Chapter 168
Chapter 168:
In truth, Waldo irritated everyone in the office, even the men. His average appearance, paired with his inflated sense of self and narcissism, was enough to annoy even his male coworkers.
The office was alive with chatter when the door to Rosita’s office swung open, and Fernanda emerged.
“Could everyone please come to the meeting room?” Fernanda asked, smiling warmly. “It’s my first day, and I’d love the chance to meet all of you.”
The employees weren’t exactly thrilled about an early meeting, but no one dared to voice their displeasure. Some set aside their breakfast, others stopped what they were doing; they all filed into the meeting room.
More than thirty members of the news department gathered around a conference table.
Fernanda sat down at one end of the table, casually flipping through a file whose contents were unclear to anyone else.
The room grew quiet as eyes were trained on Fernanda, all of them uncertain about what was to come.
After a few minutes of silence, a knock at the door interrupted the stillness.
“Come in,” Fernanda called out.
“Is this where we leave the breakfast?” two employees asked from the doorway.
Fernanda nodded. “Yes, please bring it in.”
A thermal box was brought in, packed with an assortment of bread, milk, and other breakfast offerings.
“I thought some of you might not have had breakfast yet, so I’ve prepared something for everyone,” Fernanda said with a smile. “Feel free to help yourselves, and don’t be nervous. I’m not here for anything formal.”
She then added, “Shall we begin with introductions?”
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Starting with Rosita on her right, each person introduced themselves, stating their name, job title, and occasionally their educational background. In just a few minutes, the introductions were finished. Fernanda nodded in acknowledgment and pulled out several paper bags from the thermal box, each labeled with a name.
She went around handing out the bags, leaving everyone impressed by how she remembered each of their names after only one brief round of introductions.
“Feel free to help yourselves to the food while it’s still warm. I’ll chat with you while you eat,” she said, opening a carton of milk and taking a sip.
“I’m not a fan of overtime, and I certainly don’t want to make anyone else stay late either. I’d really appreciate it if you could wrap up your tasks within working hours. Once the day’s done, your time is yours. And just so you know, leadership won’t be reaching out to you after hours for work matters—we want to respect everyone’s personal time.”
The employees were taken aback, their eyes widening in astonishment. In a culture where overtime was expected, their new boss was actually telling them not to stay late? Damn! This felt too good to be true.
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