Ashton and Armond chatted amicably. These two men who had never met before seemed to be rather chummy with each other. One could tell at a glance that they were wolves in sheep’s clothing in the corporate world.
Linda was walking beside me. She noticed that something was off and said, “Don’t be distracted. We are at work now. Everything else should be set aside.”
I nodded, took a deep breath, and entered the conference room along with everyone else. Linda arranged for a secretary to serve tea.
Out of nowhere, Ashton, who had been talking to Armond all the while, suddenly spoke. “Mr. Murphy, I had a look at your list of employees just now. Ms. Stovall over here is your secretary?”
Armond nodded, and his gaze landed on me. With a vague smile, he answered, “Yes, she has just joined our company. She is quite capable.”
Ashton nodded and remarked thoughtfully, “No wonder you let her take over the Fuller Corporation project.”
I frowned. Why did he suddenly change the topic?
Sss! Maybe because the atmosphere was a little tense, the secretary who was serving tea accidentally scalded her hand. Due to the pin-drop silence, this little hiss sounded especially loud.
Armond’s brows furrowed for a brief moment. He went on and said, “Mr. Fuller, let us continue with our discussions regarding the Lavelian Village project.”
Ashton grunted in reply but did not speak. He looked at the secretary who got scalded, and said, “Just go get some rest if you are hurt.”
His comment was baffling, but that was not all. After a slight pause, he said, “Ms. Stovall, you wouldn’t mind pouring us some tea, would you?”
I did not manage to say anything before Linda spoke up. “Mr. Fuller, we are sorry. We hope you understand that even though Scarlett is Mr. Murphy’s secretary, she is in charge of this project right now. She needs to present and explain the proposal in a while more.”
Ashton raised an eyebrow. “It’s merely pouring some tea. It wouldn’t affect anyone’s job. If you think that my request is unreasonable, then it is fine.”
He looked toward Rachel, who was seated beside him, and said, “Ms. Zimmer, I will have to burden you with this task.”
Rachel nodded. She accepted the request with a warm smile, accentuating a classy demeanor.
As this series of events unfolded, it made Murphy Corporation look petty and calculative. Linda’s expression turned sour.
Armond spoke up, his distant gaze directed at me. “You should do it, Ms. Stovall. It would be rude for us to let our guests do the serving instead.”
I nodded, stood up, and took the teapot from the secretary.
Rachel had already got up from her seat. Seeing this, she smiled faintly and said, “It’s just a small matter, Mr. Murphy. Now that we are all seated in this conference room, we will definitely be working together in the future. There’s no need for us to be so particular about minor details since we’re a team now.”
Armond smiled in return and replied, “That is true. But if it’s something that we should do, we must do it properly.”
Ashton looked at Rachel. With a caring look on his face, he said to her, “Alright, that would do. Since Ms. Stovall will be servicing us, don’t tire yourself. Your ankle is still sprained. Sit down and rest.”
If these words were said in a daily context, or said personally when there was no one else around, or even said by somebody else – it would not be weird. This time, however, the words came from the mouth of a walking glacier also known as Ashton Fuller.
The intimacy demonstrated instantly permeated the room. Everyone looked at each other. The implication behind those words was loud and clear. More so for the staff at Fuller Corporation who had never seen me before.
Naturally, everyone thought that Ashton and Rachel were an item.
Rachel was stunned too. A blush appeared on her porcelain and flawless face. She looked demure and bashful.
Armond only looked at me briefly. In the next moment, he resumed his discussion with Ashton.
Lavelian Village was a recreational project by Murphy Corporation. They planned to attract tourists from local and afar by promoting the various expensive jade items found there. They needed Fuller Corporation’s AI technology because they intended to use AI to develop a hundred-acre paradise that would attract even more visitors.
At the same time, Fuller Corporation’s AI technology would also get mass publicity. On top of that, Fuller Corporation would build an AI technology museum in Lavelian Village to further advertise this project.
As the two bosses were discussing the project, the rest of us listened quietly.
Fuller Corporation did not arrange for many people to attend this meeting. Besides Rachel, Joseph, and Ashton, there was two other staff. They were most probably in charge of operations in A City.
It was not the first time I had served tea. Never in a million years did I foresee that I would trip when I passed by Rachel. I fell face-first on the floor with great embarrassment.
Sss! The water in the teapot was hot, and it inadvertently got thrown onto me. Linda quickly helped me up. She said worriedly, “Come on. I’ll take you to the washroom to clean off.”
We were about to exit the room when Rachel called out to us. “We are going to start the meeting for the project any time now. Aren’t you presenting, Ms. Stovall? How long would this take? Mr. Fuller is busy with other things in the afternoon.”
Linda frowned and countered, “She has been scalded. This won’t take long.”
Rachel nodded with empathy and explained herself with concern. “I know. I do not mean anything else. I just wanted to remind you that there is not much time left. Please go ahead. I hope Ms. Stovall isn’t seriously hurt.”
