“Excuse me. President Zhuo, a bouquet of flowers was delivered for you. They’re downstairs at reception,” the new secretary Miss Xi said respectfully as Lily walked past her desk.
“Oh. Then throw it away.” It was Yang Mi who answered. It wasn’t the first time this week that someone delivered flowers to reception for the president and it won’t be the last either. However, Yang Mi already made it clear that anyone who received such a call from the front desk should inform them to throw it away. This order came directly from the President herself.
However, the new secretary did not respond to Yang Mi. Instead she looked at Lily and waited for her answer. Lily instantly raised an eyebrow at this situation. Yang Mi had been her head secretary for ages and she had never seen anyone disrespect Yang Mi like this. “Do whatever Head Secretary Yang says,” Lily said coldly before walking back towards her office.
Once she was inside her office, she took a seat and opened her laptop without saying a thing. “What’s the problem?” she asked Yang Mi, who had followed her to her desk.
“President, it has been three days since you started receiving flowers from that Qi guy and he is not stopping. Do you think we should inform President Zhuo about this?”
“Oh, he knows,” Lily said nonchalantly. “I believe he’s already asked someone to look into him.” Unlike her scheming nature, Zhuo Jingren was the exact opposite in that he always liked to deal with things as quickly as possible. He does not like prolonging things and is always quick with his assessments and responses to situations. “Let’s not talk about insignificant people. Give me an update on the current status of Xuan Films, Qin Industries and Yang Lina.”
“Just as you predicted, Xuan Hui is already encountering problems with some of his contracts and sponsors. Those people only respected him because of his mother. Now that Yang Lina is in prison and his father’s reputation is in shambles, they are treating him as a joke. A lot of companies who used to frequent Xuan Films for models and ambassadors also left, creating further problems with their contracts.”
“Let him run around for a while. Let’s exhaust him first,” Lily nodded. “I heard from Zhuo Jingren that Qin Liwei has been trying to gather the approval of some investors. Qin Mo will find me soon. Tell the others not to refuse his request for a meeting anymore. I think it’s time that we father and daughter talk about what happened seven years ago.”
In response, Yang Mi nodded. “President, I have also gathered some weird news about Qin Mo.”
“Is he trying to find a producer so he can sell his useless wife, already?” Lily snorted before she lifted her head and stared at the surprised Yang Mi. “Don’t look at me as If I am a monster. I did not tell him to do anything like that,” she laughed.
“President it’s not…”
“It’s okay. I’ve always known that Qin Mo is a very selfish person. He will do anything you ask – as long as it benefits him. He wanted to get some money for his plans, so of course he needs to curry favor with a few powerful people. This makes me wonder…” Lily’s words came to a halt. She glanced at the date on her laptop and slowly narrowed her eyes. It’s already the twelfth of August and Qin Mo has been attempting to reach out to her since his birthday. He had been calling her every day in an attempt to schedule a meeting. “Make sure to let him in if he demands to see me again,” she said before she shifted the topic. “How is Yang Lina?”
“Horrible,” Yang Mi answered, her face stern. “President Zhuo Jingren is very capable. The scope of his connections, even in prison is… how should I put it… it’s practically endless.”
“Endless?” Lily smiled at her. “And you still don’t understand why?” In response, Yang Mi slowly shook her head. She is someone who had been trained under Lilian Facci, however, she is really not that perceptive . She is just an ordinary low EQ, hardworking corporate type who would always strive for perfection while missing info scattered anywhere but on her direct path. Yang Mi focused on the execution while Lily plotted and schemed. This is why she was chosen to serve Lily above the most intelligent candidates who fought to have this job.
“Let me explain it in the simplest way,” Lily started. “Corruption and illegal activities are present in practically every part of the world, activities that earn millions and even billions in profit. Asia, Africa, Europe, the US, basically every part of the world has networks of all manner of illegal activities. The biggest problem, however, is how to transfer the cash profits to the other side of the world without raising questions about the source of this money. It’s risky. Depositing huge amounts of cash will always attract government attention. Do you know the easiest way around this problem?”
Once again Yang Mi shook her head.
“Diamonds,” Lily smiled. “Zhuo Jingren’s bank accepts assurances for diamonds.”
Nothing. Yang Mi still showed a blank expression. Assurance for diamonds? Then what? Seeing her confused expression, Lily let out a small laugh before she propped her chin on her palm. “Zhuo Capital is an international bank that is present in Mexico, the US, Asia, China… almost every part of the world. Did you ever wonder how a simple man like him, who grew up in an orphanage, was able to achieve so much in such a short period of time?”
“It’s because he is not a simple man at all,” Lily said, her mysterious tone only making Yang Mi more confused. How come the more she listened to Lily’s explanation, the more she felt that she could not comprehend a thing? Was she really this dumb?
Yang Mi only nodded and swallowed her saliva. Of course Zhuo Jingren was not a simple man. If he were, he would not have been able to marry President Lily. Yang Mi nodded once again. Now that she thought about it, her first impression of Zhuo Jingren was right. He is a smart devil.
“President Zhuo, I apologize for the interruption,” Miss Xi said after she knocked on the door. “Mr. Qin Mo of Qin Industries is here. I know you that you gave orders for us to reject his requests, but this time he is really intent on seeing you.”
Yang Mi and Lily’s eyes met when they heard her words. Lily then looked at the beautiful Miss Xi and smiled. “Alright, let him in,” Lily conceded before looking at Yang Mi knowingly. “Prepare some snacks.”
After the two women left, Lily immediately dialed a number on her phone. “George?”
“Lily, How are you? Is everything alright?” George’s voice could be heard on the other side of the phone.
“Yes, everything is perfect.”
“But?”
“You still know me like the back of your hand,” Lily smiled.
“No my dear… I know that you wouldn’t call me in the middle of the night if there was nothing wrong.” There was so much obvious amusement in his voice that Lily could clearly picture the smile on his face.
“You have a point.”
“Then?” he asked.
“I want to know what happened to my mother. I want to know everything George,” she said. Silence followed her words. Only the steady sound of George’s breathing could be heard from the other side of the phone.
“Tell me… How can I help you?” he asked after a few seconds, earning a small smile from Lily.
“Here’s what I would like you to do…”
