Chapter 2
Three years ago, when I first joined the team, Jessica wasn't even here yet.
Back then, the team leader was Austin Hart. It was his last year before retirement, and he hardly cared about anything. The moment I arrived, I was thrown straight into the Brightwell Group project.
It was an eight-million-dollar annual contract. Eight companies were competing for it, and we were ranked sixth on the shortlist.
No one on our team wanted it.
It wasn't because the project was difficult, but because the client, Aaron, was notoriously hard to please.
My predecessor spent six months on the account, only for Aaron to call him out in a meeting, "This is the kind of person your company sends over?"
He was kicked off the project on the spot.
On my first day, I brought a small tin of premium black tea to Aaron's office.
It cost me 40 dollars.
I earned 2,200 dollars a month and lived in a divided room in a shared apartment near the company, paying 800 dollars in rent.
Aaron gave the tea tin a quick look, expression unreadable.
"Go ahead," he said.
I opened the partnership proposal I'd spent a week preparing.
He listened for ten minutes and pointed at the cost structure on page three. "This data doesn't add up."
He rejected it on the spot.
I came back and worked on it for three days and nights straight.
The second time I went to Aaron's office, I brought another tin of tea.
This time, he listened for forty minutes.
When he rejected me again, he said, "Now this is interesting. Come back next time."
The fifth time I walked into his office, Aaron signed the letter of intent.
After that, he brewed two cups of tea from the tin I brought and offered me one.
That year, our company went from sixth on the shortlist to becoming Brightwell Group's sole annual supplier.
The following year, Jessica was parachuted into the team.
Rumor had it that she was recommended by an old college friend of Matthew Carter, our department director.
Her resume listed eight years of experience in client relationship management.
In her first week, she told me to compile a detailed handover file for the Brightwell Group project.
"Emily, company policy says client relationships can't be tied to one person. What if you take a day off?" she said.
I spent two days putting together a 32-page document.
On the third day, she took it and presented it to Matthew.
The PPT cover read, [Client Relationship Management Optimization Plan by Jessica.]
The content was the same 32 pages, only with new formatting and colors.
She hadn't changed a single word.
During the presentation, Matthew asked, "The Brightwell Group's renewal rate jumped from 68% to 97%. Who deserves the credit?"
Jessica replied, "It was a team effort. I was mainly responsible for overall coordination and strategy."
That year, Jessica got an A for her performance review and pocketed a 28,000-dollar bonus.
I got a C and 1,400 dollars.
I pulled out my phone and started punching the numbers into the calculator.
Since I joined, I'd revised forty-seven versions of proposals for Brightwell Group, had thirty-two tea sessions with Aaron, and handled eleven urgent issues.
The worst was on the second day of the Christmas holiday, at 2 AM, when Aaron sent an email saying the system was down.
Jessica's phone was off.
I dragged myself out of bed, took a cab, and spent six hours in the server room fixing the problem.
I paid 50 dollars out of my own pocket for that holiday cab ride.
No one reimbursed me.
When Aaron found out, he called me personally the next day to thank me.
That was the first time he added my personal number to his contacts.
Jessica never knew about any of this.
All she knew was that Aaron renewed the contract.
She forwarded the renewal email to Matthew, adding a note at the top: [Mr. Carter, Brightwell Group's contract has been successfully renewed. Thank you for your guidance.]