Chapter 1434 Deputy Chief Marketing Officer
Iris humoured the excited man's curiosity and answered most of his questions. As long as no sensitive private matters were violated, she shared some information about Cross Academy.
Afterward, he asked in a confused tone, "Why won't you reveal that you're a Cross Academy student?"
She crossed her legs and sipped her hot tea. "Just like you said, Cross Academy is legendary. All of us Cross Academy students have our own pride. Right now, I don't feel that I have enough personal achievements in my current fields of study—namely, foreign languages and business administration. I'm also a celebrity. Every move I make can be made into hot news. What I want is to be big enough to wear the title of Cross Academy student with ease and not the title wearing me down instead. Although I don't care much about what others think about me, I don't want them saying that I'm not good enough for Cross Academy."
He didn't completely understand what she meant, but he respected her decision. Now that he knew that his boss was a certified genius from Cross Academy, his respect for her became absolute.
It would be a lie if he said that he didn't look down and underestimate Iris Long a bit before she hired him as the new CEO of Phantom Dragon Funds.
Like others, he held some misconceptions about her. For example, she only became successful because of her identity as a wealthy young miss and later as the wife of CEO Jin Liwei.
It was only after working closely together with her on running Phantom Dragon Funds that he discovered that this woman was a force to be reckoned with in her own right. Now that he learned that she was also admitted to Cross Academy, he definitely became loyal to her in addition to gaining more respect for her.
Iris didn't mind the almost fanatic gaze of the man.
There was respect and awe in his eyes.
What she didn't tell him was that she wanted to prove herself first by honing her translation skills and by becoming a global billionaire. Although others would argue that her current achievements were already enough, her past achievements as Evelina Vetrova at Cross Academy were too enormous compared to the current her.
She wanted to surpass her past achievements to satisfy her competitive spirit, even though her competitor was none other than herself.
Only then would she be confident and proud enough to reveal her identity as a Cross Academy student.
###
Long Tengfei was true to his word. After a few days, he immediately released an official announcement appointing the current celebrity brand ambassador, Iris Long, as the new Deputy Chief Marketing Officer of Long Industries.
The news was even reported by the media.
This decision caused an uproar in the company, especially among the board of directors.
Iris arrived at Long Industries with great fanfare. She didn't avoid the reporters gathered outside the company building and even entertained a few questions from them. Then Dom and her bodyguards, together with the company security staff, safely escorted her inside.
Long Jian, the company's Deputy Chief Operating Officer, was the one who personally welcomed her and led her up to the President's office.
"This is not a smart move," he told her once they were enclosed in the elevator. "There are many who are planning to sabotage you now that you have risen directly to Deputy CMO. Even the former Deputy CMO, now promoted as the new Chief Marketing Officer, expressed his dissatisfaction at your sudden promotion."
"I know." Iris wasn't perturbed at all, but still gave him a grateful smile for the warning.
He gave her a weak scoff, trying his best to act disgusted at her grateful smile.
Iris shrugged while listening to him talk about some of the most relevant company gossip.
She already did extensive background research with Ketchup and Bacon on the people that she would be closely working with at Long Industries now that she was the new Deputy CMO.
The previous Deputy CMO was now her immediate superior, promoted to Chief Marketing Officer. The previous CMO had retired.
According to her research, the new CMO was planning on promoting his own protégé as his deputy but was instead blindsided by President Long Tengfei's decision to promote his daughter. Of course, he wouldn't be too happy about it.
Iris didn't care too much about this kind of petty politics in the office. She was ready to prove herself to the CMO and to everyone in the company that she was more than qualified for the position.
Nevertheless, she was still surprised when she found out that Long Tengfei appointed her as the new Deputy CMO. When he promised a few days ago that he would give her an official position in the company with real power, she assumed that she become an upper mid-level manager and not an executive so soon. But she quickly recovered and didn't hesitate to accept the appointment and go for her first day at work at Long Industries as soon as possible.
Why would she reject it?
At least, Long Tengfei was true to his word and already helped pave the way for her as his successor as the head of Long Industries.
Long Jian asked beside her, interrupting her thoughts, "Can you handle the additional workload?"
She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Are you worried about me, my dear brother?"
He pretended to shiver. "Stop using that sweet tone on me! Who's worried about you?! Don't forget that we're opponents, okay?! Opponents!!!"
"Oh." Iris stopped teasing him and instead began checking her immaculate manicure, looking uninterested.
"Hmph! There's no way I'll feel worried about you. I'm only like this because of our temporary alliance. We need each other's help to stabilize our positions and influence in this company, and most importantly, to kick out that a**hole, Long Hui. Once that's done, to each our own. Understand?"
She nodded. "Of course."
He snorted but still carefully led her to their father's office once they exited the elevator.