Chapter 1026 - 1026:

This time, Sidney Lewis spoke with a resounding finality, directly invoking the authority of his position as Executive Deputy Secretary.

You have to understand, the top Secretary is responsible for the overall work, and more importantly he's a city leader; most of his focus has to be on the Municipal Standing Committee side. The Executive Deputy Secretary is in charge of day‑to‑day work, and his decisions carry a lot of weight.

That sentence was equivalent to directly blocking the path for Erastus Hamilton and Channing Langdon to get the quota.

The two of them, seeing Sidney Lewis being so ruthless,

were quite indignant.

Dirk Carter saw that the timing was almost right.

He tapped the table and said, "Alright, alright, Secretary Lawson has already made it clear he's giving up his quota. Next, let's still discuss who this quota should go to."

When the snipe and the clam fight, it's the fisherman who profits.

With the three Deputy Secretaries tearing into each other like this,

everyone else could see hope.

Just then,

Jasmine Summers suddenly raised her hand and said, "Secretary General Carter, I have something to say."

"Comrade Jasmine, go ahead."

Dirk Carter replied.

Jasmine Summers glanced at Yates Grant.

Then said, "Secretary General Carter, I don't think Comrade Yates is qualified to get this quota either."

Another bombshell.

Yates Grant, who had just been secretly delighted, jolted, and looked in disbelief at the colleague who usually had the best relationship with her.

"Oh? And your reason?"

Dirk Carter feigned surprise.

"The reason is that Comrade Yates has issues with her private life. Even though she has a husband, she has long maintained an ambiguous relationship with two young male colleagues in the unit. I stand by what I say!"

As soon as Jasmine Summers finished,

the office exploded again.

Yates Grant's face flushed a deep red in an instant.

She had thought Jasmine Summers would be the one most supportive of her.

She hadn't expected that she would expose her shortcomings in front of everyone—and worse, what she exposed could very well endanger her future.

Forget being one of the Ten Outstanding Cadres.

Whether she could even keep her current post was now up in the air.

"You're talking nonsense! Jasmine Summers, this is outright slander!"

Yates Grant shouted furiously.

Jasmine Summers let out a cold snort.

She said, "We'll see if I'm talking nonsense once it's investigated. Comrade Yates, can you withstand an investigation?"

Yates Grant suddenly fell silent.

She instantly lost all her fire.

She ground her teeth and said, "Fine, I'll give up this Ten Outstanding Cadres quota too. But Jasmine, don't think you'll have it easy either."

With that,

she turned to Dirk Carter and said, "Secretary General Carter, I also want to report Comrade Jasmine for long‑term malicious rumor‑mongering about Comrade Athena Meyer inside the unit, secretly vilifying colleagues and humiliating colleagues. The people in the unit can all testify to this!"

"You…"

Jasmine Summers hadn't expected Yates Grant to fight back.

For a moment she was at a loss for words.

The meeting,

was a complete mess.

The iron triangle around Sidney Lewis had been broken up.

And along the way, the alliance between Yates Grant and Jasmine Summers had been torn apart as well.

The "two peaches killing three warriors" effect was unexpectedly good.

Could this be an accidental windfall?

Of course not.

When Dirk Carter was choosing the two quotas, he had already run simulations in his head.

The falling‑out between Yates Grant and Jasmine Summers was well within his expectations.

This way,

once the main cliques inside the unit were broken up, Dirk Carter could smoothly complete the consolidation of power inside the Commission for Discipline Inspection. Only on that premise could he take his next step.

"Since these two quotas can't be finalized for now, let's set them aside. I'll give the State Commission for Discipline Inspection a heads‑up and ask them to give us half a month. During this period, we'll discuss it again properly. If anyone has ideas, you can come to me anytime. Alright, that's it. Meeting adjourned!"

The effect he wanted had already been achieved.

Dirk Carter knew he had to leave everyone some space to "step on each other."

Not finalizing the quotas right away was giving those with ambitions a bit of hope, so they would proactively come to him over these two quotas.

Sure enough.

He had barely walked out,

when curses erupted behind him.

Men and women both, lively as could be.

Just after he returned to his office,

Athena Meyer followed him in.

As soon as she closed the door, she pressed herself against Dirk Carter and sat down.

One hand started rubbing him through his pants.

"What? Still not full?"

Dirk Carter asked teasingly.

Athena Meyer gave a shy little smile and said, "My mind still wants more, but my body can't take it. You nearly screwed me to death last night. I need to rest a few days first."

She paused, then went on, "Your move was really brilliant. But I'm curious—why would the State Commission for Discipline Inspection give our unit two quotas? You know that in the year‑end summary every year, our Silverwood City Commission for Discipline Inspection has the lowest case‑closure rate."

"I have my ways."

Dirk Carter laughed.

And he really wasn't bragging.

The fact that Silverwood City got two quotas was indeed something he had fought for.

Of course, it was in exchange for conditions.

The condition he gave Alexander Camden was that within two months he would push forward the investigation of the 626 case, and if he couldn't, he'd voluntarily resign.

So this move of Dirk Carter's was basically a do‑or‑die gamble.

If today's scheme didn't work,

his tenure as Discipline Inspection Secretary would truly be over.

Even though Athena Meyer wasn't satisfied with that answer,

she didn't press him further.

After all, with what happened at the sanatorium, Dirk Carter had already proven his capabilities.

Now, she not only looked up to him; whatever he said, she would simply do.

The happiness he'd given her lower body last night had completely conquered her.

Taking this opportunity,

Dirk Carter introduced her to the Majestic Peak Town song‑and‑dance troupe case.

After hearing what had happened, Athena Meyer's mouth dropped open in shock.

After all, it was hard to believe such an outrageous thing could happen in a small place like Majestic Peak Town.

"Dirk, although this case isn't hard to handle—you just need to bring those troupe members back and you can solve it—the problem might be procedural. Majestic Peak Town belongs to Greshire County, and it's an economic powerhouse for Greshire. For Majestic Peak Town to get where it is today, Brent Lowell's contribution has been huge. Plus he's a National People's Congress representative, so…"

"You think Greshire County won't cooperate with our investigation?"

Dirk Carter asked.

Athena Meyer nodded.

She said, "Brent Lowell has been operating in Majestic Peak Town for so many years. He could have been promoted long ago, but he insisted on staying there. Now it seems it was precisely because of this. If he's greased all the wheels up and down, Greshire County has no reason to cooperate with us. Because if this is really investigated and confirmed, do you know how big an impact it will have on the song‑and‑dance troupe? To say nothing else, the revenue‑generating project 'Seeking Immortals at Majestic Peak' might have to be canceled. Do you think the Greshire County Committee and Government would agree to that?"

Athena Meyer's words hit the nail on the head.

She had thought that after hearing about these practical difficulties, Dirk Carter would feel troubled.

Unexpectedly, he didn't.

He smiled faintly and said, "I'd already thought of all this beforehand. So before launching the investigation into Brent Lowell, there's one more very important thing I have to do."