New Gods of North America.

Chapter 735 News Director
The next morning, Wayne was woken up by Seth's knocking on the door.

This situation is actually a bit unusual. Without staying up all night, Wayne usually wakes up quite early, so people generally wait until he's up before discussing anything.

Even if there are relatively urgent matters requiring decisions, the person knocking on the door should be Doug, the detective agency's "butler," or Sanders, who also serves as a "bodyguard"—or occasionally, it might be some long-legged spider.

Wayne has been taking time to shower at the workshop lately, mostly sleeping fully clothed at the temporary base.

Wayne removed the newspaper from his face to shield it from the light, then put his coat back on, which he had been using as a thin blanket. He stretched on the sofa before calling Seth in: "What happened?"

After officially joining the detective agency, Seth's overall demeanor was relatively reserved. He didn't talk much outside of work and had little private interaction with agents outside the tax investigation team.
However, when it comes to getting things done, Seth is actually the type who "plans carefully before acting." His weakness is that he tends to overthink things, but his strength is that he considers things comprehensively and has a rather "justified" confidence in executing his plans.

Seth seemed to think for a moment before replying, "There are quite a few reporters here, and I feel Mr. Doug is having some trouble dealing with them. I might have more experience in this area, and I think it would be more effective if I could assist him with this."

Well……

In fact, the detective agency started as a makeshift team of just a few people. Everyone could handle many small daily tasks on their own, so there wasn't a very clear division of labor. Not everything required consulting a partner.

However, high-achieving college graduates like Seth might sometimes go straight into a company or seek a government job after graduation. In this respect, they are more formal and disciplined, and they adhere to workplace rules such as "do not overstep your authority." It can only be said that there are advantages and disadvantages.

But that's not the point.
The key question is, what does it mean that "a lot of reporters came down from below"?
Upon hearing this, Wayne, out of curiosity, walked to the window and pulled back the heavy curtains a crack.

Good guy,
People who don't know the situation might think the temporary outpost is giving away free breakfast today.

Although it wasn't packed to the point of being "shoulder to shoulder" or noisy, this level of foot traffic didn't match the usual conditions of the temporary outpost.
While glancing around to see if any familiar faces were among them, Wayne asked, "What are they here for?"

"They must have all heard rumors and come here trying to dig up news."

Seth seemed to have prepared a prepared answer to the question, and his response was fluent: “I listened downstairs for a while, and the reporters were trying to get information out of each other almost entirely about the ‘Auster family’ and the ‘legacy,’ and they were all very concerned about Mr. Philip Auster’s current health.”

I understand now, it was that cousin's doing.

"What is Doug doing now?" Wayne then asked.

"Because I don't want to bother you too early, and I can't forcibly expel the reporters, Mr. Doug can only refuse with the excuse of 'no comment' for now. But given the potential heat of this news, the reporters won't be easily dismissed, so he's currently downstairs busy dealing with those who want to spy and pry."

After answering, Seth continued, "I think this kind of response might cause problems. If reporters can't get any news, they might turn to digging for other related information—some of the things the detective agency does in the dock area are actually not suitable for being put into the public eye."

Wayne understood.

To someone as well-educated as Seth, public opinion is a very important matter that needs to be treated seriously and cautiously.

While Doug is currently the detective agency's "butler," he is originally a bounty hunter, so his expertise and sensitivity in this area may be lacking.

Therefore, Seth must have been anxious to see this, which is why he rushed over to tell Wayne.

Wayne thought for a moment: "You're in charge of the dockside tabloids anyway. You can be considered our detective agency's 'news director,' and you're qualified to represent the agency in responding to news and public opinion matters."

"Ok."

Seth had received official authorization, and then asked Wayne about some specific requirements and many related details before backing away to leave.

Wayne then called him back: "Doug is, after all, the 'butler.' Tell him later that I sent you to assist him, and that you should regularly report any relevant developments to him. For matters that don't require a partner's decision, it's best to discuss them with him beforehand and listen to his opinions appropriately." "I understand," Seth nodded briskly.

To be honest, judging from Doug's current performance, he is perfectly competent as Wayne's personal butler.

However, as the detective agency's "manager," Doug actually struggled a bit. His fighting ability couldn't compare to someone like Connor, his cultural level wasn't as high as Seth's, and he wasn't even as "flexible" as Liam in doing things. His daily authority mainly came from the approval of his partners and his seniority as a "founding member."

However, Doug is also very concerned about his status and authority as the "butler," so Wayne also has to consider how to get along with everyone in this regard.
Anyway, it's a small company, so we should give recognition to those who want it, delegate tasks to those who want to do them, and add in benefits and compensation. In short, we should try our best to motivate everyone.

Thinking about it this way, those business tycoons and large families seem to have it pretty tough too.

Take Wayne's unofficial maternal grandfather, for example. Even the slightest news about his will attracts so many reporters. I wonder if there will be even more undercurrents in the family.

After having breakfast with Inessa and Lina upstairs, Wayne even spent some time with Lina playing with the docile little leopard that was always timid and obedient to Inessa. When Wayne glanced out the window again, there were far fewer people downstairs.
Wayne initially thought that those people had been sent away and was about to call Sanders to sneak over to the safe house when he saw that it was full of people as soon as he got down to the first floor.

Seth was certainly experienced in this area; he stood behind a table as if he were holding a press conference, with a bunch of reporters sitting around him.
The atmosphere was quite relaxed, with people asking and answering questions and discussing things together.

At this moment, a reporter stood up: "Mr. Grayson, apart from Mr. Wayne not yet deciding to accept the case, does the detective agency have any exclusive news to provide us?"

Seth's speech became much more fluent at this moment: "Just call me Seth. I think what I just said, 'Mr. Philip Auster is currently in good health,' is enough to grab attention for today's or tomorrow's newspapers. You can ask about the follow-up later. If there are no major developments, we plan to hold a Q&A session once a week until everyone loses interest in the detective agency."

Someone raised their hand: "May I write about Mr. Wayne's daily life at the academy? We also have new colleagues at our newspaper who are graduating from the 'academy' this year. It shouldn't be hard to ask."

"No. Please refer to the initial version I just released regarding the description of the detective agency and Mr. Wayne's public resume. It will be further refined later. Moreover, I will monitor all reports, and if any content is deemed 'offensive,' our detective agency will refuse to provide any information to the relevant reporters and newspapers in the future."

One reporter, who appeared to be an alumnus of the academy, asked directly while taking notes: "What about Miss Olivia and those two beautiful partners of the detective agency? Seth, you know, quite a few people in the public enjoy reading about these things."

“In principle, we do not encourage writing gossip (a group of people chuckled in unison). If you want to use the name of a large family to attract attention, I can only say please be mindful of the limits and do not offend the parties involved. However, you cannot write about the other partners and specific members of the detective agency. I need to emphasize this point.”

Several hands shot up instantly. Seth picked one and gestured for her to enter. The question was simple: "What is the relationship between Miss Anne Auster and Mr. Wayne? I heard she's quite a beauty."

"Our detective agency cannot provide information about the Auster family; you are free to investigate on your own. However, returning to the question itself, the official statement I can give is that they are cousins ​​who only recently met for the first time."

Then a bunch of hands went up, and someone immediately asked, "Does Mr. Wayne currently have a lady he's interested in? How much is he currently worth?"

"Please do not ask your employees about the boss's love life. As for Mr. Wayne's wealth, I suggest you pay attention to the workshops, restaurants, and canneries he recently opened. The food industry is likely to be a very promising sector. By the way, the Brooke family is involved in both the workshops and the canneries; some of you may know what I'm implying."

A reporter then asked, "Mr. Wayne was previously known as the 'Great Detective' in the Richmond newspapers. Do you have any new cases for us...wait, Mr. Wayne?"

As soon as he turned his head, a bunch of heads around him turned as well. Wayne, who was just about to sneak out the back door, was instantly stared at by a sea of ​​eyes.
Fortunately, Seth tapped on the table and started answering questions to grab their attention:
"All related public announcements are authorized by me. Please observe etiquette and do not interfere with Mr. Wayne's and the detective agency's daily operations."

"And I can give you one or two eye-catching unpublished cases later. One of them is the Fisk family lady in the 'College Arson Case'. She also helped treat the classmate who was drugged by the killer. You might describe that as the beginning of their 'friendship'—this is just my personal suggestion and has nothing to do with Mr. Wayne."

It has to be said that having someone help draw fire makes things much easier.
Seeing that the faces had turned back and no one was pushing forward, Wayne silently gave Seth a thumbs up.

Then he patted Doug on the shoulder, who was standing next to him, making it clear that the "Detective Agency Butler" was the "News Director's" superior, but in principle, he should not interfere in specific matters in that area. Everyone should work together and have their own focus, and then they made a smooth escape.

(End of this chapter)