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Rita's line brought the bustling office into dead silence.

Everyone looked over to Jason in unison.

Jason lifted his gaze to meet Rita, fingers tapping the tabletop, as if considering something-

Tap.

Tap.

Everyone remained quiet, and the tapping against the table was especially crisp.

Rita and Jason stayed there, testing each other to see who would be the first to crumble and

speak.

The room seemed quiet, but undercurrents roiled.

Especially those whod had their eyes on the assistant general manager's position for a long time - they really had it in for Rita now.

"The responsibility of the assistant general manager's position is too great, Mr. Snow. I feel like it should be left to someone more capable."

Matthew spoke first, prodding Charlie with a nondescript gesture. "What do you think, Mr.

Powers?"

"That's right. Assistant general manager is an important spot. You can't hand it over to someone with an unknown background just because they resolved one crisis for the c