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    Skr’s lips curved slightly. “We currently have several promising novels under evaluation.”

    Dominic muttered to himself, “It’ll still be quite a while before this project materializes and officially enters production. I’d better urge Zack to work harder, so he doesn’t miss the boat.”

    “Dominic, I’d appreciate it if you could keep a closer eye on Zack and guide him properly, so he doesn’t stray from the right path.”

    “Rest assured, Ms. Lambert. I’ll make sure to do exactly as you asked.” Dominic finished speaking and went back to work.

    Skr also returned to work. Her teampleted the novel evaluations and emailed the results to Skr.

    She clicked open the email and went through each evaluation one by one. The evaluations were thorough, with clear justifications for acquisition decisions.

    She selected several promising titles from the evaluations and instructed her team to proceed with acquiring the copyrights.

    However, there was a small problem during the copyright purchase process. They had no choice but to call Skr.

    “Ms. Lambert, we have a situation.”

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    Skr switched the phone to her other hand while her fingers flew over the keyboard. “What’s going on?”

    “Ms. Lambert, someone must have leaked the news. They’re deliberately driving up the price against us. We can’t secure the novel rights at our original price.”

    Skr paused her typing. “Oh? Okay, cancel the purchase for now and return to the office.”

    There was a surprised “Huh?” from the other end. “But, Miss, we’re just going back empty–handed?”

    Skr replied firmly, “Yes, return now.”

    Without another word, the team followed Skr’s orders and headed straight back to the office. They entered the office

    with regret, apologizing to Skr.

    “Ms. Lambert, this is entirely our fault. Had we been morepetent, this entire thing would never have happened.”

    The team was unable toplete the task. Not because of anyck ofpetence, but due to an internal information leak that made it impossible to purchase the copyrights at the original price.

    Skr didn’t me them. Speaking calmly, she reassured them, “This isn’t your fault. Competition for good novel rights is perfectly normal in this business.”

    Skr added calmly, “Alright, bteam/b, you can head back now. If we can’t secure copyrights of these novels, we’ll find some

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    alternatives.”

    After reassuring her team, Skr summoned her assistant into the office. Skr asked, “I need the names of the people involved in this project.”

    08:33 Sat, 30 Aug TH

    “I’m not entirely certain yet,” the assistant said. “We’ll need to conduct a thorough investigation and cross–check the

    details.”

    “Look into this andpile aplete list for me.” After a brief pause, Skr added, “And keep it discreet. Don’t tip

    anyone off.”

    “Understood, Ms. Lambert.”

    This approach alone wouldn’t be enough to identify the mole. Skr knew she needed to dangle some bait to lure them

    out into the open.

    Skr handpicked a new batch of novels for evaluation. After receiving the assessments, she ikept /ithe shortlist strictly

    confidential.

    23

    She called in the team leader responsible for copyright acquisitions. “I’ll be taking personal charge of this matter. For inow/i, leave the list in my office. Once I’ve wrapped up my current tasks, we’ll finalize everything, understand?”

    The team leader couldn’t have been happier. With Skr personally at the helm, everyone had a surge of confidence.

    Skr instructed, “Let your team know they need to stay battle–ready at all times.”

    The team leader smiled and nodded. Back in the office, he immediately gathered his team and said, “We messed upst time, but Ms. Lambert didn’t me us. That shows how understanding she is.

    “Let’s not screw this up again. We need to give it our all this time!

    “If you guys nail this job, I’m treating everyone to a fancy dinner!”

    As he spoke, he fired up his team. The rest of the team was fired up, their energy through the roof.

    Minnie, sitting at the veryst workstation, bit her lip. ‘What am I supposed to do now?‘ she panicked.

    Minnie felt uneasy. ‘Now that Skr is taking charge herself, how am I supposed to get the acquisition list?

    ‘If I can’t finish what that person asked me to ido/i, will they take back all the money they gave me?

    ‘No way. That’s my money. Once it’s in my pocket, there’s no way I’m giving it back,‘ she thought stubbornly.

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