American Comics: BOSS Invasion

"Sister Taozi, have you heard? They've hired a new assistant lobby manager. It's completely baffling. Since when did the lobby have an assistant manager position?"

During lunchtime, my colleague Xiaonan leaned over, speaking about the latest gossip with a serious expression.

Yang Tao smiled and said, "The higher-ups naturally have their reasons. Our hotel's front desk is always under pressure. Having an assistant manager will help alleviate some of it. Getting such a high position upon arrival means they're probably quite skilled. That's actually a good thing, maybe it'll mean less work for us!"

Xiaonan was exasperated. "Sister Taozi, how can you be so naive? You can't have such simple thoughts in the workplace, or the boss will eat you up without you even knowing it.

This isn't about finding someone to share the work, it's clearly aimed at you. I'm telling you, this assistant lobby manager won't be easy to deal with!

Oh right, the other day Director Zhang from HR talked to me and had me sign a two-year contract. Why only two years? I thought I could sign for ten years at once! Sister Taozi, did you only sign for two years too?"

"That's hard to say. Usually, it's either two or three years, but they don't sign lifetime contracts. After all, the hotel industry is constantly changing. Right now, the country's economic situation is pretty good, the economy keeps growing, so the tourism industry is thriving, and the hotel industry's prospects are decent. But if there's any trouble, or even a black swan event, that shocks the national economy, hotels will immediately fall into decline. The service industry is like that; even a slight change in the overall environment will immediately reveal all sorts of problems!

So, signing a two- or three-year contract is still good. If you find a better job during that time, you won't be stuck here forever. It's a win-win for everyone!"

Yang Tao patiently explained a few sentences, then paused slightly when it came to her own situation and said, "I've always signed three-year contracts, and I've signed two in a row. This one is expiring in just over a month, but Director Zhang talked to me this morning, and it seems the hotel doesn't want to renew my contract!"

Xiaonan was shocked. "How could that be? You're the lobby manager, and you've worked at the hotel for so many years. They're just firing you for no reason?"

"Maybe it's because I'm getting old and haven't gotten married or had children, so the hotel has its concerns about employing me. But there's really nothing to worry about. It's not like it was decades ago, where losing your iron rice bowl meant you were doomed to unemployment. At worst, I'll just find another job!"

After receiving Qi Shan's call, Yang Tao inexplicably felt much better. Talking about the sad news of being fired, she surprisingly felt no more inner turmoil. This actually gave Yang Tao some confidence.

Yang Tao thought she was being very carefree, but in Xiaonan's eyes, she felt that Sister Taozi was forcing a smile. So, she looked at Yang Tao with some pity, bit her lip, and didn't know what to say. She just silently stayed with Yang Tao until she finished her meal, which made things a little better.

Originally, she thought it was nothing, but after the lunch break, the entire lobby staff somehow knew about what had happened to Yang Tao. They whispered among themselves, and the looks they gave Yang Tao were tinged with sympathy, but more often schadenfreude, and some people even made sarcastic remarks behind her back.

They said that a woman in her thirties who wasn't married or dating was just stubbornly sticking it out on her own. She looked pretty good, so could it be that her physical condition didn't allow it, or was she psychologically twisted and perverted?

Although they didn't say it to Yang Tao's face, the atmosphere was gradually turning sour.

When Yang Tao went to the restroom, she unintentionally overheard two familiar staff members discussing her. Originally, she hadn't paid much attention, but after hearing their sharp and mean tone, Yang Tao couldn't resist the urge to go out and tear their mouths apart.

But to maintain her elegant demeanor, she pretended not to hear anything. Only after the two of them finished using the restroom and left, about a minute or so later, did Yang Tao come out of the stall.

And only at this moment did Yang Tao fully realize the fickleness of human relationships. It turned out that what she had always seen was not the reality of the world. Now that she had experienced a little bit of it, she was already finding it hard to bear.

Yang Tao took a deep breath, looking at herself in the mirror. Fortunately, she had experienced that incident that happened to her a few years ago, and had the experience of being knocked down and then getting back up again. These small bumps and setbacks in front of her were still manageable for Yang Tao. She sniffled, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, touched up her makeup a bit, and walked out with a formulaic smile, head held high and chest out.

"Attention all staff, except for necessary personnel on duty, please immediately put down your work and go to the lobby on the first floor for a meeting!"

The broadcast suddenly sounded, and everyone was surprised. They had never had a general meeting before. Could something big have happened?

Thinking this in their hearts, everyone put down their work and entered the conference hall on the first floor one after another.

The main revenue of a four-star hotel does not come from guest rooms, but from various business conferences, annual meetings, and large group receptions.

So, the several meeting rooms are very spacious and can easily accommodate hundreds of people.

The hotel's staff is not actually that large. Including senior management and frontline staff, there are only a little over a hundred people in total.

Director Zhang from HR was standing on the podium, holding a microphone. Behind the podium, a row of tables had already been set up, like a leadership meeting, with several important-looking people sitting on them.

Yang Tao sat on the far edge of the first row. The other colleagues stayed far away, preferring to squeeze together rather than sit next to Yang Tao. Although there was no verbal communication, their unintentional actions completely exposed this discrimination.

Yang Tao's eyes narrowed slightly, then quickly returned to normal, as if she hadn't noticed anything, and didn't show any unpleasant expression.

Director Zhang tested the microphone and, seeing that the staff had mostly arrived, said, "Good afternoon, everyone. This emergency general meeting was called somewhat hastily, without notifying everyone in advance. This was an error on our part.

Two hours ago, we just received news that the company has sold our hotel as a whole to a company called Daqi Group. There will be corresponding changes in the affiliation, but there will be no other changes!

As for your jobs, you can rest assured that the group company has promised not to conduct large-scale layoffs, but there will be some investigations. Please cooperate actively when you encounter them. Also, please go to the HR department in the next two days to change your agreements.

And other trivial matters such as bank cards. As for the leadership, they will have to wait for further meeting notices. We believe that the new group management will make certain changes after they move in, which will help the hotel reach new heights!"