บท 85: Barged In

Gritting his teeth at the blackened phone screen in his hand, he cursed, "I need to see your CEO!"

Michel smiled politely, "Director Chu, our CEO is busy. She will not be attending any guests without prior appointments. If you wish to see her today, then you must wait until her meetings are finished. If not, then you may schedule an appointment with the earliest time slot in three weeks."

"Three weeks?! By the time I get to see her, the investments would be swimming in another company's field! Who does she think she is?" Director Chu jumped off the couch angrily and sped towards the CEO's office.

"Director Chu! You can't go in there!" Michel and Ashley attempted blocking his path, but couldn't. He shoved them aside; almost knocking them to the floor. As if she had already expected his aggressive behavior, Lily calmly continued marking pages of items she liked from the magazine.

Even when the door was forced open by him, she didn't raise her head to look at his direction. Michel and Ashley quickly rushed in and apologized for failing to stop him.

"Sorry, Miss. Jiang! We'll take him out right now!" Her secretaries tried to grab his arms and drag him out. Unfortunately, he was too heavy for them to pull away. During this entire time, Lily had the back of her chair facing the door. Therefore, Director Chu hadn't realized her identity.

"Miss. Jiang, your father created this company to earn money and not lose profits. With Chu Entertainment's current popularity, how could you reject our proposal? We have many potential artists!" Director Chu tried his best to throw out name cards of popular artists under his company to persuade the woman behind the chair.

His eyes quickly recognized the front cover of the latest vogue in her hands. Smiling brightly, he raised his voice by a tad in a bragging tone. "Miss. Jiang, the model on the front cover of your current vogue is Lily Jiang. She is one of the most talented artists that I've groomed. If you reconsider the proposal, you will definitely not regret it! She is a huge money tree! I guarantee she will be winning awards home!"

He knew Lily's name had been on the top searches online. Many high-end companies wanted her to become their brand ambassador. When Lily heard his words, she smirked and turned her chair around to greet him. Smiling, she tossed the glossy magazine onto her desk.

"Greetings, Director Chu. Thank you for your compliment, but have you forgotten that I'm blacklisted right now? Since my jobs had been taken away, where does your confidence come from that your company is worth our investments?" Lily sat up straight and folded her arms as she mocked his ridiculous words.

"Y..You..Why are you..here?" He almost lost his balance when he saw her face.

"Ah, Director Chu is a very busy man. You just mentioned my name, yet you didn't realize my surname was Jiang? Lawrence Jiang is my father. Shocking?" Her scoffed laughter filled the room as she looked at his stunned expression. Meanwhile, her eyes landed on her two secretaries.

She noticed the reddened spot on Ashley's wrist and asked, "Did Director Chu hurt any of you?"

"Ah, not really. He just shoved us out of his way. We didn't fall or anything." Ashley waved her hands and Michel nodded in agreement.

"Was he the one who grabbed your wrist? It's red." Ashley looked at the marks on her wrist and rubbed it lightly.

"Maybe when he shoved me earlier..."

"Alright. As the CEO of Jiang Corps, I do not allow anyone to harm my employees. Since Director Chu is the one who caused the mark around her wrist, please take responsibility for it. Ashley, go to the hospital and make sure everything is alright. Send the medical bills to Chu Entertainment. I'll keep track of the payments. If he doesn't provide compensation, a lawyer will meet him at his office."

"Ah, there's really no need. It's not aching or anything." Ashley didn't want to bother with a small bruise like this.

Lily furrowed her brows, "But my heart is feeling unsettled. What if there is a hidden fracture because of his grip? Sometimes, a small piece of bone could break away, and you won't notice it until later. If you don't get a proper scan and body check, you may suffer loss on your side. Besides, he shoved you hard enough to leave fingerprint marks on your arm. You need ointment."

Director Chu almost choked when he heard Lily's words. 'She really wants to take money from my wallet! It was just a small shove and she wants me to pay? That secretary isn't even bleeding!'

Seeing Ashley still standing at the same spot, she crossed her legs. "Ashley, don't worry about your paycheck. I won't deduct a cent since I'm the one sending you to the hospital. Remember to go through every patient examination available. Michel, you should go as well. Don't worry about your paycheck. A shove could be a big deal. Go, go. Director Chu will pay for it."

Lily's words were straightforwardly against Director Chu. At this point, even a blind person could tell she wanted to bring trouble to Director Chu. Since their boss wanted them to cooperate, how could they refuse? Besides, they did get shoved earlier.

"Then...we'll go now." Ashley and Michel said as they exited the room. Before they left, Lily had said, "Ah right, go to Lin Hospital for the examinations since they have the most updated labs. I'll contact the hospital to prepare every test for you two. Also, call security to come to my office before you leave. Thank you."

"Lily! Don't you think your joke is going too far? I only poked them slightly, and you had them go to the hospital to get scans? You're ripping me off! You're taking revenge on me for freezing your jobs! And you chose the most expensive hospital too!" He pointed at her with reddened cheeks.

"Director Chu, did you or did you not shove my secretaries? Yes or no? Even if you didn't shove them, you must have touched them. I can have Ashley conduct a DNA fingerprint test to confirm whether you did or not since she's going to the hospital anyways. What do you think?" Lily started tapping her finger against her arm.

"So what if I touched them? Forget it, and I'll pay for those fees! Happy? Lily, you... Did you treat business affairs like children playing in the sandbox? Stop joking and approve the proposal for Chu Entertainment. I'll stop blacklisting you and return all your jobs to you. I will still hire you, and you can continue as a part timer. Give the approval for the proposal for investment! " His knuckles surfaced as his fists tightened.

"Excuse me Director Chu; this is during business hours, and I am the CEO of Jiang Corps. We are not familiar with each other for you to address me by my first name. This is basic manners, and I do not wish to repeat myself a second time. As for the investment project you are talking about, I do not plan on approving it for your company no matter what sweet drops you add to the proposal. Your company does not qualify."

"You understand it better than anyone. In the past two years, your company failed to nurture potential artists. None of your artists received any awards. They weren't even nominated to be a part of any awards. With just this point alone, Chu Entertainment does not reach the qualification for this investment."

Lily continued speaking points to shut his mouth. "From previous contracts, your company have already breached and failed to meet our requirements. You should feel lucky we didn't pursue legal actions against your company, yet you are boasting about your company's achievements. Sure enough, even if I am not part of Jiang Corps, you would use underhanded methods to gain the investments."

"For example, you attempted using my name to guarantee a promising future for your company. This alone is enough for me to sue you for scamming purposes. Since you blacklisted me and stopped all of my jobs, I wouldn't appear on any covers, advertisements and more. In addition, you expect me to come back and beg you for a full-time contract. Even if you received the investments because of my name, you have been dishonest with your business client."

Before Director Chu could say anything, Lily raised her voice by a tad to prevent him from speaking. "I forgot to mention the fact that the full-time contract would never happen. So, you are lying to your client. Your business ethics and low methods is indeed impressive. I applaud you for having the courage to barge into my office and try to get the proposal approval. Did you think you're the only entertainment company in this industry? Or did you think your company is made of gold?"

Rendered speechless by her words, Director Chu stood like a statue with a terrible expression. Without the investments from Jiang Corps, he would lose almost half his resources. He will be doomed! At this moment, he suddenly recalled Lily's words that he would regret it.

"Now, who is the one treating business affairs like playing in a sandbox? My father created this company to earn profits, not to lose money. So, tell me. Why should I approve the proposal? I'll give you one minute."

"That's absurd! Such insufficient time. How could I say anything?"

"Thirty seconds to think and thirty seconds to list out points. You're a business man. Every minute is money. You've wasted all your time earlier. Let's see... 50 seconds left." She started a countdown and watched the man drench in his sweat.