Chapter 9:
1393 Words
She finished speaking and then clicked her high heels as she walked into the office.
The entire design department was stunned.
Dozens of people in the large office, each team member sitting relatively close to one another.
Dominic let out a whistle.
"The beautiful new girl from the Blood Moon pack, you’ve already gotten on the princess’s bad side?"
The princess was the nickname they had given Wendy.
Cersei said with a bit of humor, "A Blood Moon pack girl looking at another Blood Moon pack girl—they're always a thorn in each other’s eyes."
The entire office burst into laughter.
Dominic said, "I like that attitude."
"Engineer Chu, you like too many people, but please don't try to charm the belle of our design department," Tran joked.
Cersei raised an eyebrow, "Belle of the design department?"
"When you went out for lunch, the whole design department took a vote, and from now on, the belle of the design department is Engineer Ha," Harry said with a grin.
Cersei was a bit taken aback.
She pointed to the general manager's office, "The princess is going to explode."
Dominic said, "But there are harder conditions than anything else."
"The queen should step aside and not provoke the princess."
Everyone laughed out loud again.
The atmosphere was incredibly lively.
Cersei enjoyed such an environment.
Truly, like attracts like.
The afternoon's work came to an end, and Cersei rubbed her aching shoulders.
Yuna said, "Cersei, everyone’s planning a party tonight to celebrate you joining our team. Where do you think we should go?"
Dominic chimed in, "When it comes to having fun, our design department is top-notch."
Harry and Davvis also joined in, eager to have a good time together that evening.
Cersei said, "I’m afraid I can’t make it tonight. How about we postpone it until the weekend? I have something to take care of this evening."
Her work kept her very busy, and she had little time to spend with Rony. She tried to minimize social engagements in the evenings so she could be home with her son.
Dominic exclaimed, "A single woman going home so early? There must be some secret lover."
"Gossip, gossip," Lenka said excitedly. "Cersei is so beautiful and highly qualified. Who do you think is a match for her? Tell me."
Cersei said, "Gossiping is unethical. I’m a single lady."
"Impossible!" Everyone said in unison.
The door to the general manager's office suddenly opened, and Wendy angrily said, "Have you all turned this place into a marketplace?"
Everyone returned to their positions and resumed working in silence.
Wendy headed to the conference room on the top floor, and the design department quickly became lively again.
As they worked and chatted, Cersei once again realized that her days ahead would not be easy.
But what could she do?
She had signed a five-year contract with WPL.
She also had a genius son to raise, so for the sake of money, she had to endure it.
She worked for a week.
Everything went smoothly.
She was beautiful, easy-going, humorous, and witty—everyone liked her.
Wendy no longer made things difficult for her.
It could be said that Wendy practically ignored her.
Her team barely received any new tasks, only continuing with previous work.
Sometimes, staff members were assigned tasks, but none of them involved Cersei.
She could see that Wendy had forgotten about her.
Cersei was glad.
If Wendy had hoped to see her get angry, she was mistaken.
Cersei was a renowned designer and engineer abroad, and it was always she who chose the company, not the other way around.
Wendy didn’t need her, but it was Wendy’s loss.
Cersei went to work, didn’t have much to do, still got paid, and had more time to spend with her son.
Why not?
Yuna burst into the design office, her excitement barely contained, "Wow, big news, big news—Alpha Louis is here at WPL for a meeting, and he’s so handsome."
Yuna was the typical lovestruck woman. Mentioning Alpha Louis made her eyes practically pop out.
Dominic said, "He’s a man who’s already taken."
"I like him because he’s handsome. Whether he’s taken or not doesn’t matter to me, but no amount of money could make me marry him."
Pfft!
Cersei laughed out loud; it was clear she and Yuna got along well.
Smart women stayed far away from men like that.
"The princess may be the mayor’s daughter, but she can’t win his heart. He changes women like he changes clothes—totally unreliable."
"Only his looks are worth anything."
Harry said, "So, any woman who values Alpha Louis is very shallow."
Cersei agreed with this sentiment.
At noon, Louis came to the design department, and it instantly became very lively.
He was practically surrounded.
Cersei thought to herself, in this day and age, there’s no shortage of lovestruck people.
She didn’t want to get involved in the chaos, so she took the opportunity to slip away while no one was watching.
Essentially, she would rather face Wendy than see Louis.
Perhaps it was because she knew about his connection to Rony.
She was afraid he would find out the truth.
Rony was Louis’s son.
Wendy was overjoyed, thinking Louis had come to visit her.
The proud and sweet princess couldn’t wait to brag everywhere.
Miori asked, "Where’s Cersei?"
Miori was William’s legal advisor and a friend of Alpha Louis.
Wendy was displeased. Yuna looked around and, not seeing Cersei, said, "She went to the restroom."
Louis had come to WPL to discuss the progress of a coastal development project. Miori had mentioned wanting to see Cersei, so he had brought Louis to the design department.
Given his personality, coming to WPL for a meeting was already a courtesy, and he didn’t want to visit the design department.
Miori had said Cersei was a legendary architect in the construction industry.
She had a PhD in engineering by the age of 22, a rare feat globally.
She was also a designer.
Extremely talented.
Hearing that she was a woman made Miori even more curious.
Louis was unimpressed, thinking that the so-called genius woman was just overhyped by the Blood Moon pack. So she designed a large theater—what’s so impressive about that?
He felt the whole thing was exaggerated.
"Cersei is the belle of our design department," someone said.
Wendy’s face became extremely unpleasant.
Miori smiled like a true gentleman, but his tone was the opposite, "Is she really that beautiful?"
Dominic said, "One in a hundred."
Yuna practically dragged Cersei over, leaving her no time to regret it.
Yuna said, the legal advisor from William wants to meet you.
She hadn’t mentioned that Louis was there too.
The moment they met, Cersei wanted to flee.
"Are you Cersei?" Miori asked in shock.
Cersei didn’t look like someone who could only be admired for her appearance—she had her hair tied in a ponytail, looking youthful and beautiful.
You could easily believe she was a high school student.
Cersei told herself to stay calm, to stay composed.
"Hello, I’m Cersei," Cersei introduced herself naturally, extending her hand.
Miori shook her hand, unable to resist asking, "I’m Miori. Are you old enough to be an adult?"
The entire design department burst into laughter.
Cersei replied with maturity, "I’m 25. I’ve been an adult for many years."
Louis narrowed his eyes, looking at Cersei with interest.
He hadn’t expected this woman to be Cersei.
Truly, you can’t judge a book by its cover.
"Hello, I’m Louis." Louis also extended his hand.
If it weren’t for the people around, Cersei would have loved to turn and walk away.
"Hello, Director Duong," Cersei said as she shook his hand.
Their palms lightly touched, and Cersei lowered her gaze.
His hands were beautiful, slender, noble, and looked very strong.
Louis noticed that his palm, compared to Cersei’s, also had many calluses.
Her hands were rough from hard work.
Their hands quickly separated, but both of their minds were racing with thoughts.
Wendy, standing to the side, felt very uneasy, sensing some sort of ambiguous connection between Louis and Cersei.
Since Cersei had appeared, his gaze hadn’t left her.
Miori said, "I didn’t expect Ms. Martell to be so young. I’ve seen your design works, and my favorite is the opera house."
- Writer
