Chapter 13: Almost Completely The Same!

Selena absentmindedly looked at the file in her hand, noticed Flora's worried face, and asked: "What's wrong? Didn't the partner cancel the contract for this project?"

This project was the one that Selena knew about. A thought flashed through Flora's mind.

She sighed and lowered her head, "Maybe because I prevented those people, the CEO was unhappy. He scolded me yesterday and told me to finish this project today... If I can't finish it, I might have to pack up and leave."

Selena's face immediately changed.

It is tough to have a powerful ally beside one's fiancé. How could she let her go for such a silly reason? She furrowed her brows and rubbed her chin, "Let me talk to him." she said.

Flora was thrilled in her heart and quickly bowed her head in gratitude, afraid that she would change her mind.

After saying goodbye to Selena, she pressed the elevator button to the top floor, walking lightly on her feet. What if the CEO orders otherwise? She has the support of the future wife of the CEO.

"Not feeling bad, huh?" A low, seductive voice echoed on top of her head.

Flora jolted, raised her head, and hit her chin straight into the man beside her. As a result, she heard soft laughter and a provocative remark: "In a hurry to get my attention, huh?"

She stared at Matthew with wide brown eyes, struggling to hold back the words "nerve guy" that were about to come out of her mouth, hastily avoiding the area where she could contact him.

Even when she got home, she was still angry to the point of going crazy about that man occasionally.

"Flora...! You're about to destroy my flowers! I have to deliver them to the shop. If you can't help, leave them alone."

Looking at the beautiful rose she had just cut, and Flora was startled, leaving only a withered bud that had not yet fully bloomed.

She had been thinking about that detestable man and venting her anger on the innocent rose.

If it weren't for the ridiculously high salary from SEI, she wouldn't have been crazy enough to force herself to work with him.

When she left, she and her mother had collected all their savings to pay off the debts to the Jones family, and what was left was not enough to maintain their livelihood, so she had to struggle to earn a living like this. However, in retrospect, were all the problems her fault?

In the small room, her son held a thick book, sitting next to the window, reading attentively. The sunlight covered him in a bright, sparkling layer of gold.

Not far away, a little girl was working on her homework, occasionally sneaking a peek at the small sweet cake in front of her.

"Paul! Do your homework first, and then you can eat."

The little girl pouted her lips. Her older brother wouldn't let her have any sweet cake and insisted she does her homework instead. It was clear that she hadn't even started the first grade yet, so why was her brother making her do second-grade homework?

"Brother..." The little girl intentionally dragged out her words: "Let me try it, just a little bit."

Ignoring her persistent whining, the little boy shook his head unyielding: "No, you have to finish your homework first."

But the little girl didn't like studying like her brother wanted, and her big round brown eyes rolled as she held a small piece of sweet cake to her brother's side, put it down, and spoke softly in a slightly flattering tone: "I don't need the sweet cake anymore. You eat it."

Charlie frowned at his younger sister, not believing that something good like this could happen.

Did she take her eyes off the sweet cake?

"Is there any conspiracy?"

"No, there's no conspiracy. Brother, you taught me how to study hard, so you should eat the cake."

Full of suspicion, the little boy picked up the spoon and put a cake into his mouth.

The sweet taste of butter and milk melted in his mouth, sweet enough to make his throat itch. By now, the little girl had pulled a small chair over and sat beside her brother, propping up her chin.

"Did you go to the SEI company headquarters to take a commercial shoot? Did you meet their CEO? Layla said... you look like him, so I was thinking, maybe he's our dad..."

Before she could finish the word "we" the little girl received an impatient look from her brother.

"Why do you care about this? We don't need a dad to live well."

"Well, that's true, but..." The little girl hesitated momentarily, then swallowed her saliva and said: "I still really want a dad... You do, too, don't you? I remember the last time you fought with kindergarten classmates because they dared to say we don't have a dad..."

Since they were old enough to understand, the two children knew they didn't have a dad like their peers. They had tried everything to find their dad, but everyone they found wasn't him. After that incident, the little girl's brother no longer mentioned seeing their dad.

"All right, all right, there's no need to cry. If you want to know what the CEO of SEI looks like, you can search online, you know?"

The little boy watched as his sister crying. He had no choice but to open his phone and type a few things, and a picture immediately appeared on the screen. The person in the photo was tall, dressed in a formal suit, and had an icy face.

Most importantly, they looked at least seventy percent alike compared to the little boy.

"Wow... he looks just like you! Who knows, maybe he's our real dad?" The little girl couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. The little boy shook his head: "I don't care, don't tell Mom about this. He must be a bad person if she doesn't mention him in front of us."

In some ways, the little boy understood his mother's intentions.

***

To Flora, the CEO of SEI was the wrong person, a horrible person indeed.

"Are you stupid? Why would you suggest a foolish idea like replacing Arnold with an anime character?"

Matthew frowned as he looked at the plan the secretary had just handed him, not holding back his criticism. Flora immediately defended herself.

"I'm not stupid. On the contrary, I've thought about it very carefully. Children and adults have different tastes. Arnold is a movie star who can attract adults, but for children, he can't be as attractive as an anime character."

And this educational machine is designed for children, so children's preferences should come first. She didn't think she was wrong, but Matthew threw the plan on the table with a grunt.

"The educational machine is designed specifically for child prodigies. Do you understand the meaning of these two words? Those kids are smarter and more mature than you are."

Flora frowned, was he trying to mock her intelligence? Well, she would endure it, let him think he's smarter. But she wouldn't give up because she still had one advantage, which was:

"I discussed it with Arnold. If we use anime characters to replace a part, he won't have to spend too much effort and time, and we can extend the contract."

Matthew raised an eyebrow, his fingers tapping the desk faster than usual. His new secretary seemed not as foolish as he thought: "Fine, go to the pantry and make me a coffee."

Suppressing the urge to explode, Flora went to the pantry to make coffee for her demanding boss.

Leaving Matthew alone in his office, he again read the plan. Even if Flora didn't devise a reasonable solution, he wouldn't fire her because Selena talked to him yesterday. Come to think of it, and this plan might be all right.

***

SEI headquarters hosts a monthly buffet for its employees.

Flora sat beside her best friend, texting her two children at home: "Are you the mother or the child? You have to report when you come home late from work."

Layla looked at her friend's low mood and teasingly asked: "Are you not going to dance?"

"No, I don't like dancing very much." When Layla received a shake of the head from her best friend, she suddenly thought...

If Flora didn't like the atmosphere of parties, how did she adapt when she almost entered high society years ago? Or...was there someone beside her to take care of her?

Shaking her head to dispel her wandering thoughts, Layla tried to focus and saw a tall man standing before Flora, and his hand outstretched in invitation.

"May I have this dance?" Flora wanted to refuse but heard him say: "If you don't know how to dance, I can teach you."

With no other option, Flora had to put her hand on his. The man smiled, his slick hand grasping hers, pulling her straight into a dim corner.

Hold on...this wasn't a dance floor.

"Where...where are you taking me?" Flora struggled, wanting to break free from the man's grip.

Seemingly provoked, he pushed her hard. Her back slammed painfully against the wall, and she saw a sneer on the face of the unfamiliar man.

"If you behave, I will indulge you. Otherwise... don't blame me for kicking you out of SEI Corporation."

He had countless ways to harm a newly unemployed employee.