Lucas was speechless. His face was full of exasperation. Was this guy alright? He took the money and then started acting crazy? Lucas calmly replied: "If you want to work overtime, just say it."
The moment Desmond saw that message, he went silent. As expected, a capitalist would always be a capitalist. Better not to kiss the boss’ boots too hard when he was just a workhorse. He’d meant to flatter him but somehow ended up kicking the horse’s leg instead.
And so, under everyone’s envious gaze, Desmond pocketed his two hundred thousand dollars and a few days of leave, and set off for vacation. He had been planning his overseas trip for ages, but because Lucas had been so busy with work, he’d had to follow along with the overtime and kept postponing it.
Once he packed up, he whistled at the others. “I’m off, pals. I’ll bring you souvenirs.”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re the most heartless one,” one of his close colleagues teased.
Desmond immediately let out a playful “Oh–ho!” "Me, heartless? I’m bringing you souvenirs, what more do you want? It’s not like I can take you with me. Unless you get leave from the boss?"
His colleagues were speechless. Looking at Desmond’s smug face, he felt irritated and snapped, “Just go already, stop wasting time here.”
“Alright then, see you, pals.” Strutting off like he owed nothing to anyone, Desmond left the office. The employees couldn’t help groaning. Why was he so free? Who was going to cover his work now?
Lucas had no idea what was happening outside, though he could hear faint voices now and then. He didn’t care, his entire focus buried in the guide. At first, he thought it was just a simple PPT, nothing as miraculous as Desmond had claimed. But the more he read, the more impressive it became.
There were so many small details he had overlooked, yet Desmond had marked them all down. By the time he finished, Lucas even felt he hadn’t given Desmond enough money. Compared to before, his emotional intelligence had truly risen to a whole new level.
Lucas let out a long breath. His eyes were sore, but his heart felt completely full. He rubbed at his brow, the ache spreading, yet he was more energized than usual–sharper than ever. After learning so much useful knowledge, he felt confident that even if Aurora lost her temper with him, he’d be able to coax her back. Especially now, facing Aurora, he felt his own strength was terrifying. Tonight, he would show her what he had learned.
Meanwhile, at the studio, Aurora was laying out the coming tasks. She spoke seriously to Ian. "In the next few days, I’ll be filming the variety show, so I’m leaving the studio in your hands. These two newcomers, I’ve already walked them through the basic workflow. If you need anything, you can assign tasks to them directly. Make sure to coordinate with Daniel’s side as well. Some projects still need site visits, so I’ll have to trouble you with that. If you need support, take Henry with you."
Hannah, standing nearby, looked a little awkward. Wouldn’t that leave her alone in the studio? It had only just begun–was this really okay?
Aurora seemed to notice her unease and reassured her. "I trust your professional ability. You’ll be handling business coordination. Just take care of the clients we bring in, and practice scouting new ones online while managing the business liaisons. If there’s anything you don’t understand, you can go to Mr. Ian."