He's the manager's assistant - you could say he has the inside track.
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From 宋俞文豹《清夜录》: an unrecognized officer named 苏麟 presented a poem to 范仲淹 - '近水楼台先得月，向阳花木易逢春' (a waterside pavilion catches the moon first; plants facing the sun greet spring first). Often truncated; the full form 近水楼台先得月 is also common.
