262 A special favour

"Jia Li, last evening, I just wanted you to know how I felt. I appreciated your honesty and I will return the favour. Yes, I was disappointed to know your reply but I am glad that we had this conversation. I hate living with "what ifs". So if it is alright with you, can we go back to being the super smart boss and his efficient assistant? I won't cross my boundaries and make sure you don't either," he said it all with an affable smile.

Jia Li looked at the kind man in front of her and gave a grateful nod in return. She was relieved that he wasn't sulking, nor was he trying to pretend that all was hunky dory.

"Thank you, Mr. Ying," she said softly.

Shanghai

"Mr. Wang, my name is Samantha. I couldn't meet you the other day when I had visited the office," Sam bowed slightly to the elder gentleman who sat in front of her.

"It is nice to meet you, Ms. Li. I must admit that I was surprised when you requested to meet me privately before the shareholders' meet. Tell me how can I help you?" Mr. Wang said.

He was hesitant about being drawn into the family feud of the Li family. Given a choice, he would have preferred not going into a partnership with them. But the business needed stabilisation and funds ASAP. As a result, he found himself sitting across the young woman.

"Mr. Wang, I am sorry. I won't take much of your precious time. I have not had much time to prepare before tomorrow's meeting but here are few of the ideas and thoughts which I gathered and wanted to bring to you beforehand. I am sure you would be wondering as to why did I bring this here instead of going to my father. By now, I think you would have surmised that the relations aren't congenial in the Li household. But please don't worry. I will try my level best that the ripples of those do not spread beyond the boundaries of Li Mansion," she handed over a thick report to him.

"MR. Wang, I am not here to curry a special favour from you. My only request is for you to give it an impartial read. If there is any merit in the suggestions made by me, I believe that you would be fair enough to consider them, and maybe incorporate them. That's all. Thank you for your time today," with that she got up and bowed to him before walking out of his cabin.

Mr. Wang leaned back in his chair and stroked his chin thoughtfully. After a minute, he picked up the file left by her.

Next Morning, Li Mansion

"Where is Sam? Is she not ready yet? She is scheduled to attend the shareholders meet with me today," Li Yichen frowned at the breakfast table.

"Uh, the staff informed me that she went out early this morning," his wife informed him.

Muttering under his breath unhappily, Mr. Li gulped down a cup of coffee and got up from the table.

"Where are you going? You haven't eaten a single thing," she nagged him gently.

"I don't have the time. I don't want her to reach the place early and try to pull any other stunt," with that, he stormed out of the house.

"Dad showed me the report which you had left with him yesterday. Quite impressive. I liked the in-depth research which you have conducted on our company and the competitors. Though we may not agree with all the points, there are definitely some things which we would like you to propose in the meeting today. I have earmarked them in the report," Wei had invited Sam for an early breakfast meeting before the shareholders' conference.

Dressed in a conservative light grey pants and matching jacket, she hardly bore a resemblance to the wild girl from before. Wei was having a tough time trying to reconcile the two images.

"I am deeply grateful to you and your father for the giving the report its due. Having said that, I have another request to make," she started hesitatingly.

At his raised eyebrow, she smoothed the non-existing crease from her pants to bid for a moment to compose herself.

She drew a calming breath and said, "it would be better if the proposal was put up from your end rather than mine. If I was to, err, put up these suggestions, they may meet some resistance."

At her cryptic reply, Wei seemed to ponder over it and didn't respond immediately.

Looking at him from under her lashes, she couldn't help but admire the way the dark blue suit fitted him. He looked every inch the business tycoon that he was supposed to be. The vulnerable man from the other night had been replaced by the confident, sexy man who sat in front of her.