Chapter 1596 Celebrate Her Birthday
Chapter 1596 Celebrate Her Birthday
“That's the honorable thing to do, right? This company can't let its employees feel wronged. If they worked hard, we have to reward them,“ Harlan said with a straight face while completely ignoring the young man's expression. Getting back to the point, he looked at the manager and added, “Anyway, I have to go on a business trip for quite a while, so find a reliable person to be Mr. Xu's assistant in the meantime.“
“But, sir...we don't have any more employees left to spare,“ the manager replied with a frantic look on his face. He was stuck in a dilemma. A lot of the KING Group's employees had resigned due to the company's decline, yet Darren's right-hand man was personally asking him for another one.
“Well then, it's your job to figure out these kinds of things,“ Harlan frigidly responded.
Upon hearing those words, the manager realized he had no choice. Since Harlan seldom left Mr. Xu's side, the manager knew that there was something important needed to be dealt with, so he put aside his frustration and just nodded along to Harlan's request.
Having been in the business world for so long, Harlan knew exactly what the manager was thinking. Because of that, and the importance of his replacement, he reminded him, “I'm trusting you to not take the selection lightly, okay? Other than that, take care of this young man's issue.“
Mentioning the young man again was an indication that if the manager messed up Harlan's request, he would suffer the same fate as the young man. The manager immediately understood this and didn't dare to complain anymore.
A few hours later, it was already night time. Darren had just failed to negotiate with the person in charge of a large shopping mall. Feeling somewhat helpless, he looked out the window with a gloomy face. At present, advertisements for the HT Group's skincare products were plastered in every major mall. There was even some sales personnel that were promoting the products in small booths. The only reason the malls were willing to go to such extreme lengths for Jacob's group was that their
products attracted so many people. Also, since the group's products were so successful, they could afford to offer bigger sales shares for the malls.
Suddenly, Darren heard the sound of a doorknob turning.
He glanced over and saw that it was Siena, walking in as elegantly as usual.
“What are you doing here again?“ he irritably asked.
Before she answered, she showed the piece of paper in her hand. It was a temporary transfer letter from the human resources department. Then, with a sly smile, she said, “I'm here to be your assistant, Mr. Xu.“
Darren's eyes widened in shock from what he had heard. Out of all the employees in the KING Group, the last person he wanted as his assistant was the woman in front of him. Because of this, he couldn't help but think to himself, 'Does the group really have no more employees?'
From the last conversation he had had with Siena, Darren knew that she was really smart and reliable.
However, he also knew that she had a naive crush on him. This made him reluctant to work with her. In the past, Darren wouldn't have cared about her ogling. He might have even led her on a little.
But now, all he could think of was how rude it was to Bonnie if he fiddled with other women while she was suffering in prison. And since Darren loved Bonnie with all his heart, he couldn't bear to work with any other women.
“Mr. Xu?“ Siena cautiously asked. She was trying to figure out whether he was happy or dissatisfied.
'That voice... Why does it sound exactly like Bonnie's?!'
Darren irritably thought to himself. He absolutely couldn't stand the presence of other women, especially the one in front of him who sounded just like the love of his life.
“No, you cannot be my assistant!“ Darren bluntly refused while furrowing his eyebrows.
Being the persuasive woman she was, Siena didn't easily admit defeat. In an appealing and somewhat childish tone, she asked, “Why?“
Darren took one look at her and immediately felt that the woman in front of him was getting more unreasonable with each passing day she worked for the group. Because of that, he knew he had to make up some excuse to get rid of her. “To put in bluntly, you're inexperienced. I can't have an assistant that needs me to tell them everything they need to do.“
“I'll admit that I'm no match for your previous assistant, Mr. Zhu,“ Siena calmly replied, completely ignoring what Darren had just told her. Right after that, she took out an examination report from the HR department and added, “But this afternoon, I was chosen out of forty candidates for this position. All of us went through several rounds of testing, and I was the one who came out on top. That leads me to believe that I am capable enough for this job. I hope you do as well.“
Those words left Darren with no reason to refuse her.
Despite looking unprofessional, he didn't care to look at her report and went back to his seat to call the head of the HR department.
“Are you still in the office? I need you to find me another assistant right now,“ he barked into the phone.
The man on the other end of the line immediately frowned upon hearing Darren's order. He and the other departments had gone through such lengths just to find the best assistant for the boss. But all those efforts were gone in a matter of seconds. To make matters worse, everyone in the selection committee had had to work overtime because they all had a lot of other work to do.
“I'm sorry, Mr. Xu. All the other candidates have returned to their respective departments already. There's no one else left here to replace her,“ the manager replied in a meek voice.
Darren was inches away from losing his temper when he heard the manager's words. But when he thought of how dire the situation was for the company, he didn't want to make things worse. Moreover, he knew it would be useless if he insisted, so he just said, “Okay, I see.“
When Siena heard Darren's reply to the manager, a victorious smile appeared on her face. But as soon as he hung up the phone, she quickly hid it so as to not anger him even more.
With no other options left, Darren just accepted the fact that Siena would be his new assistant. That being said, he still didn't want to see her, so he waved her out and crankily said, “Fine, but stay outside and wait for my orders. I'll call you if I need anything.“
Siena walked forward as if she hadn't heard a single thing that Darren had said. Then, she leaned in and charmingly said, “Mr. Xu, why don't you like me?“
Darren was absolutely stunned by her bold actions. Additionally, she sounded exactly like Bonnie when flirting with him.
At that moment, Darren knew he was inches away from losing his temper. Hoping to not do so, he repeated his order in a low voice. “Wait outside.“
“I've heard some cases of men avoiding the women they like. Mr. Xu, are you one of those men?“ Siena asked in an even more alluring way than earlier. It was like backing down wasn't an option for her.
That being said, Darren wasn't enchanted in any way. While trying his best to maintain composure, he frigidly replied, “Get out right now.“
Siena finally gave up when she heard how serious Darren was. With her head down low, she sulkily left the room with a frown on her face.
When Darren was finally alone, he returned to his seat to relax. But before he could do so, his phone rang. He sobered up as fast as he could, and then glanced at the screen. What he saw made him feel like he the unluckiest man in the world. It was a call from Bonnie's parents.
He was left with no choice. He had to ask for Siena to come into his office once again.
While helplessly shaking his head, Darren opened the door and peered his head over to look for Siena. When he saw her, he said in a dull tone, “Come in and answer the phone.“
Siena was a bit stunned when she heard him, but her spirits instantly lifted nevertheless. Not wasting another second, she immediately stood up from her seat and went inside to do her job.
“Hello, Mom and Dad! How have you been?“ Siena cheerfully asked Bonnie's parents. While waiting for their response, she quickly sorted out her emotions to do the best impression she could.
“Bonnie, how have you been these past few days? Your mother and I miss you so much!“
Under Darren's cautious gaze, Siena continued her act. “I told you guys the last time we spoke that I'm enjoying it here. I can assure you that there's nothing to worry about. I'll even send you some of the company's special products as gifts.“
“Oh how wonderful my daughter truly is. Let me have the phone for a while!“ Bonnie's mother said to her husband while taking the phone from him. “Bonnie, do you know what day it is tomorrow?“
Siena couldn't help but panic since she had absolutely no clue what Bonnie's mother was talking about.
But since she was quite the quick-witted woman, she managed to come up with an excuse. “I'm sorry, Mom. I'm too busy to check the calendar right now. Can you just tell me?“
“Silly girl! Tomorrow is your birthday! Don't tell me you've forgotten?“ Bonnie's mother couldn't but feel sorry for her daughter when she found out that she was so busy that she had even forgotten her own birthday. In a slightly dejected tone, she added, “I know it's hard living by yourself. How about me and your father send you some money so you don't need to work so much?“
Siena immediately declined their kindness. “You don't have to do that. I make enough money to live comfortably. Anyway, don't worry. I'll invite my friends to go out and celebrate tomorrow.“
After that, they chatted about a few more things and ended the call.
Meanwhile, Darren was lost in thought. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten about Bonnie's birthday.
“I have to go to the prison to see her tomorrow,“ he said out loud but it was like he was talking to himself.
Right after that, he turned toward Siena and spoke to her in a serious tone. “I know what you're trying to do here, so I'm going to have to make things clear. You have no chance with me. My heart already belongs to someone. And that person is Bonnie!“
As soon as he was finished, he walked out of the room without a care about Siena's response. He went straight to a patisserie to buy a cake. While waiting for it, he headed to different stores to buy some more gifts.
Since he was the only one who could celebrate with Bonnie, he was prepared to go above and beyond for her. And since he couldn't take her out to celebrate, he planned to bring the party to her.
The next day, after getting permission from the prison, a prison guard escorted Darren to her cell. While walking along a long corridor, he saw her cute little face at the end of the hall.
“Bonnie... Bonnie...“
He was so excited to see her again that he couldn't stop mumbling her name. When he was right in front of her cell, he greeted her with the most cheerful smile.
“Bonnie, I'm here to see you again!“ Before Bonnie looked over, Darren hid the cake behind his back. He couldn't wait to surprise her and be with the woman he loved, especially after all the problems he had been dealing with. Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.
Bonnie was wearing a prison uniform that didn't fit her. The large clothes made her look thinner than her real figure. That being said, a smile still appeared on her pale face when she saw him.
“Wow, you're here!“ Bonnie exclaimed while walking forward and reaching out her hand from inside the cell.
After that, the prison guard opened the door and left without saying anything.
“What are you doing here?“
Bonnie asked while Darren was walking inside her cell. She was happy that he was there, but since he usually only came to visit once a month, she couldn't help but be curious.
“Why don't you guess?“
Right after that, Darren took the cake out from behind his back, placed it on the table, and unwrapped it.
In a matter of seconds, Bonnie realized that she had forgotten all about her birthday. Because of this, she couldn't help but fret about how much time she had been in prison.