Chapter 74

74 74. William’s Secret

“How come it’s in your hands, Eva ... oh... Paula?” Misa asked as she took her tablet from Paula’s hand.

“I looked everywhere for it, but couldn’t find it either.” Himawari shrieked, both happy and surprised that Paula had found their tablet.

“I stole it from you, girls,” Paula said in a flat tone, surprising Misa, Himawari, and also Ken.

Paula only chuckled lightly watching the reactions of the three people in front of her. “Why? I was the one who stole it. What’s the problem?” Paula questioned them in a subtle sarcasm. “Look, I even managed to take your designs and transfer them to my tablet.”

Misa and Himawari choked. They exchanged glances, then looked at Paula and Ken in turn. Nervously, the two of them put the tablet into their respective handbags without saying anything.

“Come into my room! I want to talk about something important,” Paula said without a smile. They knew that the things that Paula was talking about must not be something pleasant at all.

They immediately entered Paula’s room and took their seats. Not a single word came out of their mouths. All the words just locked inside their closed lips.

After everyone sat quietly and comforted themselves, Paula then said, “I called you here because I didn’t want this issue to be leaked. Other departments shouldn’t know about this.”

Paula’s eyes stared at her employees carefully one by one. She was sure that they felt guilty. They knew what stupid mistake they contributed to this huge company issue.

.....

“I admit, your country is the safest country I have ever visited. Maybe ... even in the world. I’ve seen someone drop fifty thousand yen at an ATM and no one picked up the money. People just passed by and watched. I lost my purse on the first day here and surprisingly, the next day, my purse came back to me safely,” Paula opened the conversation by praising the safe environment in which her subordinates live and work. “However, this security does not mean providing a guarantee that your belongings will not be lost or taken. Evil people exist. Look what you guys just went through! Misa, Himawari, do you two understand?”

Ken turned to his co-workers and saw the young girls looking down. Neither of them dared to look at Paula’s stern face. It was scary.

“Ken, this could have happened to you too! I saw you left your laptop and tablet carelessly unlocked, while you went to the break room or the toilet,” Paula rebuked Ken who seemed to feel free from accusations. Of course, the man suddenly behaved and did a similar pose as his co-workers.

“What has happened, let it happen. I forgive you. Just don’t let this happen in the future. Don’t you understand, what problem threatens us with your carelessness?” Paula asked her employees again. They nodded in unison, and couldn’t bring themselves to say anything.

“One more thing,” Paula said, looking at Misa and Himawari. “Misa, Hima, you were chosen to work here because you are both qualified and talented. Be confident in your talents. Ken is talented. You guys are as talented as him!”

Misa and Himawari’s hands were shaking. They admit that they had always been too lazy to think of some ideas when Ken was around. They thought that Ken’s idea was better than theirs because Freya and Kato would only care about Ken’s suggestions.

“I will discuss this issue with the chairman later. I don’t want you to get fired. However, I can’t guarantee you won’t be penalized,” Paula said as she gave them a smile to cheer them up. “I will try my best to convince the chairman!”

Shortly after, Paula ended the meeting and then asked them to return to work. They still had an ongoing project to be finished. The project must be completed immediately because the deadline was getting closer.

With messy feelings, Paula returned to her seat-the president’s seat, the black leather chair that a few hours ago still belonged to Kato. She exhaled lightly, feeling like overstepping her father’s authority. However, she was sure her father would accept her decision. Kato was guilty and should be sent to prison. No one doubted it.

As for Freya, she still had to discuss it with her father later. Would the woman be fired or not? She did not dare to make her own decisions before she was officially assigned to replace Kato and announced it to all employees.

However, other things were far more important and must be resolved as soon as possible. The company’s problems hadn’t been solved yet. Paula opened her handbag to pick up an envelope she had received this morning.

Paula sighed softly. She glanced at the watch on her right wrist. In a moment, she had to meet Miyuki at the rooftop, one of the safest places they usually used to meet because it was a quiet place. Paula then put the envelope back into her handbag and got up from her seat.

***

Meanwhile, a well-built man with dark brown hair was seen at the flower shop. His emerald green eyes roamed all the flowers on display, choosing which one he would give his beloved woman today.

A smile of satisfaction spread across his lips that parted at the bottom, turning them into a thin line that curved upwards. Feeling confused, the man then took out his smartphone to send a photo of the flowers to his assistant-to be precise, his former assistant because he had been fired from the CEO position at the family company.

William: “Which flower should I give her today?”

Danica: “Combine red and white so she doesn’t get bored with the gift! I will give you the pic. Don’t forget to add the pralines. I guarantee she will love it! She is always fond of pralines.”

After that, William handed his smartphone to the florist and asked her to arrange flowers as Danica asked. Heart-shaped red rose surrounded by white roses. William then went to the chocolate pralines rack on the corner of the shop. This time, he chose a box of pralines with rose petals on it. It looked like it would go well with the bouquet.

Yesterday, William asked a delivery boy to deliver the flowers. Today, he wanted to send the bouquet himself since he wanted to check Paula’s current state by himself.

Ever since Robert had told him that Paula went to Tokyo for work and didn’t want to be disturbed, he’d been forcing Robert to tell him the truth about Paula and the company’s problems. He was surprised and felt guilty after learning Paula’s reason for going to Tokyo.

It was then, William knew the real reason behind his marriage to Paula ... and also how she made the deal with Robert to increase the profit of the Tokyo branch as long as her father did not withdraw investment from William’s family company.

‘If Paula and I don’t get divorced, you’ll break your agreement with Paula, won’t you?’ William asked Robert back then. ‘She’ll be back in New York, no?’ At that time, William felt sorry for Paula. He felt ashamed and guilty that Paula had to leave New York to protect his family’s company from financial hardship.

Unfortunately, Robert shook his head and with a regretful face said, ‘We have a problem in Tokyo. Inevitably, Paula had to go there to settle our internal affairs. Don’t bother my daughter by taking your troubles there! She already has a lot of burdens.’

At first, William wanted to ignore Robert’s threats. He still wanted to see Paula. However, it turned out that Alex prevented him from seeing Paula because he had unfinished business in New York.

When he was confused, he calmed himself down and came up with the best solution. Finally, he decided to help Paula secretly. He asked a private detective to investigate AJ Tokyo’s matter independently. If Paula’s problem was resolved quickly, she would be back in New York as soon as possible, wouldn’t she? That’s what he thought at the time.

However, many things happened and he decided to meet Paula in person. One of the triggers was Samuel.

Upon arriving in Tokyo, William accidentally ran into Samuel at the airport. At that moment, William felt relieved because Samuel’s return to New York was clear proof of Samuel’s failure. William’s anger was reduced by fifty percent when he saw Samuel’s gloomy face.

It was then that William realized he had to wait for Paula’s business to finish before he could talk about household matters. Otherwise, Paula might kick him the way she kicked Samuel’s ass and forced him to go home in failure.

A loud ringtone from his smartphone interrupted his thoughts. He picked up a call that turned out to be from the private detective he was hired.

“So, the president has been arrested?” William asked enthusiastically. He gave the praline box to the florist and handed her his black card.

“Right.” The private detective disguised as a janitor then told everything that happened in order.

William looked satisfied. He smiled happily, looking at the bouquet in his hand.

“Hey, li’l bun! Your dad is coming!”