Free Web NovelChapter 38: Chapter 38: Emotions Stirred by Her
Damien Vaughn was in a foul mood all afternoon.
Whether he was standing, sitting, in a meeting, or reviewing documents, he couldn’t settle his mind.
Even Ryan, who had worked for him for many years and prided himself on understanding his boss, did his best to stay away, not daring to enter his office all afternoon.
But there was no escaping. Just before quitting time, Ryan was summoned inside.
"President Vaughn."
"When did Mr. Lee say he’s departing?"
"If all goes according to plan, the morning after tomorrow."
"This project is unique and carries a certain level of risk. If anything were to go wrong, the impact on the company would be significant, so I’ll be monitoring it personally. Set up a dedicated project group chat. Add me to it once it’s made."
’The corporation has handled countless projects worth hundreds of millions, billions, even tens of billions, yet I’ve never seen President Vaughn take such a personal interest in any of them. So why is he so concerned about this one small project?’
Ryan snuck a glance at his boss’s dark expression. "Understood. I’ll get right on it."
As he finished speaking and turned to leave, Damien Vaughn tossed his mouse aside. His chair slid back a little, and he leaned back, closing his eyes as the chair swiveled halfway around.
"Creating a group chat isn’t exactly rocket science. It’ll take two minutes. Is there any reason to leave the room?"
"..."
Ryan had no choice but to call Mr. Jordan right then and there, asking him to create a group chat for the tech department.
Then he asked, "President Vaughn, will you be joining with your work account, or...?"
Ryan usually managed the work account and replied on his behalf. He figured this would just add to his workload, but to his surprise, Damien Vaughn said...
"The work account. Give me the phone. I’ll be managing this account myself from now on."
Ryan: "..."
’President Vaughn is being so strange today!’
Damien Vaughn joined the group, opened the member list, and scanned through the names one by one. He successfully found Cecelia Archer’s profile.
He went back to the chat screen and sent a message to the group.
"This project involves a certain degree of risk. To ensure everyone’s personal safety and protect the company’s reputation, I will be monitoring the project for its entire duration. If any issues arise, you can report them to me directly."
Never expecting President Vaughn to pay such close attention to the work of an old man on the verge of retirement, Mr. Lee was deeply moved and quickly replied.
"Thank you for your concern, President Vaughn." He also sent a few thumbs-up emojis.
The other technicians, feeling incredibly honored to be in the same group chat as President Vaughn and to be able to interact with him, also chimed in with thanks and thumbs-up emojis.
When Cecelia saw that the president himself had spoken and everyone else was being so polite, she figured she should hurry up and do the same.
She copied everyone else’s message and added a few thumbs-up emojis of her own.
Even though it was obviously a copied-and-pasted message, completely devoid of genuine feeling, seeing her call him "President Vaughn" and give him a thumbs-up made Damien Vaughn feel much better.
Usually a man of few words, he typed out another line.
"Since I’m not familiar with everyone here, please change your display names to your real names to make it easier to tell who is who."
Everyone quickly changed their display names to their real names.
"Yes, President Vaughn."
Seeing the name "Cecelia Archer" appear on the screen, the gloom that had shrouded Damien Vaughn for half the day finally vanished completely.
Soon, it was time to clock out. Unsure if Damien Vaughn planned on leaving, Ryan, who was anxious to get to the hospital to see his girlfriend, found an excuse to bring a document into the office.
To his surprise, when he entered, he saw President Vaughn sipping tea with a placid expression on his face.
"President Vaughn, why didn’t you call me to pour your tea?"
Damien Vaughn leaned back in his chair leisurely, crossing his legs and taking a sip of tea.
"Isn’t it quitting time? Why are you still here?"
"..."
He looked to be in an excellent mood, a complete one-eighty from that afternoon. Ryan couldn’t understand it.
’How can his mood change so quickly?’
"Aren’t you leaving, sir?"
"I’ll stay a bit longer. You can go ahead."
Feeling as though he’d been granted a pardon, Ryan nodded, clutched the document, and was about to make a quick getaway when Damien Vaughn suddenly called out to him again. ƒrēewebnovel.com
"Wait. How’s your girlfriend?"
"Thank you for asking, President Vaughn. She had acute appendicitis and underwent a minor surgery. She’s still in the hospital."
"Your girlfriend had surgery, and you’re at work? Who’s taking care of her?"
’Who’s taking care of her? A caregiver, of course!’
They had both come to the city for work, and their parents weren’t around.
Ryan wanted to be with his girlfriend, but he didn’t dare ask for time off.
"It’s alright, President Vaughn. I hired a caregiver for her."
"You’ll never get a wife if you keep this up."
Damien Vaughn set his teacup down with a quiet finality. "I’m giving you two days of paid leave. Go and spend time with her. You don’t need to come in tomorrow."
’Oh, my god! Who on earth was so wonderful that they put President Vaughn in a good mood? Ryan really wanted to find this person, kneel down, and kowtow to them twice!’
’When he’s in a good mood, President Vaughn is a true philanthropist!’
Triton paid Cecelia Archer all her wages, including the commission from her orders, for a total of over 190,000.
Cecelia would never forget how her sister-in-law made things difficult for her brother, nor the grievances he had suffered over the years to provide a home for her and Candy.
So, before leaving for her business trip, she took the card and went to her brother’s house.
"Sister-in-law, there’s 180,000 on this card. It’s my bride price. I’m not paying my own way. I’ve brought it for you. You and my brother should go ahead and renovate the house."
Upon hearing there was money on the card, the sister-in-law’s expression softened.
"Now, this is more like it. A girl as pretty as a picture, not asking a man for a single dime, secretly having his baby, and then just marrying him offhandedly—how foolish! It’s not that I’m after your money; I’m just looking out for you, understand?"
Cecelia nodded, pretending to understand.
Her sister-in-law continued, "Don’t worry, your brother and I won’t just take your money for free. We’ll definitely pay you back when we have the money. We just have no choice right now. I have to take care of the kids, so I can’t work, and your brother’s monthly salary is so meager. Look at this place—we’ve been living in this unfinished apartment for years..."
"It’s okay, Sister-in-law. You and my brother can use it first. There’s no rush to pay it back."
"Won’t your husband give you a hard time about this?"
Cecelia lied, "No, he won’t. He’s the one who told me to bring it over."
"Well, that’s good, then. Looks like you finally picked the right guy this time."
Beaming, her sister-in-law pocketed the card.
"By the way, you two have been married for a while now. When are you going to bring him over for a meal? I’ll cook something nice for you."
"We’ll see. He’s very busy with work."
Back at Doris Morton’s office, Cecelia stuffed 10,000 into her friend’s hand.
"I’ll be gone for at least half a month, maybe even a full month. It’ll be tough for you to take care of Candy alone, so take this money. Buy some nice food for the two of you."
Doris Morton bristled with indignation. "Who do you think I am? I’m her godmother! Of course I should take care of her. Why would I need to get paid for it? Cecelia, are you trying to insult me?"
Cecelia knew Doris meant well, but the nicer her friend was, the more indebted Cecelia felt.
"That’s not what I mean. Candy is at a crucial age for growth. With a little extra money, you can buy her some better food. If she can’t finish it, you can have a few bites, too. I’m not paying you a service fee, you know."
Since she put it that way, Doris had no choice but to accept the money.
"Don’t worry, I promise I’ll get your daughter all plump and healthy. Be safe, and come back soon. We’ll be waiting for you at home."
In the blink of an eye, she only had 30,000 left.
It was the money Damien had compensated her with for the dress Claire Clark had ruined that night.
In a little over half a month, Candy would be starting kindergarten, which would be another major expense.
Staring at the bank balance that never seemed to grow, Cecelia wanted to ask the heavens for an answer: When would things finally get better?
