Chapter 77
It wasn’t until around eleven that Layla finally wrapped everything up and got into bed. “I’ll make sure to become the top salesperson soon and get Benson to join the team. Then you can sleep on the couch again and stop messing up my bed.”
Times had changed. While Layla’s words were sharp, the bittemess in her tone had faded. She was only trying to push Stephen away with her words:
Stephen asked, “So, are you satisfied with today’s personnel decisions?
The mention of work again prompted Layla to spill more office gossip. “Absolutely.
“Sally’s actually quite competent. She’s the kind of person I admire. She’s intelligent and insightful. But I’ve never liked Jonah. He’s always reporting my every move to you. It shows he’s loyal but not very bright.
“This mess was partly his fault. I think he needed a wake–up call, though he’s not a bad guy. As for Tiffany, she got what was coming to her. She messed with the wrong person, trying to steal my clients and even accusing me of being kept by some guy from Aetheris Group!
“Tsk. I wouldn’t even let you keep me even if you wanted to. Who do they think they are?” Layla scoffed.
Stephen smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Thus, I did it by marrying you.”
Layla rolled her eyes at the man, who was grinning slyly at her. “By the way, what did you discuss with the president of Aetheris Group today? The personnel decisions came directly from him.”
Stephen replied, “I told him my wife is here to gain some life experience, so she shouldn’t be overloaded with responsibility or have her enthusiasm for sales dampened by any disturbances.”
Layla felt a little strange when she heard the affectionate term “my wife” she quicldy retorted, “I’m not your wife.”
Then, she turned over and pulled the blanket over herself, ready to sleep.
Stephen turned off the bedside lamp. After lying down, he moved closer to Layla
The slender girl barely made a bump under the blanket, even while lying down. Layla covered her face with the blanket, but Stephen gently pulled it down to expose her face. “What are you doing?” she asked
Stephen replied, “I’m making sure your face is out. Otherwise, I might think no one’s there and accidentally roll over you in the middle of the night.” Layla was too exa
exasperated to respond. Frustrated, she turned her back to Stephen and tried to sleep,
“Do you want to talk Stephen asked gently,
“No,” she replied curtly.
Stephen smiled indulgently and tucked the blanket over Layla’s shoulders. “Then sleep well,”
But he didn’t stop there. His hand found its way to Layla’s waist and lingered.
Layla swatted his hand away twice, but Stephen only moved closer. “Grandpa is still waiting for us to give him a great–grandchild, he teased.
Layla shut her eyes defiantly. “Grandpa can keep dreaming.” She gave up trying to remove his hand. After all, there was a blanket between them, and he wasn’t directly touching her.
Later in the night, Layla, who was a restless sleeper, rolled over and ended up nestling against Stephen’s chest.
The lightly sleeping man couldn’t help but smile in contentment
The following day, Sally went to headquarters to complete her personmel paperwork. By noon, she was officially the manager. Her full name was Sally Brown, but her business cards simply displayed “Sally” for ease of recognition.
As her first act as manager, Sally called for a meeting, though
the light foot traffic in the morning, the staffing was just right.
she couldn’t put all work on hold, she left two teams in the lobby to handle reception duties. Given
In the conference room, Sally gathered the remaining staff to discuss the new rules she planned to implement aimed at preventing the lands of negative incidents that often plague the industry.
With years of sales experience, Sally was well–versed in the tricks of the trade. During the meeting, she highlighted current issues, including problems between colleagues and between consultants and clients.
Layla and Benson listened as if they were hearing stories. Since th seemed like only the two of them were paying close attention By the time the meeting wrapped up at noon, Layla’s phone began to ring. “Excuse me, I need to take this call,”
they were the only newcomers, they had yet to encounter the situations Sally described. In fact, it
“she said.
