Chapter 166: A part of her life
And when her work was stolen, the manager whom she had trusted so much told her.
’Do you think you were worthy of the invitation to join this place? I worked my ass off to convince the higher-ups to invite you because I had seen the demo of your game in your unofficial account. There were barely a few likes but I knew that it had the potential. You should feel grateful that your work will go somewhere from here. Left in your hands, it will lose its value. And also, don’t you think I should be paid for the efforts I put in? Be grateful and get over it.’
When Ivy was getting consumed by that sinking feeling and she started feeling that familiar breathlessness and stuffy feeling that consumed her chest, she was suddenly wrapped in a pair of delicate arms.
"Cry if you want to,’’ Daisy knew she was not good with words.
Whenever she consoled Diana in the past, she would end up crying harder so she just hugged the girl quietly.
Ivy let Daisy hug her.
When they parted, she spoke up again, ’’I don’t know what I would do in the future. I feel...’’ Ivy shook her head, unable to come up with a word, ’’I just want to thank you for letting me stay.’’
’’I haven’t even thanked you for taking care of my daughter when she needed me the most but I was not there by her side. So, I don’t need you to thank me,’’ Daisy stroked the girl’s head and stood up to arrange the files that were spread on the bed, ’’My younger years were not spent in the mansion and I moved out when I started earning. Now, the mansion feels too big even with all the servants and guards. If you stay here with us, we will be happy.’’
Ivy looked at little Angel who was playing with her toys on the floor before she glanced back at Daisy, eyes brimming with tears.
Daisy turned to look at her, ’’As for the other things, I know you will figure it out soon. I am certain that this is not the end of it all.’’
...
The following days were rather hectic for Daisy at work. Accompanied by back-to-back meetings, she had to go through all the projects and proposals that had been lying idle ever since her father left his chair. Angel was left in Ivy’s care most of the time and Ryle helped as well.
The man had shamelessly stayed at her place for days without showing any intentions of going back to LA. And whenever she questioned him, he would tell her that he owned the company not to go there and show his face every other day. For further explanation, he would state that he had settled for work from home lately to get some peace of mind for himself.
’Then, I will ask the Butler to arrange a guest room for you. Your peace of mind will be lost if you keep sleeping in my room,’ Daisy told him yesterday, to which the man was shameless enough to reply.
’What guest room? Do you think I came all the way from LA to Beijing to admire the walls of Chen Mansion?’ he rolled his eyes, ’Princess, I admit that your mansion is undoubtedly beautiful but I am more interested in its owner.’
’My dad, you mean,’ Daisy quirked.
And he was shameless enough to mince his words immediately, ’The owner’s daughter.’
So, she let him be. Even though his antics, combined with Angel’s rendered her speechless almost all the time.
At night, Angel would stay awake and play on the bed for a long time and even when she was sleepy, she would stubbornly cling to Ryle and her, lying on his arm and holding onto her fingers with her little hand.
Angel would doze off in the middle of every night and Ryle would let her but after the girl dozed off, his hands would find their place on Daisy rightfully. However, he would not go overboard in the girl’s presence.
Probably because of Angel, they haven’t gotten the space to do anything in recent days and that gave Daisy the gap to think about their equation.
There was a physical distance between them, they could not hug or kiss or touch all the time like they used to, with Angel sleeping in between them and her being occupied at the company all the time. Daisy thought that would help them both realize the differences between them but in the end, she had yet to recover her sanity.
Ryle Harper had unapologetically made himself a part of her world, of their world and she did not have it in herself to take him out of it even though the current circumstances were too beautiful to be true and she knew that they won’t last forever.
"President... President..’’
Daisy snapped out of her daze and turned to look at Secretary Han.
’’What do you think of the place?" he pointed his chin at the gaming company that Helian Chen had taken over when he was investing in virtual gaming industries years ago.
Daisy had wanted to do a site visit before determining the further plan of action. She took another look at the place that seemed nothing more than a dingy storehouse. Perhaps the employees were made aware of the potential of them being deserted after the higher up decided to give up on the company hence most of the people had resigned and whatever people were left were also unsure and underconfident.
While examining the place, Daisy’s gaze paused on Caleb who was standing at a distance, looking at a particular spot fixedly. She followed his gaze and realized that the man was staring at an office room.
’’Uncle, is there something that catches your attention?"
’’Just the CEO’s office,’’ the man said quietly before he realized that Daisy and Secretary Han had approached him at some point. He turned to them, ’’I have to take a call. I will leave now. See you both at the company at the meeting that is scheduled in two hours.’’
Daisy paused and nodded once.
As she watched the man leave, she leaned back on an empty desk.
’’President, is there something that is bothering you?" Secretary Han felt like her gaze towards the COO was rather unusual, ’’Do you still have some suspicions regarding him? I already investigated his basic background but if you want, I can do it again....’’
’’Secretary Han, look at the room where his gaze was fixated earlier,’’ Daisy interrupted the man.
Secretary Han unquestioningly turned his head and looked in the direction of the room on the first floor.
’’What do you think about the room?"
Secretary Han’s lips twitched but he did not question her and instead focused on the place. The room was dark. It was past evening time and the electricity bills were probably not paid for months since the company was abandoned hence there were no lights. Only a few solar bulbs lit up the place. But still, it was hard to see the condition of the room further beyond the room.
’’The door has no labels... It’s pretty much of an ordinary room...’’ Secretary Han trailed off when he realized something. His head snapped in Daisy’s direction as he said, ’’That’s right. It’s nowhere mentioned that it is the CEO’s chamber. If the place is in ruins then how did the COO state it so confidently? Moreover, when he insisted on tagging along with us, he was acting like this was his first time coming to this place.’’
By the time he finished analyzing everything, he saw that Daisy had not moved from her original position, and neither had her expression changed in the slightest.
She was leaning back on the desk with her arms folded in front of her chest, ’’A CEO to a subsidiary?"
Daisy’s question made Secretary Han’s jaw drop. That’s right. After this company was bought by Chen Corporation, it automatically became a subsidiary after the share transfer and remaining procedure. Helian Chen, according to that time, was the rightful CEO and since he had been by his side for a long time, Secretary Han was certain that Helian Chen never really frequented this place, let alone had his office here.
’’Investigate the history of this place and its association with the COO,’’ Daisy said as she stood up and walked out of the doors.
Secretary Han nodded, ’’Yes, President,’’ he understood the depth of the matter.
He opened the door for her and once Daisy got inside, he passed her phone to Daisy, ’’President, your phone was switched off due to low battery so Mr. Harper had called me...’’
Daisy paused in her movement of taking the phone from his hand. This was another change that had occurred recently. There were times when Ryle was unable to reach her so he unabashedly acquired Secretary Han’s number from her saying that if he did not know that she was all safe and sound then he might visit the company to ensure her wellbeing.
’’What did he say?" Daisy questioned.
