In the afternoon, New York was cloudless, the sun was out, and a gentle breeze seemed to drive away the cold. In the office, Jenny took a letter addressed to Tolly to the mail room. During lunch, Mr. Eliot had flipped through the manuscript that Jenny had revised. He thought Tolly's imagination had some value and, after Jenny's editing, it could become a popular reading that would appeal to the target audience at the moment. Jenny didn't even take a sip of water, waiting beside him until Mr. Eliot finished reading and approved the contract. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief. She immediately wrote a letter to invite Tolly to come meet the editor and sign the contract tomorrow. After sending the letter and returning to the office, she caught a glimpse of Mr. Alpha leading a stranger in a suit and speaking in the office. By now, most of the colleagues had finished lunch and were gathering in the office. Jenny saw that William was already sitting at his desk. She grabbed a bag of freshly bought sandwiches, sat down, took a couple of bites, and asked William who Mr. Alpha was meeting. William turned to look, then shook his head at Jenny, not saying a word, with a very awkward expression. Jenny felt a bit strange. She took a few more bites of her sandwich, then went to ask Monique to find out what Mr. Alpha was up to. Monique explained to Jenny that the man in the office was a new editor Mr. Alpha had recruited from the Lofigney Publishing House. He would be responsible for editing the prose and poetry columns in the Lianzan section. Jenny let out an 'oh' and continued working. Tomorrow was the weekend, and she had to go to the port to pick someone up. So this afternoon she stayed in the office a little longer to finish things up before returning to the dormitory. By the time she left, it was already pitch dark. The dormitory building was very noisy. Jenny walked to her dormitory door and saw Leni washing her face in the bathroom. Jenny greeted her, hung her bag on the door, and walked toward her bedroom. When Polly saw Jenny return, she immediately closed the newspaper she was reading, put it on the head of the bed, and cleared her throat. 'So? Are you adapting to working under Mr. Eliot?' Jenny found her behavior as strange as seeing a ghost and asked suspiciously: 'Is there something you want? Just say it directly. Don't put on airs. I can't take it.' The smile on Polly's face stiffened, and she pursed her lips. 'Tsk, why do you talk like that?' She sighed. 'After you left this morning, Mr. Clare showed Mr. Eliot the manuscript and copy he had collected. Mr. Eliot put them on the table without seeing much, and then you brought a collection of stories to compare. Mr. Clare was so angry watching that he wanted to eat you alive. He immediately pulled me and William downstairs and badmouthed you behind your back. Hmph, it's just me, a person of benevolence, who didn't speak ill of you behind your back. You better be careful from now on.' After saying that, Polly glanced at Jenny's expression, pulled open the blanket, and lay down to sleep. Polly thought to herself that now Jenny would probably go against Clare. And since she couldn't compete anyway, she might as well let it be and just watch the show. After hearing this, Jenny finally understood why William had suddenly changed his expression. Even though he was a nice person, they were still just colleagues. Work interests always came first, so it was normal for him to misunderstand her. Jenny never wanted anything more than to earn more money to improve her living conditions. She had no interest in snatching others' positions. But since Clare saw her as a thorn in his side, she would have to deal with it from now on. Jenny tidied up and then went to sleep.
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