I Married the President-Chapter 77: Demoted Again

Meanwhile, Claire Sinclair had already arrived at the 12th-floor office.

’I just offended Governor Lockwood. There’s no way I can keep this job. I should go talk to Teacher Hartwell first. It’s better to quit than to be kicked out.’

Claire Sinclair searched all over the office and finally found Henry Hartwell in the records room, sleeping like he was dead to the world.

’Did this guy pull another all-nighter in the office???’

"Teacher Hartwell."

"Ah, is it time for work!" Henry Hartwell shot up, wiping drool from his mouth.

Claire Sinclair let out a breath and said in a low voice, "Teacher Hartwell, I think I just offended Governor Lockwood. To avoid getting you into trouble, I’m going to leave now. This has nothing to do with you, so please don’t try to stop me. I’m leaving."

"Where do you think you’re going?" Henry Hartwell called out, stopping her.

Claire Sinclair stopped. "Teacher Hartwell, there’s no way Governor Lockwood will let me keep working here."

Henry Hartwell chuckled. "The governor? Is he such a big shot? Astoria Daily doesn’t belong to him. You’re my hire. I’d like to see who dares to touch you."

Claire Sinclair was scared out of her wits. "Teacher Hartwell, he’s the governor! He might get you fired too! Don’t—"

"Claire Sinclair, the chairman of Astoria Daily’s last name is Hartwell. Get it?"

"Huh?" It clicked for Claire Sinclair instantly. "You’re... you’re..."

Henry Hartwell held a finger to his lips. "Not yet, but I will be someday. Right now, I’m just honing my skills. I’ll only be qualified to take over this place when I can finally stand on my own two feet."

’So he really is the only son of the chairman of Astoria Group...’

There was a rumor online about the "Three Young Masters of Aethelgard": the heir to the media giant Astoria Group; the head of the Kingsley Group, Ethan Kingsley; and the son of an entertainment tycoon, Nathan Roland. All three were hailed as "National Husbands," and many parents used them as the gold standard when looking for partners for their daughters.

Among them, the heir of the Astoria Group had never shown his face in public, but online rumors claimed he was peerlessly handsome...

At this thought, Claire Sinclair couldn’t resist glancing at Henry Hartwell’s beer belly. ’Looks like the rumors are a little off.’

’If Teacher Hartwell lost some weight, he’d probably be pretty easy on the eyes.’

As if he’d read her mind, Henry Hartwell chuckled. "I gained all this weight on purpose to escape that hollow reputation and to keep from being hounded by women."

Claire Sinclair was speechless.

’Isn’t it really because of your unhealthy lifestyle and the fact that you’re pushing thirty?’

Henry Hartwell seemed to read her mind again, chuckling as he said, "There’s this phenomenon these days where people worship the idea that ’appearance is everything.’ I have no desire to be a victim of such a twisted value system."

Claire Sinclair was speechless.

’He made so much sense that she couldn’t even argue.’

Finally, Henry Hartwell said, "Go on back and get to your work. Oh, right, can you go online and gather some news articles about left-behind children for me? Preferably from the last two years. I need to put together a report."

"Okay," Claire Sinclair agreed.

For some reason, even though she’d been terrified of being fired just a moment ago, she wasn’t worried at all now.

’She just felt like Teacher Hartwell was a dependable person.’

...

In reality, Henry Hartwell wasn’t as much of a badass as he claimed, nor was he as infallible as the legends said.

Claire Sinclair was ultimately transferred to another position, titled "Online Editor," where she was solely responsible for managing their social media accounts. It was a basically mindless job; all she had to do was publish the drafts her colleagues gave her.

In other words, anyone who knew how to use a computer could do the job. Consequently, it came with a flat salary and absolutely no chance for promotion.

Yesterday, she was a trainee reporter; today, she was demoted to a trainee online editor. Offending the governor was no joke, after all.