Chapter 1
The 2000CC silver-white Opel smoothly glided into the alley from the main road, its sleek and stylish movement making it hard to notice that the car body maintained only one or two centimeters of distance from the adjacent vehicles.
Generally, this type of mid-size car is a man’s favorite. In the bustling Taipei city, a 2000CC vehicle can demonstrate confidence without being unrealistic.
A neat reverse parking, and the silver-white car body elegantly stopped in a space that fit just right.
After a brief, breathless silence, the driver’s door was pushed open, and a pair of legs in black suit pants stepped out. “Tap, tap, tap…” The rhythmic sound of thick-heeled high heels striking the ground announced the arrival of a tall and graceful woman walking with an invincible posture.
Turning through the alley, within a few minutes, the majestic presence of the Putech Technology building appeared before her eyes.
“Good morning, Secretary Pang!” The counter lady and the nearby security guard almost simultaneously stood up and saluted.
Pang De raised her chin fifteen degrees, an angle that made the lens of her thick-framed glasses flash, the light on her tight, compact hairstyle glimmer, and her pride shine for a moment.
Just a moment, fleeting.
The standard Pang De style.
“Good morning.” Her unhurried voice responded, accompanied by the rhythmic sound of her heels clicking on the marble floor as she entered the elevator and pressed the topmost button.
In just a few seconds, Pang De arrived at the highest power center of Putech Technology Group – the 33rd floor CEO’s office.
Quickly organizing the reports completed yesterday, making a final confirmation, neatly printing them, and placing them along with other documents awaiting approval on the boss’s desk. Then, Pang De brewed a fragrant and strong coffee for herself, leaning against the clean floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the Taipei area, like a king surveying her territory.
Before she could take a couple of sips of the rich flavor, the phone on the desk rang.
“Putech Technology CEO’s office, hello.” Pang De spoke each word smoothly in a very formal tone.
“Secretary Pang?” A low male voice came through the receiver.
Pang De’s bare forehead raised her eyebrows slightly. This voice…
“May I help you?” Her tone was no longer courteous, as she could guess who was on the other end of the line, though the person tried to disguise their voice, that special hoarse tone was hard to conceal. “Manager Yang, are you catching a cold?”
The other party was clearly stunned.
“You…” Somewhat at a loss, then trying to regain the previous aggressive tone. “Anyway, be careful. As a woman, don’t be too strong. If you don’t drink the toast, you’ll drink the penalty…”
Pang De moved the receiver slightly away, continuing to drink her coffee – cold coffee would taste terrible!
“…Do you understand? If you don’t do as I say, be careful of your safety!”
“Manager Yang,” she placed the coffee cup on the smooth desk surface, crossing her long legs. “No one told you to turn off the caller ID function when making such a call? And, don’t you know that our secretary’s dedicated phone has a recording device?”
Her calm voice clearly left the other party at a loss.
“You mean… everything is recorded and saved?”
“Oh, my boss is about to arrive, I need to get to work. Manager Yang, be careful in your actions, be careful of your safety!” She threw the words back verbatim and then with a “click” hung up the phone.
Just as she was about to exhale, sounds were already heard at the door.
“Good morning, Sister Pang!” He Yuhua, Pang De’s assistant secretary, appeared coquettishly from the elevator entrance, her voice arriving before she did.
Pang De moved her crossed legs from the desk, pushed up the thick black-framed glasses on her nose, and went to the pantry to brew her second cup of coffee.
At 9:50, He Yuhua arrived at the office. This usually meant the CEO would arrive in about ten minutes.
“Sister Pang, I’m telling you, I just bought this leather skirt for only 2,200, look…” He Yuhua, known as a flower in the CEO’s office, was Pang De’s nightmare.
Pang De couldn’t stand stupid people, something even He Yuhua with her limited brain capacity understood. But what He Yuhua didn’t know was that Pang De also couldn’t stand overly talkative people. Fortunately, she had already finished her first cup of coffee, otherwise her head would be hurting again!
“What big event is happening today?” Pang De glanced at her elaborate outfit and knew there was definitely an event.
“Don’t you know? You’re the CEO’s secretary, shouldn’t your information be the most up-to-date! Today after work, the staff welfare committee is hosting a sports competition, and I’ve signed up for every group. I heard the CEO will also participate…”
“So everyone is preparing to meet the CEO?” Pang De poured coffee into her cup and turned to take it into the CEO’s office.
“Yes! Ah – why are you dressed like this? Today is the sports competition…”
“Then why are you dressed like this?” Pang De tugged at her leather skirt. “Wearing a leather skirt to play ball? What kind of ball requires this kind of outfit?” Without waiting for He Yuhua’s response, she turned and walked out of the CEO’s office.
Sure enough, no sooner had she sat down at her own desk than the elevator doors opened.
A tall figure walked out of the elevator with composure, his stylish hair revealing a sophisticated and characterful side. With a broad forehead, high-bridged nose, eagle-like sharp eyes, and thin yet well-defined lips, even though he exuded a cold and aloof aura, his graceful movements were still captivating.
”Wow!” He Yuhua sighed lightly, her gaze unable to look away.
Long Jie apparently didn’t notice the “background noise” and walked straight into the CEO’s office.
Pang Denü silently followed him into the office. “CEO, the assessment reports for ‘Dongda’ and ‘Liangwu’ companies that you requested are on the desk. I’ll present today’s schedule in twenty minutes.”
Long Jie sat down in his leather chair, and with just a slight lift of his face, Denü understood the signal to leave.
She wasn’t boasting, but in terms of reading the CEO’s expression, probably no one in Putte Group could match her.
”Where’s the meeting presentation I asked you to prepare yesterday?” Denü sat at her seat, effectively cutting off He Yuhua who was about to continue gossiping.
He Yuhua shrank back, knowing that work time had begun.
Sigh! Sister Pang was always so serious, but she was indeed capable!
”I’ll give it to you in a moment,” He Yuhua immediately said. “Uh… in twenty minutes.” She forgot that Sister Pang hated imprecise language, and phrases like “in a moment” were unacceptable. She needed a definite answer.
Pang Denü glanced at the clock on the desk, knowing she had a few more minutes to handle miscellaneous tasks. Honestly, being a CEO’s secretary wasn’t as glamorous as outsiders imagined, but rather a heavy workload. Fortunately, Pang Denü had no interest in overtime, so making full use of every necessary minute at work was her secret to avoiding extra hours.
”Secretary Pang, come in.”
The intercom’s cold voice made her pause. It wasn’t twenty minutes yet! Could she have miscalculated?
Picking up her small computer, she entered the CEO’s office.
Long Jie raised the report in his hand.
”You spent quite some time on this assessment?”
”Dongda” and “Liangwu” were the two major companies Putte was about to collaborate with, and the final winners among many competing firms. This was the assessment Long Jie had asked her to do. Sigh! Other secretaries just needed to look good, so why did she have to do an assistant’s work?
