With Henry Hartwell gone, Phoebe Lockwood’s confidence surged. Relying on her status as the governor’s daughter, she was the first to make a snide remark. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Editor-in-Chief Summers is still away on business, and now Editor Hartwell is gone too. Leaving the Astoria Daily in Claire Sinclair’s hands like this... I hope nothing goes wrong."

Hearing this, the others also looked at Claire Sinclair with suspicion.

Faced with so many doubtful eyes, Claire Sinclair was surprisingly not nervous. She even appeared quite calm as she said evenly, "Everyone just needs to do their own jobs well. As for the things I don’t understand, I’ll have to ask you all, my seniors, for your guidance."

"Ah... Let’s just get to work. Even if the sky falls, we still have to write the news."

"Get back to work. No more talking."

"Hanson’s not here, but we can’t slack off. Let’s keep writing our articles."

Although the colleagues were unconvinced by Claire Sinclair, there was nothing they could do. Might makes right, and right now, Claire called the shots at the Astoria Daily. Listening to her was the only safe bet.

When Phoebe Lockwood saw that her colleagues had no reaction at all, fury kindled in her heart.

’That fat bastard isn’t here. I have to seize this opportunity and force that damn bitch Claire Sinclair out!’

...

It had to be said, Henry Hartwell was truly a miracle worker.

Claire Sinclair had initially thought that with Teacher Hartwell gone, things would be fine as long as her colleagues did their jobs. Reality, however, delivered a harsh slap to the face.

She didn’t know who that guy had spoken to before he left, but after Claire Sinclair returned to her desk, the phone started ringing nonstop.

The boss of some company or other wanted an interview...

The chairman of some corporation wanted to partner with the Astoria Daily...

Or some brand wanted to invite the Astoria Daily to a new product launch event...

In short, it was a mountain of busywork, and not a single bit of it had to do with the actual news.

Claire Sinclair turned down everything unrelated to her actual work, but by the end of the day, she hadn’t managed to write a single article.

Ten minutes before quitting time, her colleagues, as if on cue, all submitted their articles at the same time for her final review.

Even Phoebe Lockwood had learned this trick, handing in the article she’d written that day during the very last minute before closing.

These articles were all slated for tomorrow’s paper. If Claire Sinclair didn’t finish reviewing them, they couldn’t go to print, and tomorrow’s edition would be ruined.

Claire Sinclair felt utterly helpless and had no choice but to stay and work overtime.

She had to confirm the final content with the printing house before 9:00 p.m., so every minute was precious.

After a great deal of effort, she finished reviewing the articles and handed them over to the graphic designer for layout.

With only 20 minutes left until 9:00, she had to proofread all the content by herself.

In the end, even the graphic designer, Hughes, couldn’t bear to watch any longer and stayed behind to help her proofread.

As Hughes proofread, he spoke up for her indignantly, "Claire Sinclair, I’m telling you, they’re doing this on purpose. They’re targeting you. If Hanson were here, they’d never dare to leave right at quitting time. We used to all help each other with proofreading. Hanson himself never does it. Besides, how can one person possibly handle all this? What they’re doing is completely out of line!"

Claire Sinclair had been busy all day, and her brain felt like it was about to explode. Even though she knew her colleagues were deliberately making things difficult for her, she didn’t have the energy to dwell on it. She just wanted to get the work done as quickly as possible.

"Let’s just ignore them. I need to do my job well. I can’t let Teacher Hartwell down."

"Ah... you’re just too nice, that’s why they bully you like this..." He suddenly paused, his expression shifting to one of disbelief. "Oh my god... ’I was so honored, I was beside my mother’? Did Phoebe Lockwood’s gym teacher teach her English? Who in the world taught her that’s how you use that expression!"