"Alright, everyone, disperse. Go back to what you were doing..."
"Move along, why are you still standing here? Got nothing to do? Get lost."
"Didn't you hear Dawson? Get the hell out of here!"
Some of the security guards who were close to Dawson immediately stepped up to shoo away the others, their attitudes arrogant and overbearing. Given Dawson's influence in the security department and the intimidation from his cronies, the other guards had no choice but to leave. A few even cast apologetic and sympathetic glances at Campbell Watson.
Offending Dawson meant that even if you were the newly appointed director by the CEO, life here would be tough. The previous director being forced to resign was a bloody example of that.
"Director Campbell, I'm really sorry, but we don't have any extra offices in the security department right now. You'll have to make do for the time being. We'll arrange a new office for you as soon as one becomes available."
Dawson turned to look at Campbell Watson, whose face remained calm. Dawson's smile was insincere, and his eyes held a challenging glint. His earlier outburst was meant to give Campbell a taste of his power, to show him that even though he was appointed by the CEO, it didn't matter. Here, Dawson called the shots.
As for the lack of available offices? That was just Dawson's way of making things difficult for Campbell, or rather, trying to drive him away. Dawson had paid a hefty price and schemed for a long time to secure the director position, only to end up empty-handed.
His anger was understandable.
The fact that he hadn't resorted to physical violence yet was a testament to his restraint.
Campbell Watson looked at Dawson with a meaningful gaze but didn't get angry. He simply nodded and said, "No worries, I'll leave everything to Vice Minister Dawson."
Wow, he can take that? Turns out he's just a coward.
Dawson sneered, his face full of disdain, becoming even more arrogant. He had thought that someone appointed by President Nelson would have some skills, but now it seemed like Campbell was just a pretty face, not worth a second look.
"Alright, go ahead and get busy. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me anytime," Dawson said with a grand gesture, as if he were the minister and Campbell was just a new employee.
"OK, I won't bother Vice Minister Dawson then. I'll just take a look around," Campbell responded nonchalantly, waving his hand as he turned and started to tour the security department.
"Pfft, a coward like him as our minister? What a joke."
"Dawson, should we think of a way to get rid of him? Or maybe do to him what we did to the last minister?"
"I think we should be cautious. President Nelson appointing a new minister so suddenly shows he suspects something about the last minister's incident. If we act rashly, it'll be easy for them to catch us."
"Scaredy-cat, what are you afraid of? Dawson has powerful backers too, you know?"
"I also think we should be careful. A little patience can prevent big problems."
Dawson's loyal followers watched Campbell's back with cold expressions, discussing how to drive him away.
Listening to his subordinates, Dawson had already made up his mind. He sneered and said, "Isn't our monthly security department competition the day after tomorrow? The top executives will be there to watch. I'll challenge him under the guise of a friendly match. Heh heh..."
Dawson didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood his intent.
"Dawson, you're brilliant. This plan is perfect."
"In front of the company's top executives, seeing the dignified department head get beaten to a pulp would be hilarious. Even if the company doesn't fire him, he won't have the face to stay here..."
"It's been a while since we've seen Dawson in action. Dawson, you should show us some moves so we can learn a thing or two..."
Dawson's close associates quickly caught on to the plan and eagerly anticipated the sparring match the day after tomorrow.
To maintain the combat readiness of the internal security team, the security department held monthly sparring sessions.
This was a tradition. Occasionally, top executives would come to observe, showing their support for the security team.
This time, Dawson had already been notified that several top executives would be attending the sparring match, and he was told to prepare accordingly.
Since becoming a top-tier security guard, Dawson rarely participated in these matches. But this time, he decided to make an exception. In sparring, it's common to accidentally use too much force, resulting in injuries or even permanent damage.
Dawson had previously used sparring as an excuse to teach a lesson to those who didn't respect his authority. For him, it was a familiar routine.
Campbell Watson had made the mistake of taking the department head position, and Dawson didn't mind playing with him a bit...
At that moment, Campbell was casually strolling through the security department, completely unaware that Dawson and his cronies were plotting against him. But even if he knew, he wouldn't care.
Dawson might be the best fighter here, but he was only at the mid-level of the Yellow Rank, which was still a step below Campbell.
Besides, Campbell had seen all kinds of challenges and situations. Why would he get worked up over a few words from Dawson?
Have you ever seen an adult get easily angered by just any cat or dog? To Dawson, those who tried to provoke or anger him were no different from clowns.
SkyRise Corporation held a significant reputation in East Sea City. All its subsidiary companies operated within a single skyscraper, where various business secrets were also kept. These secrets were extremely important to SkyRise; any leak would be a major loss for the entire group.
As a result, SkyRise invested heavily in security. They not only hired top-notch security personnel but also allocated an entire floor to the security department, complete with a gym, shooting range, and other training facilities. SkyRise's security force had always been strong. Since the group's inception, leaks had been rare.
However, in recent months, several bid proposal leaks had caused the group to lose several key plots of land.
Naturally, the security department, responsible for the group's safety, became the prime suspect.
Campbell Watson, after a thorough tour, had a good understanding of the security department and its members. Out of the dozens of internal security guards, only about seven or eight seemed reliable. The rest had a rough demeanor, with tattoos of dragons and tigers, exuding a strong street vibe.
Campbell's mission was twofold: help Promise Nelson investigate the leaks and identify the mole within the group, and find a few promising candidates who could be trained to protect Promise when he wasn't around. Unfortunately, he hadn't found anyone satisfactory.
The seemingly reliable guards were too weak and lacked potential. Those with slightly better skills were mostly close to Dawson, carrying too much of that rough street vibe and poor character. There was no way Campbell could entrust such an important task to them.
Moreover, those guys might even be involved in the company's leak incident.
"Forget it, I'll head to HR first."
Campbell Watson felt a bit disappointed. He had already toured the security department and, having nothing else to do, decided to go to HR to complete his onboarding process.
As he passed by the gym, Campbell suddenly heard a burst of angry shouting.
Curious, he peeked inside and saw a towering man, about 6'3" with solid muscles, bowing and apologizing.
Seeing the burly man, a sharp glint flashed in Campbell's eyes.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Boss Jin."
The burly man was apologizing profusely to a well-built young man with a buzz cut.
This "Boss Jin" was one of the four senior security officers, Hussein, who was close to Dawson.
"Damn it, do you think 'sorry' is enough? Do you know these pants are imported? They cost thousands of dollars! And now, look at them! How am I supposed to wear these?
What are you going to do about it?"
Hussein's pant leg was stained with a greasy, sticky substance, and a bottle labeled "lubricant" lay tipped over at his feet.
It seemed the burly man had accidentally spilled the lubricant on Hussein's pants.
"Boss Jin, it's not entirely my fault. You suddenly..."
"Farris, what the hell do you mean by that? Are you saying it has nothing to do with you? That I did it to myself?"
The burly man was cut off mid-sentence by Hussein.
Hussein's face was cold, his eyes glinting with a snake-like malice.
"No, Boss Jin, that's not what I meant..." The burly man, Farris, quickly waved his hands in explanation. "Boss Jin, how about I clean it for you?"
"Clean it? Clean your damn head, Farris! Are you out of your mind? This pair of pants is imported. Once it's stained, it's basically ruined."
Hussein seemed furious, slapping Farris on the forehead.
A flicker of anger flashed in Farris's eyes. He clenched his fists but quickly released them, lowering his head. "So, Boss Jin, what do you want me to do?"
"I'll give you two choices: one, pay me three thousand dollars; two, lick the lubricant off my pant leg. Which one do you choose?"
Hussein lit a cigarette, his tone arrogant.
Farris definitely couldn't come up with three thousand dollars, and licking the lubricant off the pant leg was out of the question.
He knew Hussein was deliberately humiliating him.
When Farris first joined the security department, he accidentally had a conflict with Hussein and ended up beating him up.
Little did he know, Hussein was Vice Minister Dawson's lackey. As a result, Farris was assigned to clean gym equipment and do all sorts of menial tasks.
Moreover, Hussein constantly found ways to make his life difficult.
If it weren't for the high salary at SkyRise Corporation, which he needed to pay for his little sister's medical treatment, he would have already beaten this so-called Boss Jin to a pulp.
"Boss Jin, is there a third option?" Farris took a deep breath, suppressing his anger.
For his sister, he was willing to endure!