“Do you have an answer, Miss Chen?”

I expected Miss Jiang to show some hostility towards me, but I never thought that she would try to embarrass me when Cedric introduced me to the office. This woman was extremely petty.

I raised an eyebrow at her question.

“That question must have surprised you.” Miss Jiang continued. She folded her hands across her full chest, making her pink office suit look like it was about to burst. Why was she wearing clothes that were two sizes too small? “But please understand. The company isn’t doing well. We needed competent people that can help us save the company. However, your background is in IT, not marketing. So, I am really curious if you know anything about lingerie at all.”

I smiled at her. To be honest, I never expected her to be this direct. But then again, she must have thought that I got this position because I know Cedric. And maybe her jealousy was more than just professional.

“Miss Jiang— “ Cedric looked mortified. His wife and his maybe-girlfriend were arguing in front of everyone!

“Mr. Lin, it’s all right.” I stepped in smoothly. “I understand Miss Jiang’s concern.” I know that Cedric wanted to help me but, in this case, it was unnecessary. I smiled at Miss Jiang. “So, Miss Jiang is wondering if I qualify as a director. Is that right?”

“Right,” she answered almost immediately. A smug smile played across her face.

“Well, I have no experience in marketing.” That was a fact. “However, my experience in branding is sufficient. I am also well-versed in research and development appropriations and profit-loss projections.” These are the things that I used to do for Evan.

“Miss Chen is right. This is only one of the reasons why I chose her as our new marketing director.” Cedric said. “I believe we need someone to oversee the entire marketing department. Someone good in strategies and implementing marketing campaigns.”

I looked at Cedric as I wondered if that was the case. How did he know I am good with strategies? Perhaps he only said that to help me? I looked at Miss Jiang and just as I expected, she looked like she had eaten something nasty. She glared at me without hiding the hostility in her gaze.

“Well, as long as she is competent enough.” Miss Jiang said. “That’s fine.”

I gave her a tight-lipped smile, and Cedric ended the meeting, and I immediately went to my office. I didn’t have time for lunch since I still needed to check the files in my emails. This is my first day of work and honestly, I didn’t want to disappoint Cedric.

“Miss Chen?”

“Mr. Peng.” I eyed the paper bag in Mr. Peng’s hands, wondering what it was.

“Mr. Lin asked me to give this to you.”

“What is this?” I opened the bag and returned my gaze to Mr. Peng. “Lunchboxes?”

“Mr. Lin said he made lunch. There is no need for you to go to the canteen anymore.”

“I—” I didn’t see him cook this morning. “Thank you.” I immediately opened the lunch boxes and was greeted by a familiar smell.

“He said that he kept it in the car to keep it warm.”

How thoughtful.

The box was already insulated though. Why keep it in his car? The smell of sweet and sour pork stopped me from overthinking. Just one look at the dish and my stomach growled like a starved beast.

Miss Jiang chose that moment to take advantage of our open-door policy and waltzed right into the room.

“Mr. Peng… I wasn’t expecting you here.”

“Miss Jiang, I came here to give Miss Chen some documents that she needed to review.”

This woman walked inside my office like she owned it. Her pink tweed dress immediately caught my attention. This was different from what she was wearing earlier. Did she just change her clothes? The dress was something similar to a dress that Evan bought me a few weeks back. It was a limited edition that was not yet available in Shanghai.

“I see…” The woman looked at me, a smirk already plastered on her face. This coupled with her gorgeous blond hair reminded me of some antagonist in some rom-com movie. “Are you aware that bringing smelly food inside the office is forbidden? We have an open-door policy. Meaning, everyone here can smell your food.”

“That— Miss Jiang this is Miss Chen’s first day— “

“It’s all right Mr. Peng.” I interrupted. “I didn’t know there was a rule like that.”

“Didn’t you read the company manual before you started working here?”

“No. I didn’t.”

“Then you should quickly throw it out.”

“Unfortunately, I can’t do that.” Oh, screw it. I’m trying to be better in this life, but I’m not trying to be perfect. “If Miss Jiang thinks that the food smells bad, then please throw yourself out.” I was surprised to hear my own comeback.

“What did you— “

“Leave my office. Isn’t that a simple solution to a simple problem?” I wasn’t planning to look for any trouble but that didn’t mean I was going to back down either. And the fact that she was claiming to be my husband’s girlfriend was a bit… irritating.

“You— Having lunch in your office is— “she stopped midway. I wondered if she was going to tell me that it’s prohibited to eat inside the office. She must have realized the absurdity of her own words. Miss Jiang furrowed her sharp brows, her red lips twisted. “Anyway, since you refused to meet me, I came here to personally give you this.”

I raised an eyebrow. Her tone sounded cordial but the meaning was clear. First, she emphasized the fact that I refused to meet her. Second, she personally came here to give me some files. Her voice was loud enough, however, that everyone outside could hear them. Yep, I really should ask Cedric to put the door back.

I chuckled. In my past life, I had become immune to the women who masked their words with friendliness and sweet words. Miss Jiang was the opposite of those women. She was bold, arrogant. She was raised to become the next CEO of her family’s company so I wasn’t surprised about this attitude. “Miss Jiang… you didn’t have to do that.”

“What do you mean?”

“While I appreciate the effort of personally delivering the files, Mr. Lin already sent an email to everyone that includes my email address. You could have easily sent the files to my email. Especially since Miss Jiang is a very busy person.”

“That— ”

“Oh, no need to be embarrassed about not reading Mr. Lin’s email. I understand that you are very busy. Checking your email would have taken you so much time.”

I didn’t hide the sarcasm in my voice as I flashed her a gentle smile.