Chapter 3

Janice and I made our way toward the meeting location when the afternoon rolled around.

We were meeting Louis Roseford, a long-time business partner of the company.

The meeting began after both parties arrived.

I was completely focused on the talks and took countless notes.

When the other party finished speaking in Dormich, I took a deep breath, preparing myself to translate his words.

However, the sounds of a fluent translation resounded behind me.

"The patient showed significant improvement after taking the new endocrine drugs during treatment. The key points include overall survival period and the time needed until cell-isolated chemotherapy is required."

I whipped my head around.

Janice, who was supposed to be "learning" during the meeting, was swiftly translating the man's words.

The rest of the meeting played out the same way. Every time I tried to speak up, she would beat me to the punch and translate the other party's words.

I couldn't get a single word in during the entire meeting.

Applause filled the room after Janice translated the last sentence.

Only then did she snap back to her senses. She pretended to be shocked and covered her mouth with her hand, saying, "I'm sorry. I actually just came here to learn. I was so engrossed in the talks that I just translated whatever I heard. I hope you don't mind, Giselle."

Nicholas was also clapping excitedly.

"You did wonderfully! Why would she mind? Translation is all about speaking aloud according to your skills, after all."

Louis also showered Janice with praise.

"Giselle has always been the translator for our company, but a newcomer like you was able to translate so fluently. You must have spent a long time preparing for this meeting."

Janice pursed her lips and smiled. "I didn't have to prepare anything. Isn't translation just directly saying the things that you hear? It's as easy as breathing once you're used to it. It's like a natural reaction akin to how our body naturally needs water."

"Giselle's already a seasoned professional, but she still asks us for the information a week in advance before the meeting. Are you telling me that you came in here without any preparation?" Louis asked in shock.

"I may be new, but I know how busy everyone is. I won't ask too many questions or for information because I don't want to be a bother to anyone," Janice answered, blinking at him innocently. "Also, I don't think it's very professional to drag something out for a few days if it can be done on the spot."

I frowned upon hearing her words.

Janice clearly had no idea what she was talking about.

A translator was constantly dealing with technical terms from different industries. Studying the information and making preparations beforehand were part of a translator's responsibility.

I could immediately tell that something was amiss with Louis' gaze when he looked at me. I wasn't even given a chance to explain myself before he said, "I want Janice to be our company's translator from now on. We can't afford to hire a certain person who likes to put on airs!"

I couldn't defend myself.

Meanwhile, Nicholas swiftly agreed to Louis' request.

…

Nicholas showered Janice with praise after we returned to the company. He also announced that she would be promoted from her position as a receptionist to an official translator.

Janice was given her own private office that same day.

Nicholas proudly declared that it was a reward for her excellent performance during the business meeting.

I quietly scoffed.

I had worked as a translator in similar business meetings over 100 times, and I hadn't made a single mistake. Although I had been working for a decade, my workstation was still a tiny cubicle in a shared space with everyone else. I had never had a private office.

I didn't say anything else and quietly focused on my own work.

…

The same thing happened with my next few projects.

Janice would beat me to translating the client's words, building up her own reputation in the process.

I knew that she could only spit out those fluent translations because of me. It was why I didn't slack off at all and continued with my preparations diligently.

At last, the day of the presentation for the 100-million-dollar project had arrived.

On the surface, it looked like I was still researching information and looking up technical terms.

My colleague rolled her eyes at me and said, "You shouldn't accept jobs that you're not qualified for. Janice can translate everything on the spot. They're not going to let you be the translator for the project. You're just wasting everyone's time by pretending to work hard."

Janice covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.

"It's pointless for you to look through the information every day, Giselle," she said disdainfully, tapping her own head with her finger. "You worked yourself to the bone studying translation for a decade, but your skills are far inferior to mine even though I've only taught myself for a month."

My colleagues began to flatter Janice again.

I frowned, pretending to feel troubled. "You're right. It's pointless for me to keep doing this. Your skills are more than enough. I suppose I can just skip the meeting!"