up her phone and called Ethan.
"Hello?" his voice answered.
"Can we talk now?" she asked.
"Sure."
"I need your help tomorrow," Eleanor began. "I have a eting in Nigeria. I can drop Freya off at school in the morning, but I won’t be back in ti to pick her up. Could you handle it? Just pick her up and send her ho. I may not return until midnight."
"What ti is your departure?" he asked.
"9:30 AM."
"Then leave her to ," Ethan replied without hesitation. "I’ll take care of everything. You focus on your eting and co back safely. Don’t worry about us... we’ll be fine."
"Thank you," she said softly.
"There’s no need to thank . I would’ve done it even if you were here. I’m in a eting right now, so if there’s nothing else..."
"No, that’s all. We’ll talk later. Bye."
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