Chapter 295: Passing the Time
Seaside City Power Company.
Caroline was reviewing materials for the submarine cable project when someone knocked on her office door. Without looking up, she responded, "Come in."
Axel pushed the door open. "Ms. Tudor, this is a college graduate our company hired this year."
Caroline looked up and froze for a moment. "...You."
Axel asked, "You two know each other?"
Caspian smiled and said, "Ms. Tudor and I have met a few times."
He was smart enough not to mention the gym, but Caroline had nothing to hide either, saying, "I've seen him at the gym where I work out."
Axel understood. "I see. Well, let me introduce you. Caspian Sforza, electrical engineering major from Seaside University. This is Ms. Caroline Tudor from Seaside City Power Company."
Caspian smiled. "Hello, Ms. Tudor."
Caroline said, "Hello."
Axel asked, "Which position should we assign him to for now?"
Caroline said, "When we were hiring this year, weren't we short on operations and maintenance people?"
Axel hesitated, then said with a smile, "Alright. Caspian, go to the operations and maintenance department on the second floor first—it's the third office on the left after you go down the stairs. Wait for me there."
Caspian said, "Okay."
As soon as he left, Axel closed the door and lowered his voice. "Ms. Tudor, Caspian is Mr. Dorian Sforza's son. Isn't it a bit inappropriate to assign him to a frontline position here?"
"Mr. Dorian Sforza?"Caroline frowned. Dorian was the newly appointed manager of the Power Company's northern Aquilonia branch, and he also oversaw Seaside City Power Company's operations.
Was he planning to use connections to get Caspian in?
Positions were tight right now. The maintenance worker had retired, leaving a vacancy that urgently needed a technician to fill. If Caspian was just here for show and ended up slacking off, they'd have to send him back.
Caroline was puzzled. "Why did he assign his son to us?"
Among the several power supply branches under Dorian's management, Seaside City Power Company had a heavy workload and high intensity. If someone wanted to coast, they could easily choose one of the other branches.
Axel said mysteriously, "It's not his fault—his son made the decision himself. He even told his dad not to give us a heads-up about it."
Caroline almost laughed.
There was no way Dorian didn't know his son had been assigned to Seaside City Power Company. This was clearly just an excuse.
Caroline paused, then decided to test Dorian's attitude.
She said, "Here's what we'll do—have him patrol the lines with Tyler James for a few days . Don't make it too intense, but if he can't even handle that, he'll naturally ask Mr. Dorian Sforza for a transfer."
Axel asked, "But what if he doesn't ask for a transfer and just requests a different position?"
Caroline was also in a difficult position, but they were short on maintenance staff. "If he can't do the work, why would he stay here? We requested a maintenance person in our report. If they send us someone who can't do the job, I'll have to file a report myself."
Axel thought it over and nodded. "That's all we can do."
During lunch break, Caroline ran into Caspian on her way to the cafeteria.
"Ms. Tudor."
The call came from behind. Caroline stopped and was about to turn around when Caspian had already jogged over. He seemed to be in good spirits and getting along well with everyone.
Caroline asked with a leader's concern, "Have you gotten to know everyone in your department?"
Caspian said with a smile, "Yeah, I have. They're all really nice, especially Mr. James who taught me. He looks friendly and he's been really helpful."
Caroline said as they walked, "Tyler is patient and has strong technical skills. Having him teach you, you'll learn a lot of things you couldn't learn in school."
"I can tell." Caspian grinned. "Thank you."
Caroline glanced at him. "Thank me for what?"
Caspian said, "For finding me such a good teacher. Of course I have to thank you."
Caroline smiled.
Actually, no matter who had been assigned this time, Caroline would have given them the same treatment.
The two entered the cafeteria one after the other. Perhaps because they'd met before, and Caspian had just entered the workforce, he followed closely behind Caroline, saying, "This is my first time here. Let me learn from you about the cafeteria process."
Caroline looked ahead and said, "Get your tray here, then get your food up front. Standard meal."
Caspian laughed. "Very similar to my college cafeteria."
When it was Caspian's turn, he got his food and immediately headed for Caroline's table.
Actually, in cafeterias at some important organizations, there's an unwritten rule about seating arrangements.
The front area is where leaders sit, and in some cases, wherever a leader habitually sits, that area generally stays empty for others.
But Caroline didn't care about such things—everyone could sit wherever. However, those who usually sat across from her were people at the leadership level.
At that moment, Axel was about to head toward Caroline with his tray when, in the next second, Caspian set down his tray and sat across from Caroline with a cheerful smile.
"The company food is pretty good." Caspian said familiarly. "It's quite tasty."
Caroline chewed the food in her mouth and just smiled faintly.
No matter how familiar they were at the gym before, they were now at work. Not only was there a superior-subordinate relationship between them, but also a gender difference. His casual behavior wouldn’t be appropriate if other colleagues saw it.
During the cafeteria's peak dining time, everyone saw Caspian sitting across from Caroline.
Caspian was funny and handsome, quite eye-catching.
Caroline quickly finished eating, picked up her tray and left. "Take your time."
Caspian asked, "I should put the tray there, right?"
Caroline: "Right."
As soon as she left the cafeteria, her phone rang in her pocket.
Seeing it was Leopold's number, she put it to her ear. "Are you on break too?"
Leopold had just walked out of the elevator. "Yeah, have you had lunch yet?"
"I just finished eating at the cafeteria." A colleague passed by and nodded at Caroline, who nodded back in response.
Leopold said, "I was thinking of taking you to lunch, but I'm too late. Should have let you know earlier."
Caroline teased, "Mr. Wipere, I can tell you're not sincere about treating me to lunch. If you really wanted to take me to lunch, who calls at this hour?"
Leopold was embarrassed. "How am I not sincere? Something came up and delayed me. By the time I finished and checked the time, it was already past lunch."
Just then, another voice of "Ms. Tudor" stopped Caroline in her tracks.
Holding her phone, she saw Caspian run up to her and say, "I saw some books about submarine cables on your bookshelf this morning. Could I borrow one to read?"
She had just finished reading that book. "You're interested, too?"
Caspian's eyes sparkled with a thirst for knowledge. "I think in the future direction of power transmission, submarine cables will account for a large proportion."
Caroline: "Sure, go get it. My office door isn't locked."
Caspian faced the sunlight, the corners of his mouth curved up, and he smiled at her brightly. "Thank you."
He turned and ran excitedly into the office building. Only then did Caroline return her attention to her phone. "Where are you planning to eat?"
Leopold: "No target yet. That's why I'm calling to ask you."
Caroline said, "How about the restaurant at the entrance of my company?"