"Mr. Zhou, I want to tell you something, but... I don't know if it is appropriate to say it or not." Paula aroused Ryan's interest, and before Ryan got a chance to speak, she continued saying,"I know that Ye is competent and she has helped you a lot in all these years, but she has also brought many troubles to you and the company. For instance, she knows that you want to gain more profit from the Shining Company's case, but she still took the liberty to change the wine party into a press conference. Naturally now you will make a lot less money than you were hoping for.
Paula saw that Ryan wasn't too happy with her words but she still went on to add,"You're the boss of this company. She gets her salary from you but she keeps helping the client's company save more money. Although she works here, she is only seen helping other companies. You'd better rethink on your decision to employ her."
While listening to Paula's words, Ryan recollected Autumn's performance in the company over the years.
In all these few years, Autumn had completed several big cases on her own. She was highly praised by all the client companies. Ryan, who was her boss, seemed to be a nobody in front of her.
Paula continued saying,"Mr. Zhou, I've heard that... she secretly takes bribe from the clients. She seems to work for you, but in fact, she takes a lot of advantage of her position to feather her nest."
"It's impossible!" Ryan suddenly raised his head. He didn't believe that Autumn was such a person. "I've seen how Ye grows into an excellent worker in this company over these years. She is absolutely not that kind of a person," he said.
"Mr. Zhou, are you sure about that?" Paula was certain that Ryan didn't trust Autumn any longer. So, as long as Ryan remained suspicious of Autumn's behaviour, she might have a chance to get promoted and replace her. "Do you think that she is still the same person you hired years back? I've heard that her grandmother is seriously ill, so she just made forgivable mistakes of accepting others' money, right?"
"What do you want to say?" Ryan couldn't help but frown. Although he was unwilling to believe that Autumn could change so much, he couldn't find any reason to retort Paula.
What's more, he just got to know that Autumn's grandmother was seriously ill, so she definitely was in need of more money.
"Mr. Zhou, please know that if you continue putting Ye in such an important position and allow her do everything without your authorisation, she may not even treat you as her boss anymore." Paula smiled and said,"I've heard that... our company is going to select a planning director. I want to remind you that you shouldn't appoint Ye to this position. Otherwise, you will have to regret about it in the future."
Paula believed that she could be promoted as the planning director if Autumn lost her chance to compete for the position.
Ryan frowned and said,"You can leave now. When Ye comes back, ask her to come and see me in my office."
"Okay." Paula thought that she shouldn't be so impatient now. She could surely get the chance once Ryan was suspicious of Autumn.
Paula came out of Ryan's office in a good mood. She happened to see Autumn who just got back from the Shining Company. She walked up to her and said,"Look. Our hero is back. I've heard that you finally got Shining Company's case. Congratulations."
"Thank you." Autumn realised that Paula was only trying to mock her but she pretended to not see through her intentions.
"You're welcome." Paula sneered and said,"Oh, right. Mr. Zhou wants to see you in his office."
Autumn slightly frowned. On seeing Paula look so happy, Autumn knew that something was amiss.
Before going back to her own office, Autumn went on to see Ryan. Ryan was sitting at the tea table, making tea. He greeted Autumn when he saw her. "Ye, you're back. Come over here and have a seat. Have a sip of the tea that I just made."
Autumn had no interest in drinking tea. So she flatly asked Ryan who was in front of her,"Mr. Zhou, you want to see me? Is there anything you want me to do?"
"Not much. Just one trivial thing." Ryan slightly smiled and said,"You just got the Shining Company's case, and I know you have worked really hard for it, so to celebrate the success, I want to invite you all for dinner tonight. What do you think?"
"Great." Autumn slightly nodded. "But I won't be able to come. You can go ahead with other ladies of our company and have fun. I have something important to do tonight..."
Ryan was pouring the tea. When he heard Autumn, he paused for a while and then continued. He smiled and said,"You should also come out with us. You've made the biggest contribution to the Shining Company's case. What's more... I also have an important thing to announce tonight."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: His Real Wedded Bride