The manager was a shrewd person. So as soon as he heard this, he knew that Alex was holding a grudge against Julien. He immediately let out an apologetic smile and said, “Mr. Cohen, you’re a great man who doesn’t stoop to pettiness. Please don’t bother with him. The car was only dirtied and not damaged. I’ll ask him to clean it for you until you’re satisfied. How does that sound?”
Alex pretended to be surprised. “That won’t do. Julien is a salesman. According to his understanding, he belongs to the upper class. How can we let him do labor that belongs to the lower class?”
“Mr. Cohen is very good at making jokes, but we’re all ordinary people. There’s no upper or lower class between us. If we had to distinguish, then except for you three, all of us are the lower class.” The manager waved his hand and turned to Julien. “What are you still standing there for? Go get a towel to wipe the car! This is your own mistake. You can’t be thinking that I will help you make up for it, right?”
“Manager, I…”
Julien was frightened by the manager’s increasingly grave look, hence he did not dare to disobey him. Instead, he shut up in the middle of his sentence and went to find a towel with a stiff face. He wiped the car door perfunctorily a few times and said expressionlessly, “I’ve finished wiping it.”
“No…” Alex shook his head. “You haven’t.”
“Cohen, that’s enough. Don’t be too much!”
“Shut your mouth!”
The manager snapped at Julien before Alex could say anything. He then dragged Julien to the side and warned in a deep voice, “If you still want to work here, just f*cking listen to me and stop talking nonsense. If you dare to babble nonsense again, I’ll report this situation truthfully to the higher-ups and ensure that you’re dismissed within three days!”
Julien grew anxious. “Come on, manager. How can we be salesmen without any dignity? Even if the customer is always right, they can’t be this unreasonable, right? All I did was open the door and I’ve already wiped down the places I’ve touched. What else does he want me to do? He’s just a nouveau riche. The rich are heartless. We can’t just let him pressure us! Manager, I don’t want to say this, but we can’t lower ourselves this much just for the sake of the commission, right?”
“That’s enough! Do you think I asked you to apologize to him just so I’ll get the commission for selling those two cars to him? Do you have any f*cking brains at all? Didn’t you hear his associate call him President Cohen? He’s clearly a boss. He’s spending more than three million to buy two identical cars without even blinking, which is probably to reward an employee or to use it as a company car. Whichever it is, it’s enough to prove that he’s a big boss! If you offend him, not being able to sell the two cars will be secondary. What’s most important is that our store may encounter more unexpected trouble in the future.”
“Is… Is it that serious?”
“There’s a saying I hope you’ll remember. In this world, there’s nothing you can’t do as long as you have money. Nevermind whether he’s a boss or not and even if he doesn’t have any special status, as long as he takes the money out, he can make it so you don’t even have the chance to apologize to him!”
“Okay, I’ll listen to you, Manager. What should I do now?”
“Give the car a complete wipe down and apologize to him. Remember, keep your anger down and be nice. Otherwise, not only can no one save you, but we might be dragged down into the disaster as well. There are some people in this world who cannot be offended!”
“Sigh… fine.”
Helpless, Julien could only fetch a towel to wipe down every inch of the vehicle. When it was truly spotless, he walked to Alex under the manager’s signal and lowered his head. “President Cohen, I’m sorry. I was ignorant to have offended you. Please forgive me.”
Alex turned his ear sideways and asked in mock confusion, “What did you call me?”
“President Cohen. Wasn’t that how Hansel called you?”
“He did call me President Cohen, but is your position the same as his? Think about it carefully!”
“No, I…”
Although Julien was angry and resentful, he could not say anything.
He was angry at how serious Alex was and resentful that he did not control his own mouth earlier. If his initial guess was right, and Alex and Big Ken were just Hansel’s old comrades-in-arms, then it was fine. Alex was just a nobody who would not be able to afford the car anyway. No matter how tough he acted, the manager would not be so scared and he would not have put so much pressure on Julien.
The problem lied in the fact that Julien was completely mistaken by treating a big shot as a nobody.
However, it was too late to regret it now and too late to say anything.
Even so, he had already made a big concession by wiping the car and apologizing to Alex.
Now, Alex still wanted him to call him grandfather? How could that be?
Julien cast a pleading glance at the manager but when he did not get any response, he stiffly called Hansel to the side and said with an awkward smile, “Hansel, don’t be mad. You know my mouth doesn’t have a filter and I like to joke around. If I said anything I shouldn’t have, then just take it as a fart and don’t take it to heart.”
After a cold snort, Hansel replied, “You’re a salesman but you’re apologizing to a security guard? Besides, I’m still counting on you to introduce a job to me. You know, people like me can’t find a decent job. Don’t you have a shortage of cleaning stuff here? I’m willing to do it, can you help me make a referral?”
“Ahem… Hansel, we all come from the same village. There’s no need to hold a grudge, right?”
“Enough, I’m not in the mood to talk nonsense with you. What exactly do you have to say by calling me here?”
“You’re working with President Cohen now, right? Can you please help me beg for mercy and ask him to spare me? If I really do call him ‘grandfather’ in front of everyone, how will I face others in the future? How would I be able to continue working here? You should understand since we come from the countryside and it’s not easy to find a job…”
“You think too much of me. I’m just a nobody whose only worth it to become a security guard. How could President Cohen listen to me?”
Once Hansel had finished speaking, he walked back and stood beside Big Ken who was behind Alex.
Julien had hit a dead end with Hansel, so he shamelessly went to his manager again to ask him to put in a good word.
The manager was so ashamed that he then walked over to Alex and asked tentatively, “President Cohen, Julien was just speaking without thinking…”
“Stop!” Alex interrupted the manager with a clear voice. “Manager, if not for your good attitude, not only would I not buy a car here, but I would truthfully relay what I saw today to your boss too. With all due respect, I feel that with Julien’s strength and ability to make judgments, he can’t do sales at all. He’ll only discredit your store.”
“Yes, yes, President Cohen is right…” The manager wiped a cold sweat on his forehead. He used a few seconds to balance the pros and cons before suddenly gritting his teeth. “Don’t worry, President Cohen. I’ll dismiss Julien immediately. I can handle small matters like this so there’s no need to bother the boss.”
Julien was suddenly anxious and he rushed over. “Manager…”
The manager forcefully interrupted Julien. “Shut up!”
Waving his hand, Alex said to the manager, “Although Julien made a mistake, he doesn’t have to be dismissed.”
“Huh?” The manager was a little confused. “President Cohen, what do you mean?”
Julien’s eyes lit up too as he stared at Alex with bated breath.
Whether or not he could keep his job depended on what Alex said next.
Alex shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the car, saying casually, “I can see that he wiped down the car quite well. I also just happened to hear that you lack a toilet cleaner here. As a manager, other than making the most profit for the boss, ensuring your staff display their strengths and making the best use out of them is also one of your responsibilities, right?”
“Yes, I’ll transfer him over to cleaning immediately!”
Finally understanding Alex’s intention, the manager made a decision without hesitation.
If Alex really did escalate this matter to the boss, not only would Julien suffer, but as the manager, he would be implicated as well. After all, Julien was recruited by him and was his direct subordinate. In order to avoid this situation, he could only try his best to defuse Alex’s anger.
When the manager saw that Alex’s face had finally relaxed, he was secretly relieved. He could not help but be delighted.
He could finally get the commission for those two cars.
Whereas Julien had no choice but to suffer in silence, he looked like he was about to cry.
Alex was no longer looking at Julien anymore. Instead, he took Big Ken and Hansel to take a seat at the rest area.
Hansel gave Alex a thumbs up and expressed his heartfelt emotion, “President Cohen, you have my admiration at how beautifully you taught Julien a lesson today. You’ve completely won me over! It’s a blessing and an honor for me to work with a boss like you!”
Alex simply waved his hand. “No matter who it is, if they offend me, there might still be a chance of forgiveness, but if they dare bully those who work for me, they won’t be let off lightly! This is my promise to all my employees as a boss!”
