"Even though Emilia's education and major aren't the best, she didn't specialize in accounting when she joined the finance department. Look at her now—she's doing just fine."
Liam Williams remained completely unaffected by Emma Johnson's words. He simply lifted his gaze to meet hers.
"I won't agree."
One sentence. The verdict was final. There was no point in discussing it further with Emma.
The Executive Secretariat was different from other departments. Everyone needed a certain level of competence to be qualified. Because one mistake there could directly impact a deal worth hundreds of millions.
So Liam could allow Emma to assign her friends to any other department in the company, but the Executive Secretariat was absolutely off-limits.
"You were a soldier. Besides strengthening national defense, soldiers protect their country. The most important thing is to serve the people, right? You've really turned cold-blooded now that you're a businessman."
Emma couldn't convince Liam, so she couldn't help but let out a sarcastic hum.
She turned around, ready to head back to her desk, when a long arm reached out from behind her waist and wrapped around her slender figure. Her feet lost balance, and in an instant, she fell into Liam's arms.
"Nothing in this world comes that easily. But if you really want to get Emilia into the Executive Secretariat, it's not impossible. Unless you agree to one condition. It's not difficult—you can do it."
Emma heard the looseness in his words and turned her head to look at him. Her clear eyes fell into the man's deep gaze. His thin, cool lips curled slightly, full of temptation.
"What condition?"
Emma looked at him, a mix of hope and unease flickering in her eyes.
"Make a decent bowl of wonton noodles and cook them for me every day at noon. I'll allow her an interview. As long as she meets the requirements, I'll overlook her education and major."
This was his biggest concession, and Emma knew she couldn't push any further. But making a bowl of wonton noodles was a bit difficult for her.
"But at noon, we all eat near the company. Even if I could do it, where would I get the conditions to make it for you?"
Emma immediately thought of a thorny problem and couldn't help asking him.
"It's not hard. There's a cafeteria in the company. You can do it there at noon. I'll tell the cooks to make room for you. Enough for you to play around. And someone will help you clean up every day. But don't try to let anyone else do it for you. I'll have the kitchen staff keep an eye on you."
Emma looked at Liam speechlessly and thought, Is this his twisted sense of humor? He clearly knew how terrible she was at cooking, yet he still wanted her to make wonton noodles for him.
It was true—the more she suffered, the happier he would be.
"Fine, I promise you."
But thinking of Emilia's sad face in the tea room today, Emma felt that this condition really wasn't too harsh.
"Miss Williams, the president is busy with business. I'll inform him that you're here."
A secretary's voice came from outside the door.
"It doesn't matter. I'll just go in myself."
Amelia White's clear voice grew closer and closer. Emma looked at Liam's hand around her waist and subconsciously tried to break free, but Liam clearly had no intention of letting go.
Anxious, Emma started to sweat.
"Brother, I've come to see you!"
Amelia didn't wait for the secretary to announce her. She quickly opened the door. When she stood at the entrance with a look of high spirits, she suddenly saw Emma sitting on her brother's lap. They were very close to each other, very intimate.
The shopping bag she was carrying fell to the ground instantly. Her expression turned fierce.
Emma lowered her head and finally broke free from Liam's hand. She jumped up from him and stood to the side.
"Amelia, it's you. Why didn't you let the secretary announce you? You went shopping with so many things?"
Emma walked over to Amelia, a bit embarrassed. Seeing Amelia's head drooping, she thought she was uncomfortable with the intimacy between Liam and herself. Kindly, she reached out her hand to take Amelia's and planned to lead her to the sofa on the side.
But Amelia suddenly squatted down to pick up the shopping bag that had fallen on the ground. Emma's hand, stretched out in the air, hung awkwardly.
"I was bored this morning, so I asked Father to let me go shopping. I bought a lot of things, sister-in-law. Look and see if you like them."
When Amelia stood up again, the smile on her face was still sweet. Maybe she had been busy picking up the things on the ground just now and hadn't seen anything.
Emma tried to comfort herself with that thought.
"Well, let me see what you've bought."
Emma pretended to be very happy and suppressed her embarrassment. During this time, she didn't forget to glance at Liam. It's his fault. If he had let go in time, Amelia wouldn't have seen the intimate scene between them. Even if they were husband and wife in other people's eyes, it was normal for them to make such ambiguous behavior. But this was an office, okay? She didn't know what Amelia thought of her now.
If she thought that she came to the company just to cling to Liam all the time, she would be wronged to death.
Liam's face didn't look good either. If it weren't for Emma and Amelia's enthusiasm, he would have blamed Amelia.
Was his office so casual? Just thinking that Amelia's mind was only 18 years old and she was still a child, he could only let it go.
After work, Emilia Clark went to Brookhaven General Hospital for a routine post-surgery check-up. On her way out, she met Elijah Clark in the corridor. She quickly greeted him.
"How are you, Emilia?"
"The doctor said I'm recovering well. Brother Elijah, you don't look very well. I don't know what happened between you and Sister Wei. You both don't look so good."
Emilia seemed to think of something and couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.
"What did you say? What happened to Emma? Has she been having a hard time recently?"
Elijah caught the key point in her words and couldn't help asking quickly.
"Well, that's right. Emma went on a business trip to Silverdale with the president some time ago. As a result, I don't know what happened. When Emma came back, there was a wound on her forehead. She said it was an accidental scratch. I don't believe it anyway."
Emilia told Elijah about Emma's injury. She saw Elijah's handsome and elegant face turn gloomy because of Emma. His gentle eyes looked cold. There was almost no warmth in them.