The Supreme Soldier in the City
Chapter 140 Job-Hopping Controversy

Chapter 140: Chapter 140 Job-Hopping Controversy

James Brown had quite a good impression of the people in the logistics department. He spoke softly to Jessica Wilson, "Mr. Lopez is definitely leaving, and he’ll submit his resignation today."

"What? Isn’t he going to be transferred to the headquarters?" On hearing this news, Jessica Wilson let out a surprised shout.

Suddenly, everyone in the logistics department crowded around, all staring at Jessica Wilson, not understanding the situation.

Realizing she had misspoken, Jessica Wilson felt somewhat embarrassed, while James Brown calmly said, "You all are my good brothers and sisters. I want to share some news with you today. This is something I heard Mr. Lopez say in the car."

Sarah Utah looked at James Brown with a complex expression. When he said the news came from overhearing Mr. Lopez in the car, that was certainly a lie—she had seen with her own eyes that James Brown and Gina Lopez, the boss, had been shopping together.

Someone immediately ran to close the door of the logistics department, and then ran back, effectively turning the logistics department into an insular group.

Clearing his throat, James Brown went on, "You may have also heard that the head office intends to send someone to take Mr. Lopez’s place because they see potential in our branch. This is just a normal change of positions within the company. However, Mr. Lopez offered several good suggestions to the head office, and not a single one was accepted. They still want to implement some new management methods here. Mr. Lopez thinks these new approaches are entirely impractical, so he’s become disillusioned with how the head office is handling things and has decided to leave."

Jessica Wilson frowned immediately, "Oh my god, if Mr. Lopez leaves, JYPP Region might become unrecognizable. What are we going to do?"

The others, too, showed concern. Still, it was Jessica Wilson who asked, "James Brown, do you have any other news? We’ve all been colleagues for such a long time. If you hear anything, please let us know in advance so we can prepare."

James Brown shrugged and replied, "I don’t know much more, but I just want everyone to be careful when working here in the future. Also, Mr. Lopez may move to a bigger company, and if he is lacking staff, you might want to consider that."

"Really?" Sarah Utah was the first to exclaim in surprise.

Compared to the others, Sarah Utah was the youngest. Though she appeared tender, she was the most driven at work; Gina Lopez had always been her idol. Naturally, if possible, she wanted to continue working under Gina.

"Of course it’s true. Would I lie to you?" James Brown nodded assertively.

Aside from Sarah Utah, the rest didn’t show the same enthusiasm. They were older and not so ready to entertain the idea of switching jobs since the JYPP Region Company’s current treatment was quite favorable. Even with a change in general manager, there shouldn’t be immediate changes to their benefits. Otherwise, if the employees lost faith, the company would be ruined. Anyone with common sense wouldn’t do such a thing.

Getting no more information out of James Brown, everyone dispersed, each contemplating their future—whether to stay or to prepare for other possibilities. Soon those with work to do left, and only James Brown and Sarah Utah remained.

Sarah came around to James’s side, pulled up a chair next to his desk, bit her lip, and whispered, "Big Brother Brown, could you talk to Mr. Lopez for me? I’d like to continue working under her."

James Brown looked at Sarah in surprise. Although everyone in the logistics department always praised Gina, when it came to career prospects, they were hesitant to commit. Yet here was Sarah, a young person ready to speak out.

"Do you really want to go?" James Brown asked with a smile.

"I do!" Sarah nodded vigorously, "No matter where Mr. Lopez goes, I want to work with her."

James Brown nodded, "Then I’ll hint at it for you, and you can talk to her yourself later."

Sarah pressed, "Can’t you just speak to her for me? You and Mr. Lopez..." She suddenly covered her mouth, her eyes flustered and avoiding James’s gaze.

James’s eyes narrowed. "What about me and Mr. Lopez?"

"You... you... aren’t you Mr. Lopez’s driver?" Sarah was obviously not adept at lying; she became flushed and stammered.

How could James not guess that Sarah knew he was Gina’s boyfriend? He chuckled, "Did Jessica Wilson tell you?"

"No, no!" Sarah became even more agitated, "I saw it myself..."

James Brown looked surprised, "You saw it yourself? When did you see it?"

"The day before yesterday, when you and Mr. Lopez were shopping at the mall... I saw you," Sarah fidgeted with her fingers, looking down.

"Oh, that’s quite the coincidence. You could have come up and said hello."

Feeling that James wasn’t angry, Sarah grew bolder, "Big Brother Brown, I didn’t dare; I was afraid Mr. Lopez would get angry."

James Brown chuckled and said, "Why should I be angry? Well then, I’ll accept on Mr. Lopez’s behalf."

Sarah Utah gave James Brown a sweet smile and said, "Thank you, Big Brother Brown."

James Brown felt that Sarah Utah was not as uncomfortable looking at him as she had been the previous couple of days, and he thought the feeling was mutual. If emotions were not involved, what man wouldn’t like to chat with such a beautiful girl? "You seem to be in a good mood today, aren’t you?"

Sarah’s face flushed as she spoke softly, "Big Brother Brown, I’m sorry. I’ve been feeling a bit resentful these past few days. I think you’re quite a catch yourself, but you refused me. It made me feel a bit down. But now that I know about you and... I’ve let go. Mr. Lopez is so outstanding; compared to her, I’m like a grain of sand, and she’s like the stars in the sky; no wonder you refused me, Big Brother Brown."

At this point, Sarah Utah surprisingly opened up about her feelings, which took James a bit by surprise. Still, this line of thinking didn’t put him under any pressure, and he said with a smile, "I should be thanking you for thinking so highly of me, a mere employee."

Sarah Utah pouted and said, "If Mr. Lopez can approve of you, that’s enough to show how outstanding Big Brother Brown really is."

James Brown burst into laughter and replied, "Does that mean I should take pride in myself?"

"You should, at the very least it proves my good judgment," said Sarah, now also joking with a light laugh.

They joked around for a while until colleagues started coming back, and Sarah returned to her desk. Since everyone was preoccupied with their concerns, even if they saw James Brown and Sarah Utah chatting and laughing together, no one teased them about it.

James Brown spread the news today because he wanted to help Gina Lopez. Lucy Campbell’s company was starting from scratch, and without her own core team, it would clearly be challenging for Gina Lopez to carry out her work smoothly.

Besides, Gina Lopez was not the type to pull her whole team with her just for her own sake; doing so was not her style. James Brown saw this very clearly, so he took it upon himself to help Gina Lopez quietly.

As for why he did it, James himself wasn’t quite sure. Maybe after pretending to be Gina Lopez’s boyfriend for so long, he had occasionally started to think about problems from the perspective of Gina Lopez’s boyfriend.

After James Brown set the rumor in motion, it quickly spread throughout the company. To outsiders, James Brown was Gina Lopez’s personal driver, and any news he released seemed more reliable than what came from others, which made everyone all the more anxious and uncertain about what to do. Of course, some employees who were very optimistic about Gina Lopez had already started looking for ways to follow her.

Senior leaders could go directly to Gina Lopez, but the regular employees could only contact James Brown in secret. James Brown hadn’t interacted much with other departments recently, so he didn’t know these people very well. However, if they had the guts to take the leap with Gina Lopez, they were likely employees with drive, and most of them were probably the kind of talent that Gina Lopez needed.

Gina Lopez didn’t want to do something, and there was no pressure for James Brown to do it. However, in the afternoon, Gina Lopez called him into her office, arms crossed, and began to angrily voice her displeasure.

"What are you doing? Do you realize that it’s against corporate law?" Gina Lopez started by accusing James Brown sharply.

James Brown casually sat down on the sofa, lit a cigarette, crossed his legs, and asked, "How did I break corporate law?"

In recent times, Gina Lopez had grown accustomed to James Brown’s respect for her, and now, seeing him suddenly take on such a casual demeanor made her feel uncomfortable. Frowning, she said, "I can jump ship, but if I take the company’s employees with me, that’s against the law, that would be unfair competition."

James Brown took a drag from his cigarette and replied, "Did you poach anybody?"

Gina Lopez said sternly, "Of course not, but you did."

"Did I poach anyone? I just said you were leaving. If they want to follow you, that’s their choice. Besides, even if I did poach, how does that concern you?"

Gina Lopez blurted out, "How can it not concern me, you’re my boyfriend!"

"Am I?" James Brown said with a twinkling smile as he looked at Gina Lopez.

Gina Lopez paused, then remembered that James Brown, her boyfriend, was only pretending at home. There was no need for that at the office.

James Brown chuckled again and said, "Besides, if they accuse me of poaching, I should by that point be an employee of your new company, but it seems I’m not an employee of your new company yet."

"You’re not coming with me?" Gina Lopez looked at James Brown in surprise.

"Why would I go with you?"

Gina Lopez was at a loss for words, "Well..." Indeed, why would James Brown go with her? How could she possibly make that decision for James Brown? But hearing him say this made her feel very uneasy in her heart. After all, she had brought him into the company, and now he wasn’t following her - it just seemed too inconsiderate.