Due to my outstanding performance, Mdm. Hall granted me flexible working hours.

After a full night of entertaining clients, I had barely fallen asleep when a colleague’s call jolted me awake.

“It’s already 9:30 a.m.! How could you be late again?”

I patiently explained that I had worked late signing contracts last night. So, I would not be coming into the office this morning.

However, my colleague scoffed. “Don’t think that being the top salesperson gives you free rein to skip work!

“The heiress, Ms. Hall, is visiting the office for the first time today!

“If you upset her, you’d better watch out. She’ll have you fired!”

I pushed through my headache and searched my memory.

The heiress he mentioned was Cadence Hall. If I was not mistaken, she was the woman who had been desperate to marry into my family.

“Andy, you’re finally here.”

The guy at the reception winked at me when he saw me. Then, he spoke to me in a low voice. “The company’s heiress is back. Bill Rozman won’t be easy to deal with today!”

“What happened? Isn’t she currently overseas?” I asked.

The company’s heiress, Cadence Hall, was the company’s CEO, Mdm. Hall’s, only child.

But in the six months since I joined the company, she had not shown even up once. She claimed she was studying abroad.

“You didn’t know? Mdm. Hall had a sudden heart attack last night and is in the ICU. She hasn’t regained consciousness yet!”

The front desk guy started gossiping. “The Hall family rushed their eldest daughter back from abroad overnight. They say she’ll temporarily take over managing the company. She’s at the airport now and will be here any minute.”

My heart skipped a beat.

Mdm. Hall? In the ICU?

I had just run into her at the office yesterday afternoon.

I pulled out my phone, intending to call Mdm. Hall’s assistant to ask about the situation.

A sarcastic voice sounded behind me.

“Well, well, our top salesperson finally decided to show up for work?”

I turned to see Bill Rozman standing there, arms crossed, and wearing a mocking expression.

He was dressed in a flashy pink haute couture suit today. The scent of his cologne so strong it was almost choking.

“I thought that since you have signed a big deal, you would ignore company rules now.

“And you dare show up late on the day the company’s heiress is making her first inspection tour? That takes some nerve.”

When I first joined the company, Bill bragged about being the top salesperson.

He would constantly tell me to learn from him as a senior colleague.

But in my first month, I crushed his sales figures. Both in number of deals and total value.

Ever since, he had always made snide remarks whenever he saw me.

But before today, it was mostly about “young blood taking over the old”.

This was the first time he had spoken so ruthlessly.

I could not be bothered with him and turned to find a quiet spot to make my call.

But Bill stepped right in front of me.

“What’s this? Are you feeling guilty? Are you trying to run away?”

His gaze fell on me, and suddenly, his voice rose sharply.

“Oh my, you actually dressed up like a proper person? What’s this? Did you hear the heiress was coming today and decided to try to charm her?”

The air around us instantly grew still.

Every pair of eyes in the room turned to stare at me.

Bill’s words were loud enough to draw the attention of colleagues from other departments passing by, who stopped in their tracks.

I had been at the company for half a year. Usually, I dressed in business-casual attire.

Last night, I had been busy with social engagements and slept late, looking a bit haggard. So, I changed into a sharper suit to perk up my appearance.

Through Bill’s words, this became a calculated attempt at seduction.

“Bill, if you can’t control your mouth, you might as well donate it.”

His face instantly turned red. “Who do you think you are, talking to me like that? I can see right through your ulterior motives toward the heiress!”

I replied coldly, “Why are you being so nosey? Mind your own business. What I wear has nothing to do with you.”

“You...”

“Also, Mdm. Hall has allowed me to work flexible hours. If you have an issue with that, go straight to the ICU and discuss it with her.”

With each word, Bill’s expression darkened further.

“Andy, don’t get too cocky! Mdm. Hall is in the ICU now. This company won’t be hers for much longer!”

Perhaps at the thought of Cadence, Bill suddenly found courage. His voice sharpened again.

“The heiress is in charge now! Do you really think she cares about your measly performance metrics?

“Let me tell you something. Cadence and I go way back. She despises men like you who scheme to climb the corporate ladder!”

He wore a smug expression, as if he had already become the company’s new owner.

“But if you want to curry favor with Cadence, there’s still a chance.”

He cleared his throat and issued an order to me in a tone that declared his authority.

“Cadence is obsessed with cleanliness.

“If you take a rag right now and kneel to scrub the entire floor of the CEO’s office, she might give you a second glance.

“Oh, especially the restroom.

“If there’s a single stray hair, Cadence will lose her temper.”

I looked up and met his gaze indifferently.

“I’m a salesperson, not a janitor.”

Bill chuckled. “If you don’t play nice, soon you won’t even get to do janitorial work.”

I could not be bothered to argue with Bill.

“Go ahead and have Cadence fire me, then. Let’s see if it’s me who needs the company, or the company that needs me.”

While I spoke, I picked up my phone again to call Mdm. Hall’s assistant.

Just then, a bratty female voice rang out nearby.

“Ugh. Who dares act so arrogantly in the company? Do you have any idea who owns it?”

The crowd automatically parted, and a woman in an haute couture dress approached.

Her figure was slender and graceful, while her face was stunning. However, there was an air of unshakable arrogance in her eyes.

The moment Bill saw her, he wore a fawning expression and hurried forward.

“Welcome back, Cadence.”

He hovered close to her, and his voice dripped with sickly sweet flattery.

Cadence swept her gaze across the room until it finally settled on me.

“Were you the one speaking?”

Bill quickly pointed at me.

“That’s Andy! He thinks he’s hot stuff just because he has some sales numbers. He doesn’t respect anyone in this company!

“He’s always late, but he leaves early and slacks off at work! Even our HR Department can’t do a thing about him.

“Cadence, now that you’re taking over the company, you need to crack down on these rule-breakers!”

He became teary-eyed as he spoke, as though I had deeply wronged him. “When I mentioned that he was late again earlier, he actually yelled at me.”

His cronies immediately chimed in, “That’s right, Ms. Hall! Andy does whatever he pleases in the company. He hogs most of the sales and leaves nothing for Bill!”

“Bill kindly warned him not to be so inconsiderate, but he didn’t appreciate it!”

“Exactly! Bill was his mentor and the one who actually brought him into this business!”

Cadence listened to them before letting out a cold laugh.

“A top salesperson? You just got lucky enough to ride on Hall Group’s coattails.” Her tone dripped with contempt.

“Without the company as your platform, you’re nothing.”

I had heard that Cadence was spoiled. But I never thought she would not be able to distinguish right from wrong.

I sighed in response. “Ms. Hall, I don’t want to argue about such nonsense with you.

“I’d just like to ask, how is Mdm. Hall doing now?”

Long ago, our families had arranged our marriage.

Somewhere down the line, the Hall family’s business went downhill, while my family’s flourished.

The Hall family teetered on bankruptcy several times, and only my father’s intervention saved it.

Half a year ago, my father suggested that I join the Hall family’s company. I could start from the bottom.

Part of it was to let me, their freshly graduated young heir, experience real life and hone my skills.

More importantly, it was to assess Cadence’s character.

If she proved capable of growth, the marriage would proceed.

If not, it would be called off.

Unexpectedly, Cadence happened to be studying abroad, and there was no sign of her for half a year.

To avoid pressuring my colleagues, I chose to keep a low profile.

Not only did Mdm. Hall conceal my identity, but she also treated me kindly.

Since she had fallen ill, my foremost concern was naturally her health.

However, my concern took on a different meaning to Cadence.

She suddenly broke into laughter, and her voice dripped with sarcasm. “Why are you so worried about my mom? Are you eager to be my stepfather?”

My blood boiled instantly. “Watch your mouth, Cadence!”

“Did I hit a nerve? Are you getting angry because you’re embarrassed?” Cadence sneered at me with contempt.

“My father died twenty years ago, and my mother never remarried.”

“Your skills aren’t nearly good enough for your attempts at being my stepfather.”

Bill covered his mouth before he let out an exaggerated gasp for effect.

“Cadence, don’t get angry. How could our top salesperson possibly harbor improper intentions toward Mdm. Hall?

“He’s just a staff member. Surely, he has enough self-awareness to know his place? He probably just idolizes Mdm. Hall too much.”

His surrounding cronies chimed in, “Exactly! Don’t take this deadbeat seriously, Ms. Hall.”

“What gives this lowly worker the nerve to covet the position of the CEO’s husband?”

The room erupted in laughter.

As I stared at the ignorant fool before me, I felt a surge of nausea.

Suppressing my rage, I spoke coldly. “Caring about Mdm. Hall’s health is my duty as a subordinate and junior colleague.

“But you? Your mother’s critically ill in the ICU, yet you still have the nerve to spread rumors about her here? What a truly 'caring' daughter!”

“You’re spouting nonsense!” Cadence’s face instantly turned ashen.

This was likely the first time anyone had openly defied her like this. Her features twisted with anger.

“Andy, right? You think earning the company a few bucks gives you the right to lecture me?

“Let me make this clear. This company bears the Hall family’s name, and so do I! Whoever I want to kick out, gets kicked out!”

She stepped forward and looked down on me with hatred.

“Don’t think I have no idea what men like you are thinking. You’re just using my mom to climb the corporate ladder.

“You know full well how you got to be the company’s top salesperson.

“Too bad my mom’s in the ICU now. Your backer’s gone.

“And that top salesperson title? Someone else will be wearing it soon.”

With that, she abruptly reached out and grabbed Bill, who had been watching the spectacle from the sidelines.

Then, she declared loudly in front of everyone, “Listen up, all of you. Bill Rozman is my man.

“From now on, anyone who dares to mistreat him or steal his sales would be going against me, Cadence Hall, as well.”

The office erupted in a chorus of agreement, “You’re amazing, Ms. Hall!”

“Bill is so lucky!”

Bill promptly wrapped his arm around Cadence’s waist as he shot me a defiant glance.

“Cadence, you can rest assured. From now on, not just any random person can touch my sales figures!”

I found the whole scene laughable as I watched them.

How could my father possibly think such trash was worthy of being part of our family?

“Cadence,” I calmly said, “I recall you have a fiance, don’t you?”