Valentina was lost. Completely lost.
As soon as the elevator had opened, Luca had confidently said ‘I know where dad is, follow me’ and began running forward at a fast pace. Assuming he actually knew where Kaiser’s office was, she had naively followed him down a hallway with a bunch of closed-door offices, and now they were completely turned around.
Squatting down to be at eye level with the child, she sighed while looking at him,
“Luca, let me call your dad. He can come get us.”
“No! I know where it is!” the little boy insisted before running off again. As he dashed around the corner at a fast pace, she sighed once more while rubbing her head. She didn’t know why he was being so insistent, but she really had a headache and was getting hungry.
Shooting Kaiser a quick text to let him know she was at his office and lost, she continued walking while looking for Luca.
When Valentina came to a crossroads and turned another corner, she saw that it opened into a central open office area that was empty except for one woman dressed in a skirt suit who stood by the printer.
And Luca was nowhere to be found.
“Uhm, hello? Can you help me? I’m here to see Kaiser Grayson. Is he around? And did you happen to see a young boy run past?” Valentina called out in a soft voice as she slowly approached the woman.
When she heard the bright, young voice, Lisa Herning immediately stopped what she was doing.
She looked up and saw an immaculately dressed young woman staring at her. From the black trimmed yellow cropped jacket over a black dress to the silver Chanel chain belt and the chunky Prada loafers, even the Chanel double flap with platinum detailing. Everything about her screamed money. In fact, she looked like a young heiress out for a stroll.
The woman’s bright green eyes and perfectly arched brows framed which framed them was the only part of her face that was exposed as the rest of it was covered with a face mask, but even so, Lisa could tell that she was probably an extremely beautiful lady.
“Uhm, hello? Could you point me to the CEO’s office? He’s expecting me.” Valentina waved her hand, and as Lisa caught sight of the jewels on the delicate, soft-looking hands that looked as if they had never done a day of work, she immediately sneered.
It seemed that another one had shown up.
Another brainless little aristocratic girl here to seduce their CEO and cause trouble for the secretarial staff if she didn’t get her way. Hearing the woman’s pointed question that didn’t even hide her intentions of trying to find the CEO at all and seeing that she didn’t even bring along gifts to at least try and bribe the staff like other women usually did, Lisa rolled her eyes before getting a bright idea.
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Hadn’t the CEO’s secretary warned that there should be no trouble today? He was expecting his son and his nanny as well as an important guest, and there was not to be any trouble or disturbances. No matter how Lisa looked at the woman in front of her, she couldn’t see her being a nanny for what was likely a spoiled rich brat, and she didn’t look like an executive either. She must have snuck in to cause trouble.
Although she wanted to make a big fuss, the threat from earlier still rang in her mind. Since everyone else was on lunch break and she had found the issue, she would quietly take care of this incident and report it so she could be rewarded later. Maybe Michael Frraiser could even reward her… personally. She wasn’t looking for much. Just a small promotion.
“Who let you in here?” she quickly asked as she walked closer to the woman. Once she was within touching distance, a sweet, luxurious scent wafted over her, and just inhaling it gave her good feelings.
Sure enough, she really was here to seduce the CEO.
“My bodyguard? I took the elevator and was heading to the CEO’s office, but I think I was lost. Could you point me in the right direction?” Valentina asked once more after being stared at in an angry manner.
“You’re not supposed to be here, and I’m tired of you spoiled little girls sneaking in here and causing trouble! You need to leave. No.”
“I promise I didn’t sneak in. I took the elevator from the garage. Actually, I can just call your CEO if you give me a moment. Just, have you seen a little boy run by here?”
“Sure. Sure. Dial some random number labeled as the CEO and claim it’s the CEO. I know how you rich girls operate. You probably have some lackey of yours answer the phone with an AI voice modulator that’s been trained with voice snippets and can simulate to imitate the CEO’s voice. You fancy rich girls aren’t slick. You’re the same as the rest of us, trying to climb up by any means necessary.” Lisa replied with a smirk. She had seen online that this was a prank rich people used to get their way sometimes and was glad she recognized it for what it was.
Valentina: “……????”
What? What was this girl smoking? Use a robotic what to do what? Could she please explain, and was it something that could be bought at a store? And who was us?
Valentina looked at the employee in front of her before rubbing her aching head. She knew the employee was just doing her job, so she wasn’t mad; she was just annoyed that this was taking so long and the woman wasn’t answering her questions about Luca. Although it wasn’t likely since this was his father’s company, what if something happened to him, like the first time she met him? She could never live it down.
Taking a deep breath to calm her rising irritation, she calmly spoke to the woman.
“I think we’re having a miscommunication. Just give me a moment to make a call, and I will get out of your hair.” As she pulled out her phone and began dialing Kaiser’s number, the employee slapped the phone out of her hand, knocking it down with a loud crack. As the screen shattered, Valentina looked up and coldly glared at the woman, causing her to take a step back.
Seeing the frosty look in those bright green eyes, Lisa Herning felt an instinctive fear that choked her up and made it hard for her to breathe.
“It was an accident, and you’re rich anyway, so what does it matter? Don’t bother threatening to call somebody. I am an employee, and I haven’t done anything wrong! You’re the one in the wrong by trespassing and forcing my hand. In fact, I’m calling security right now.” With no hesitation, Lisa began dialing the security code on her work phone and sent over the details.
Valentina didn’t say anything as she squatted down to pick up her shattered phone. Tapping the screen, she realized that it was completely dead, with no signs of life.
Yet another thing that needed money from her.
She glanced up at the woman, finally noticing her name badge.
“Lisa Herning, is it? Pretty name. You can call security, and I’ll leave. I can even let you off for breaking my phone, though it pains me. However, I’ve asked several times and haven’t received a response. Have you seen a little boy go by? Black hair, green eyes? Dressed in black and yellow clothes? Carrying a book bag. He looks a lot like the Kaiser Grayson. If you have, which way did he go? That’s my kid.”
At first, Lisa was a bit afraid when she saw the cold look in Valentina’s eyes, but hearing her ridiculous words, she couldn’t help but snicker.
“Not only are you trespassing and trying to seduce the CEO, but you’re also trying to claim his child as well? Just because you are rich, do you think you can do that? You’re delusional. Do you know how many rich and famous women come to see the CEO? And yet you have the audacity to claim you know the CEO. You’re lucky that we’re expecting an important guest, so I’m letting you off lightly. If I catch you here again, I’ll call the cops.”
As the security officer started approaching her, Valentina gave Lisa Herning a gentle smile while gripping her phone tightly.
Little girl, pray we don’t meet again. Otherwise, I will need to break your phone at least once to get even.