The resignation of these disloyal staff was beneficial to the company. Irene wasn’t lenient and weak in her decisions.
Those who had secret schemes didn’t dare to take any obvious actions.
“Elio, thank you so much for your help,” Irene said gratefully. If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t have been able to handle it by herself.
Many of the staff within such a large company were shrewd. Most of them were dual-faced and lacked loyalty. They would switch sides at the drop of a hat. This was to be expected because it also impacted their jobs and their livelihood. It made sense that they would be shrewd.
These people were acceptable because they couldn’t influence the company in a negative way. However, those who took decisive action during Edward’s absence were backed by several major shareholders. Those were difficult to deal with.
“It’s okay. You learned very quickly, Irene. It seems like you are quite talented in business,” Elio said.
“That’s because you are a great teacher. I should treat you to dinner as thanks later.” Irene joked.
Recently, both Irene and Elio ate a lot of staff meals at the cafeteria or ordered takeout. They were very busy with company affairs and would sometimes skip meals.
Elio felt happy to see Irene smiling again. It had been a long time since he last saw her smile genuinely, especially since her wedding. Edward was missing and many responsibilities fell on her shoulders. She barely had time to sit idly, distracted by her sadness.
“Irene, you’ve really worked hard recently,” Elio said with some heartache.
“It’s not too bad. I’m willing to endure anything if it means taking care of the company during Edward’s absence,” Irene said indifferently.
When Millicent arrived, she felt quite hurt by the sight of them staring at each other so intimately. She recalled what she had heard as she walked into the company building.
Millicent felt quite bored today. Elio was busy helping Irene with her company matters, so she decided to pay them a visit at the company.
When she waited for the elevator after arriving at the company, she heard some of the employees gossiping amongst each other.
“Have you seen the man who often comes to our company recently?” asked one of the staff in a mysterious tone.
“You’re talking about Mr. Ann, aren’t you? He’s so handsome. He looks gentle and elegant, and his words are very kind and gentle,” another young employee said excitedly.
Millicent chuckled when she heard it. It seemed that Elio was very charming and had captured the hearts of most of the employees. She decided to tell him about it, that he no longer needed to charm these staff.
“It’s said that his family is also very rich. I heard he is also from one of the richest families in S City!”
“I’m not sure if he has a girlfriend. I really want to be his lover!” exclaimed another staff.
“Of course, he has one! Don’t even dream about it,” Millicent thought proudly.
“Of course not! Don’t you know that he looks at President Jones with such a gentle and warm gaze?” interjected another staff.
Millicent’s facial expression darkened when she heard that. “They’re spouting nonsense! I must tell Irene to discipline them later!”
“What’s the big deal? Mr. Ann’s always gentle when it comes to people,” retorted one of the staff.
“Didn’t you see that the way he looks at our President Jones is really different? C’mon, if he didn’t like her, why would he come to the company every day? He was the one who helped her maintain her position as president in the company, wasn’t he?” analysed one of the senior employees.
“Ah? Perhaps they are just good friends.”
“No way! How are they just friends?! I don’t believe it. He’s been helping President Jones with all his might! There’s no way he doesn’t like her!”
“Does President Jones have any feelings for him? What about Mr. Wilson? What are they going to do when he returns?”
Millicent’s mood soured the more she listened to the gossip. She was consumed by sorrow and found it incredibly hard to breathe. She no longer wanted to listen anymore! Quickly, she stepped into the elevator and ignored the conversation.
She took deep breaths, like a fish that had been accidentally thrown onto the shore and was short of oxygen. She tried her best to calm down.
She told herself that these were just rumours. It was nothing. It was fine to listen because they held no real evidence! True, Elio used to like Irene, but that was in the past! They were simply good friends right now.
“But-Elio had fallen in love with Irene in the past. Perhaps he has fallen in love with her again. Now that Edward is not here, what should I do if Irene falls in love with Elio?” Millicent thought helplessly.
When Millicent finally calmed down and walked out of the elevator, she saw them staring at each other.
Irene was quick to notice that Millicent was standing at the door. She said in surprise, “You’re here, Millicent! Come over!”
Elio looked back and saw that she had been standing there for a while. He was also a little surprised and said, “You’re here, Millicent?”
“Yeah,” Millicent said calmly.
“Millicent, why do you look so pale? Did you have a heatstroke?” Irene asked with concern. She touched her forehead and poured her a cup of tea.
Millicent felt quite guilty when Irene treated her with great care. Irene was her best friend. How could she have suspected her? Moreover, she made it really clear that she loved Edward. There was no way she would fall in love with Elio… would she?
“Irene has just begun to take over the company. She doesn’t know much about it and isn’t familiar with the company’s affairs. It’s understandable that Elio will help her. Why am I so quick to accuse them?” Millicent thought guiltily.
“It’s okay. I just dropped by to see if you guys were busy. I didn’t disturb you, did I?” Millicent asked embarrassedly.
“I’m free for now. We’ve just settled something.”
“I think you came here to see Elio! You must miss him dearly and made up the excuse of visiting me!” Irene said with a smile.
“Oh, what are you talking about, Irene? I didn’t!” Millicent said as she raised her arm like she wanted to smack Irene playfully.
Elio felt quite happy when he saw them fooling around. He was worried about how he hadn’t had time to accompany Millicent because he was busy teaching Irene how to manage her company. Elio thought that Millicent might’ve been angry or overthought matters, but it seemed like it wasn’t the case.
Men were careless. They took quite a number of things for granted. Elio too was a careless man despite his gentle nature.
“Okay, okay, I still have some matters to settle. You’ll have Elio all to yourself now! Don’t wait for me,” Irene said to Millicent.
“You don’t need my help?” Elio asked.
“It’s just a small matter. You should go with Millicent,” Irene said indifferently.
In the elevator.
“I’m sorry, Millicent. I haven’t had time to accompany you these days,” Elio said apologetically.
“It’s okay. I know that Irene has just taken over the company. She must be busy and needs all the support she can get. If you don’t help her, who else can she rely on?” Millicent said as she feigned her indifference.
“Thanks, Millicent.”
Elio was relieved to see that Millicent didn’t take it to heart.
As she held Elio’s hand and walked out of the elevator to the front entrance, Millicent suddenly exclaimed, “Oh, I left my bag in her office…”
“Alright, my dearest dummy, I’ll go get it for you,” Elio said as he pinched Millicent’s nose gently.
“No, you can go start the car. I’ll be right back!” Millicent said.
After she said that, Millicent returned and saw the same group of employees gossiping once more.
“Is that Mr. Ann’s real girlfriend?”
“That goes without saying. Both of them look quite intimate! I wonder if his girlfriend knows about Mr. Ann and President Jones.”
“I heard that his girlfriend is our president’s best friend! She is the daughter of the Baker family!”
“You know, I’ve always felt that Mr. Ann looks our president with great affection, even more than the way he looks at his own girlfriend!”
“I want to sit back and enjoy this show.”
Millicent’s mood soured even more when she heard what they said. She no longer wanted to take her bag from Irene’s office. Quickly, she turned around and walked away. She didn’t want to stay there any longer!
Millicent walked out of the building and got in the car. Elio thought it was weird that she still didn’t have her bag with her.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to get your bag? What’s wrong?”
“I… I thought about it. I don’t have to take it right now. I can always ask Irene to pass it to me another day. I’m hungry. Let’s go eat,” Millicent said with great difficulty.
“Irene is quite busy with company matters right now. I don’t think you should trouble her with such a small thing,” Elio said as he shook his head in disagreement.
Millicent grew even more upset when she heard what he said. She bit on her lower lip so hard that it almost bled.
Elio turned to look at her when she didn’t respond.
“What happened? You don’t look well. Do you want to go to the hospital first?” Elio asked as he looked at Millicent.
“It’s okay. I’ll be fine after some rest. Let’s go eat,” Millicent huffed with her eyes closed. It took quite a lot of effort for her to maintain her composure. She really wanted to be left alone right now.
Elio ordered their food after they arrived at the restaurant.
“Millicent, is there anything else you want to eat?” Elio asked.
Earlier, Millicent was very quiet as he drove. Elio was a little worried and wanted to send her to the hospital, but she refused. Millicent looked a lot better now.
“Just order anything,” Millicent said as she shook her head.
Elio decided to order a few more dishes. Suddenly, Elio’s phone rang.
“I’m sorry, Millicent. I need to take this call.”
“Hello, Irene? What is it? Is there something wrong with the contract regarding the northern suburbs? Okay, I’ll be right there. It’s okay, Millicent is fine with it. Yes, I’ll definitely be sure to bring her out next time!”
“Millicent, I’m sorry,” Elio said guiltily after he hung up the phone.