Zhao Lifei made her way towards Feili at exactly 1 PM the next day. She was dressed for success with her white blouse, black blazer, and pencil skirt. With her charisma and her ability to easily command a crowd, she was the perfect definition of a businesswoman. Strolling into Feili without a care in the world, Zhao Lifei scanned her private key card.

Wei Hantao was already waiting for her upstairs. And unknowingly, so was Zheng Tianyi, who was engrossed with Xia Mengxi in the private meeting room.

Zhao Lifei made her way to Wei Hantao’s office which she surprisingly found empty. Luckily, Huo Qiudong was present and waiting for her. "The meeting was pushed forward by thirty minutes because President Zheng arrived earlier than expected."

"Should we head there now?" He asked her.

"No, we will make them wait." Zhao Lifei said while taking a seat on the couch. "Just because they came early does not mean we will oblige their request. There could’ve been other meetings going on before their arrival."

Huo Qiudong hid his agreeing smile. "Yes, ma’am." He told her, sitting back down before his desk to finish printing copies of the proposal.

"Where is that idiotic Vice President of mine?" Zhao Lifei asked while grabbing the nearest magazine.

Huo Qiudong already knew Wei Hantao was screwed the minute he became Zheng Tianyi’s lapdog in this entire ordeal. The man could not go against his father and that very reason would soon be the reason for his downfall. "He’s...already in the meeting room."

Zhao Lifei paused for the briefest second, then went back to flipping the magazine pages. ’Oh look, a new Birkin design came out this season.’

"He went in there without his CEO?" If Zhao Lifei was bothered by this news, she didn’t show it on her face. She remained calm and collected whilst her eyes were engrossed in the magazine. YRQ released a new line of dresses? Dang, her Qinqin worked very quickly.

Huo Qiudong truly admired how she was able to keep her anger in check, even when the news of the meeting was announced the day before. It was unfavorable to mix personal life with work life. She was maintaining the balance very well, too well, might he add.

"Yes, to pacify them in case you arrived at exactly 2 PM."

"Hm, well, call him back and tell him his boss is here. Also, tell him to grab me a cup of coffee." Zhao Lifei decided to assign him the job of a private assistant since he liked to bootlick so much.

"A coffee...? As your secretary, I believe I can grab one for you." Huo Qiudong said while pressing the button that leads to Wei Hantao’s personal phone.

"No, leave it to the Vice President who kindly went behind my back." Zhao Lifei’s sickeningly sweet smile sent shivers down Huo Qiudong’s back. He remembered seeing Zhao Moyao on a magazine cover once, and even though it was only a picture, he was deeply intimidated by the man’s gaze. It seemed this young lady took after her grandfather exceptionally well.

"Oh, and tell him if I don’t get my coffee within five minutes, he’s fired." She briskly said, her smile deepening. It was enough to freeze Huo Qiudong’s blood.

She wasn’t petty? He decided to never get on her bad side...

"Y-yes, ma’am..." Huo Qiudong trailed off while he phoned Wei Hantao. The man did not pick up. He gulped and without waiting for Zhao Lifei to give him the command, he scurried off to the meeting room to tell him the news in person.

Zhao Lifei watched him disappear down the hallway. She clicked her tongue before going back to the magazine.

- - - - -

Zheng Tianyi was browsing through the presentation slides, checking for any errors before it started. He checked the time and saw that it was already 1:30 PM. ’Where was the CEO? What was taking him so damn long? The great Zheng Tianyi has arrived. They should be honored he even came this early, especially for a low-tier company like Feili. How unprofessional. Didn’t the Vice President say they would adjust the meeting time?’

Chen Xing was impatiently tapping her foot in the corner of the room when she spoke up, "Mr. Wei, where is your CEO? This is Zheng Tianyi we’re talking about. Our time here is very precious."

"We arrived early so that you guys do not have to wait until 2 PM just to see our CEO. The fact that your CEO is even ten seconds late is unacceptable." She added on, glaring daggers at Wei Hantao.

Wei Hantao strained his pleasant smile. "I apologize, our CEO did not get the notification that you have arrived until five minutes ago..." He lied.

He was in all honesty too fearful to tell Zhao Lifei that Zheng Tianyi had arrived in the office already. It was a miracle that she accepted this meeting without throwing a fight. If he told her to come earlier than planned, he was sure she would have a fit.

"Well, tell them to hurry up." Chen Xing coldly sniped. "President Zheng does not have all day here." She snarled.

Wei Hantao nodded his head and pretended to type on his phone.

Zheng Tianyi raised his head and turned it to Wei Hantao. "I’m parched. Get me a cup of coffee."

"R-right away." Wei Hantao muttered under his breath, running out of the room to get the man his damn cup of coffee. If it wasn’t for the fact that the Zhengs were great friends with Wei Hantao’s father, he would not have become an errand boy.

He came back in less than three minutes with a fresh cup of coffee in his hands. He respectfully handed it to Zheng Tianyi with two hands. The CEO did not drink or touch the coffee.

Zheng Tianyi was midway into reading the last page when he received a notification. He paused what he was doing and checked his phone, his eyes widening a bit. One billion was withdrawn from his account, by the authorized user known as Xia Mengxi.

His eyes flew to his lover across the room, whose lips were still bruised after his punishing kiss. She was pitifully staring at the floor with her eyes and head down. His heart ached upon seeing her state and he decided not to question her about the enormous sum of money until tonight...when they were all alone and she could not run from him.

Wei Hantao sat down in a chair when Huo Qiudong walked in, a bit out of breath. In order to not embarrass him, Huo Qiudong quietly said, "The President asked you to get a cup of coffee. It has to be delivered within five minutes. If not, you’re fired. Currently, three minutes have passed."

Wei Hantao’s head snapped up. "Why can’t you get the coffee? Aren’t you the secretary? What am I? An errand boy?" He hissed back, his voice loud enough for the people in the meeting room to hear everything.

Huo Qiudong opened his mouth but closed it when he smelled something in the air. His eyes landed on the coffee beside Zheng Tianyi. He instantly recognized the cup as one of the ones from the break room. Unless someone worked here, they would not be able to know where the employee’s break room was.

Chen Xing could not locate the break room. This was her first time coming here. Who could’ve gotten that new cup of coffee? His eyes shifted back to Wei Hantao.

"Mr. Wei, the clock is ticking. You have one and a half minutes from now. Please don’t make this hard on yourself. The President is furious that you changed the meeting time without warning or a text." Huo Qiudong kept his voice respectfully low. No one was able to hear his words except for the Vice President.

Wei Hantao scowled. "I’m not an intern. I’m the Vice President of this company. Why should I get another cup of coffee?"

Another cup? Huo Qiudong’s eyes narrowed. He was willing to get Zheng Tianyi a cup of coffee, but not their own President?!

"Very well, I will inform the President." Huo Qiudong straightened out his suit from having to bend down to reach Wei Hantao’s seated body.

"Tell the President to not be so petty...I thought we were friends?" Wei Hantao was clearly referring to Zhao Lifei but Huo Qiudong misunderstood him.

"We’re merely acquaintances." Huo Qiudong breezily said and walked out of the room, no longer pitying Wei Hantao. Instead, he felt a burning rage. How could this man not sense the dire situation here?

Huo Qiudong had heard rumors of Zhao Moyao’s infamous dog-eat-dog mentality in his company. Being one of the big five, they had so many people applying to their company, it was easy to dispose of someone if they made frequent mistakes.

He wondered if Zhao Lifei would be like that, or perhaps harsher... He would find out very soon.