After hearing what he said, Manager Yang’s face was filled with panic. “Thank you, President Shen. I promise I’ll work hard to make improvements.”
Taking the report, Manager Yang opened the door, only to find the Planning Department manager waiting outside. The two exchanged glances, and Manager Yang gave him a look that said, "You’re on your own."
Just as Lauren Shaw arrived at the company, she happened to see Manager Yang reprimanding someone.
The people in the Planning Department were visibly worried—it was clear that today’s atmosphere was far from normal.
Thinking of the fact that Yancy Shaw was also at the company today, she headed straight for the CEO’s office. An employee stopped her along the way.
“Designer Li, are you looking for President Shen?”
Lauren Shaw was puzzled. Nobody had ever tried to stop her like this before.
The employee lowered her voice mysteriously. “You probably haven’t heard yet, but President Shen isn’t around right now. The company is currently being managed by the third young master of the Shen family. I heard he’s quite formidable. He just got here today, and already has the Finance and Planning departments all on edge.”
Lauren Shaw raised her brows at the woman. The third young master of the Shen family? Isn’t that just Yancy Shaw? Is he really that terrifying?
Seeing that Lauren Shaw didn’t respond, the employee thought she must have been shocked.
"You’d better not go see him today. Who knows if he’ll chew you out, too? Both the finance and planning managers just got a scolding themselves."
After hearing this, Lauren Shaw instantly understood. On her way here, she’d actually been worried that he might not be able to handle things. After all, she’d met with the upper management of Shengmei before—they were all crafty, experienced operators.
Since Yancy Shaw had never dealt with these sorts before, she’d feared he’d be bullied. But it was clear her worries were unnecessary. Not only was he handling things just fine, he was doing so with extraordinary ease. Using just the right amount of force to make an example—he’d absolutely nailed it.
The employee was still gossiping away, “Anyway, just be careful for the next while.” Realizing she was talking too much, she rushed to add, “And don’t tell anyone it was me who told you this.”
Lauren Shaw didn’t mind at all. She smiled and nodded, her gaze drifting past to Yancy Shaw, who was walking over to her from a short distance away.
The employee saw him coming and hurriedly pulled Lauren Shaw to the side, helpfully reminding her, “That’s the third young master! Don’t block his way.”
Lauren Shaw stayed put, instead locking eyes with Yancy Shaw. A knowing smile danced in her gaze.
Yancy Shaw stopped beside her and asked in a gentle voice, “Why didn’t you come find me directly?”
“I just arrived.”
Without hesitation, Yancy Shaw took her hand, drawing the attention of dozens of watching eyes behind them.
The employee who’d been gossiping with Lauren Shaw just moments ago stared after them, completely dumbfounded.
Someone nearby couldn’t help but ask, “What’s going on? What’s the third young master doing with Designer Li...?”
Chris Cooper glanced at his watch, then looked up at the group. “That’s the Shen family’s third young mistress.”
Chris Cooper shot the speaker a flat look. “What do you think?”
Everyone gasped, and the office buzzed with gossip.
“My god, that’s actually the Shen family’s third young mistress? I once said some unkind things about her behind her back!”
“I’m doomed. I definitely talked some nonsense about her before.”
“No wonder the third young master looked so familiar. He’s that cardiac surgeon who made headlines online, isn’t he?”
The memory of that trending topic dawned on several people, who now began to quietly worry for their jobs.
Chris Cooper didn’t have time to gossip. There was supposed to be a meeting in half an hour, but now that Lauren Shaw had arrived, it looked like the meeting might start even later.
In her own office, Mandy Snow watched the couple’s interaction. She got to her feet and pulled down the blinds.
With the blinds closed, her eyes immediately turned cold and dark.
She had been prepared to take over the company today; even the senior management was satisfied with this arrangement. She never expected Yancy Shaw to show up out of nowhere, completely ruining her plans and undermining her pride.
The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth. After a moment, she picked up her phone and made a call.
When the call connected, her tone was icy: “Yancy Shaw has taken over Shengmei and is digging into the last two months’ financial reports.”
A pause came from the other end. “If he wants to dig, let him dig. It's not like he'll find anything. Does he really think he can outdo his brother?”
“I underestimated him before. He’s even more cunning than I thought.”
She’d assumed Yancy Shaw was only ruthless, but she hadn’t expected him to be so sharp with company management as well.
“Don’t do anything rash for now. I’ll handle this.”
After hanging up, Mandy Snow sat in her chair, staring pensively out the window.
Once inside the office, Yancy Shaw lifted Lauren Shaw onto the desk. In this position, he only had to lower his head to kiss her.
Lauren Shaw looked up at him. “How’s it going? Settling in okay?”
Yancy Shaw brushed a gentle kiss across her lips. “Did you forget? Your husband isn't just a doctor.”
She had to admit, his identity was hardly limited to that—he was also the enigmatic boss behind Apex International.
“When I walked into the company just now, I heard people saying how impressive you were. What did you do that had everyone so thrilled? Come on, spill it. I want to hear something good.”
Yancy Shaw knew she enjoyed a bit of gossip.
“Most of the people at Shengmei were put in place by Mandy Snow. Even though my second brother was in charge before, a lot of things were handled by her. I just wanted to make a strong first impression today, to remind everyone that Shengmei belongs to the Shen family, not the Snow family.”
Lauren Shaw had known this when she signed her contract—many of the executives were on Mandy Snow’s side. At the time, she’d assumed Mandy Snow was part of the Shen family, so it seemed natural people listened to her. Now she realized things were a lot more complicated than they appeared.
“So what you’re saying is, the eldest sister-in-law is now siding with the Snow family?” For the Shen family to dislike her so much, there had to be a reason.
Yancy Shaw slid his hands around her slim waist, his eyes growing dark.
“Sheng Sheng,* I don’t think now is the time to discuss this.”
Feeling his warm hands at her waist, Lauren Shaw pressed his hand, meeting his deep gaze.
“Then what do you want to discuss?”
He glanced at his watch. “I have a meeting in twenty minutes.”
Lauren Shaw leaned back a little. “All right, I won’t keep you, then.” She started to leave the desk, but Yancy Shaw pulled her back by the waist.
He pressed close, lips at her ear, voice low and teasing.
“Don’t you want to make use of these twenty minutes?”
Lauren Shaw laughed softly. “What can you even do in twenty minutes? You’ve never been a 'twenty-minute' man—that’s far too short for you.”