Since it was an inspection tour with the new president, no one in the entourage dared to take it lightly. Bao Weijian asked his secretary to notify everyone to assemble in fifteen minutes, but most people went downstairs upon receiving the notice, taking their precaution to make a favorable impression on the new boss.
Fifteen minutes passed quickly.
Bao Weijian looked toward the chairman’s office, and the door remained closed.
It should be any time now, he guessed.
Bao Weijian opened Weixun and started to read a few electronic documents sent by subordinates.
Before he knew it, he had finished reading two documents.
Hmm?
It had been twenty-five minutes!
Bao Weijian looked again at the time on his wristwatch, his gaze once more settling on the office door.
There was still no sign of activity.
Director Yang is in good health!
Bao Weijian thought to himself. He was exactly forty years old, and his body had long since been on the decline, but due to regular maintenance and fitness routines, he was stronger than many of his peers.
However, compared to the new boss, he was clearly lacking. Nearly half an hour had passed since he knocked on the door, but it had been over forty minutes since he left the office, not to mention a lengthy warm-up time.
But at such a time, Bao Weijian naturally would not knock on the door to hurry things along, unless he was a fool!
So, he quietly opened another electronic document…
Another ten minutes went by.
Seeing that the office door was still tightly closed, Bao Weijian could no longer sit still to read the document.
They couldn’t still be talking about work, could they?
Am I judging others by my own petty standards?
It wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.
Director Yang had just taken over the group and probably wouldn’t be unreliable. Perhaps he was discussing with Vice President Wang whether or not to make adjustments to the company’s senior management. During the meeting earlier, it seemed like Vice President Wang was constantly recording on her mobile phone.
A new broom sweeps clean!
Somebody was bound to be made an example of, sooner or later.
Bao Weijian went through the names of senior managers in his mind, trying to figure out who would be the unlucky one.
Eventually, the chairman’s office door finally opened after another ten minutes or so.
Bao Weijian promptly stood up from his seat, his eyes instinctively looking for Yang Hao and Wang Jingru.
Director Yang, leading the way, seemed full of vigor with no apparent problems. Vice President Wang, following behind, radiated an energized aura.
This didn’t seem like the demeanor of having a legitimate work discussion!
Bao Weijian thought to himself, and then quickly found evidence that the two were not discussing work seriously.
Vice President Wang was wearing a light yellow professional suit today, with flesh-colored stockings on her legs, but now those stockings were gone…
In the lobby on the first floor.
Several accompanying staff who became impatient couldn’t help but whisper complaints.
“Bao called us down so early, and there’s no sign of him or Director Yang!”
“It was said we should gather fifteen minutes after the notice, and I even came down early.”
“Had I known, I would have come down later. It’s been over half an hour…”
“I just sent a message to Bao’s secretary via Weixun. She said Director Yang and Vice President Wang were discussing work.”
“What kind of work talk takes so long?”
“I suspect they’re not discussing any serious business!”
Someone guessed in a low voice, then several men showed knowing smirks on their faces.
They were all senior executives of the group, not lacking money, and were used to living the high life.
Just then, Yang Hao, Wang Jingru, and Bao Weijian finally emerged from the elevator.
The men quickly put on serious faces and greeted them appropriately.
Yang Hao just nodded slightly, then walked out of the building surrounded by a crowd.
Inside a fast-moving minivan.
Li Manshu and Ai Yongyi sat together in the third row. There were seven people in the van, all from the design department.
“Sis Ai, what do you think the head office is planning? They’re not going to optimize all of us, are they?” Li Manshu said with some concern.
“It’s very likely. The company has been acquired after all. It’s normal for subsidiaries to integrate and optimize some employees.” Ai Yongyi appeared unconcerned. As a Hong City local and a somewhat famous designer in the industry, she wasn’t worried about finding work.
“But I’ve just become an official designer!” Li Manshu sighed in despair. Since her divorce, she felt her luck had never been good, especially after learning that her ex-husband, Yang Hao, had become successful, which made her even more frustrated.
She had been making various efforts to seek a reconciliation recently, but Yang Hao gave her no chance at all. He even blocked all her contact information, saying anything to do with Xixi could be discussed with her sister, Li Manni.
So, not to mention seeing Yang Hao, she couldn’t even contact him; how then could she reconcile?
Latterly, she had gradually given up hope and started focusing on her job. It had taken her a while to go from a design assistant to a designer who could take on independent projects.
And now, the company had been acquired. If she were to be optimized, she might have to start over at a new company.
Naturally, this was extremely disheartening to consider.
“Manshu, you don’t have to worry.”
“If our department really gets optimized, you can come with me. I can definitely arrange a job for you with a salary not less than what you’re earning now,” said a middle-aged man sitting in front of Li Manshu with a chuckle.
He was the manager of the Visual Decoration design department, named Zhu Haitao, 42 years old this year, married, and his children were in junior high school.
But Zhu Haitao was also quite unfaithful; he was a regular at Foot Bath City and recently had his sights set on Li Manshu, hinting that he wanted this beautiful subordinate to become his mistress.
Li Manshu, however, paid him no mind. Not only was Zhu Haitao old and thinning on top, but he was merely a department manager.
Li Manshu wasn’t impressed at all!
Especially now that she would subconsciously compare any man she met with her ex-husband, Yang Hao.
And naturally, they were eliminated!
There used to be a popular saying among women.
“A woman who has been protected by an eagle, how could she ever settle for a sparrow!”
Li Manshu’s thoughts were probably similar now.
My ex-husband is a billionaire CEO, why would I bother with a greasy little manager like you, am I crazy!
So, Li Manshu simply didn’t take the bait, acting as if she hadn’t heard a thing.
Gossip enthusiast Ai Yongyi’s mouth quirked up. She knew Li Manshu’s situation; her ex-husband lived at Star Cloud Bay and the house was even designed by her!
With such an outstanding ex-husband as a reference, Zhu Haitao stood no chance.
The business van stopped in front of the tower where Inspiration Advertising was located, and a group of people disembarked.
Li Manshu looked up at the familiar tower and couldn’t help but sigh.
Her destiny had changed right here. It was here that she had met Shen Mingshan, and then all that mess unfolded.
If she hadn’t joined this company, there wouldn’t have been all those incidents afterward.
Now, she was the wife of a billionaire, where she wouldn’t have to worry about a job, let alone work under a greasy old man like Zhu Haitao and always be on guard against him taking advantage of her.
After sighing for a while, Li Manshu followed her colleagues into the tower.
Everyone had been to Inspiration Advertising several times before, so they knew their way around, taking the elevator to the thirteenth floor, and then entered the large conference room mentioned in the notice.
The conference room, big enough to fit fifty or sixty, was packed to the brim; there seemed to be over seventy people already, and since there weren’t enough chairs, half the people were standing.
After entering the conference room, Li Manshu and her colleagues couldn’t find seats and had to stand by the window sill.
“It looks like something big is happening.”
“So many people!” Ai Yongyi whispered in awe.
Li Manshu let out a sigh, “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Manshu, don’t worry, I’m here for you,” Zhu Haitao seized the opportunity to say, and used the crowd as an excuse to edge closer to Li Manshu.
Li Manshu frowned and promptly swapped places with Ai Yongyi.
“Manshu, you…”
Ai Yongyi was somewhat speechless, thinking: I dislike this greasy old man too, all right!
However, being older and the type of strong woman, once Zhu Haitao was next to her, he behaved and didn’t entertain any inappropriate thoughts.
At that moment, Shen Mingshan was sitting next to the conference table. As an old guard at Inspiration Advertising, he held a certain stature.
He had seen Li Manshu as soon as she entered the conference room, but now he dared not harbor any inappropriate thoughts towards her.
This was Mr. Yang’s ex-wife, after all, and he didn’t want to make trouble for himself!
If he were let go by the head office this time, he really planned to seek refuge with Yang, whom he had a “destined” connection with.
Why not try his luck!
Jiangcheng Newspaper Group was a very good enterprise, certainly much better than Inspiration Advertising.
For a person like Shen Mingshan, who prioritized self-interest, dignity wasn’t an issue at all.
Just then, Meng Shiqiang, the general manager of Inspiration Advertising, entered the conference room and the room fell silent. Everyone’s eyes were on him, as if they could find answers on his face.
“People from group headquarters will visit our company shortly, and the new boss will also be here. All departments must respond actively. Director Zhang, prepare your performance report PPT—the one you showed me last week. Director Zhao, make sure the reception service is arranged…”
Meng Shiqiang detailed the tasks meticulously; as the general manager, he was under tremendous pressure, fearing Mr. Yang’s dissatisfaction might lead to his dismissal, given that he was the one responsible for the company.
Li Manshu, Ai Yongyi, and others were assigned to fill the numbers in the public office area.
After Inspiration Advertising was acquired, some cronies and relatives of the previous owner had resigned one after another, resulting in staff shortage at the headquarters; the public office area looked empty, which is why Meng Shiqiang had called people from the branch offices like Li Manshu.
While they were there to fill numbers, should Mr. Yang take an interest in the branch company’s situation, the person in charge of Visual Decoration design could report on the spot.
“So we’re just here to make up numbers.”
Once in the office area, Li Manshu relaxed a bit.
“Meng is just trying to keep his job!” Ai Yongyi shrugged her shoulders: “If the people from headquarters are pleased, his job is safe!”
“Hope our jobs are safe too!” murmured Li Manshu.
“People from headquarters have entered the building, let’s get spirited!”
At that moment, Tang Jun, the office director of Inspiration Advertising, clapped his hands in the middle of the public office area to alert everyone.
Shen Mingshan, standing next to him, straightened his suit. While he didn’t speak with the headquarters leaders, he still strove to make a good impression.
After a short wait, footsteps were heard coming from the elevator.
Then, the people from the headquarters walked into the company office area accompanied by Meng Shiqiang, and all the employees looked over curiously.
At that moment, Shen Mingshan, who stood next to Tang Jun, was stunned.
“Mr. Yang??”
Li Manshu, who stood at her workstation, was also stunned. She had never expected to encounter her ex-husband, whom she had been desperately trying to meet, here!!