Chapter 396
“Wait, I’m a shareholder too, even a small one. I don’t need you to pay me, right?”
Alarieka slapped Yao’s arm: “Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and work for me.”
Yao blushed, gritted his teeth: “Got it, let go of me first? But don’t you know men and women shouldn’t touch? How can I find a partner like this?”
“You want to find a partner?” Alarieka scoffed, opened the passenger door, and pushed Yao in. “Then you better think about how to deal with your grandpa.”
Alarieka walked around the front and sat in the driver’s seat.
She lowered her head to fasten the seatbelt. Yao leaned his elbow on the console, hand propping his chin, supporting his handsome face, a sly smile on his lips, staring intently: “What, I said I want to find a partner, are you jealous?”
Alarieka started the car expressionlessly: “If you’re brain-dead, go to the hospital. I’m not a doctor; I can’t cure you.”
Yao clicked his tongue disdainfully: “A woman with no charm.”
Alarieka gripped the steering wheel, “Talking so much is useless, remember what you promised me.”
Yao asked knowingly: “What did I promise you?”
Alarieka smiled threateningly: “Keep playing dumb and I’ll go back and tell your grandpa you’re still single, that we’re fake.”
Yao raised his voice: “No, I was joking, how could I not remember?”
Yao immediately pledged loyalty: “Don’t worry, I won’t go anywhere. I'll work honestly at your company, okay?”
Alarieka hummed: “That’s more like it.”
This was their agreement.
A few days ago, Yao rushed to find her and asked her to pretend to be his girlfriend. Alarieka refused outright, but Yao offered to work for her for free for a month.
It was hard not to be tempted.
Yao was highly capable, whether in coding, social skills, or resources, he was top-notch.
When she first started the company, Shi Yao had been a tremendous help without demanding any dividends. While others might see this as a blessing, Alarieka Huston understood the underlying reasons, leaving her with mixed emotions.
Sure enough, just as the company began gaining traction, Shi Yao vanished again – unreachable by phone, unresponsive to messages.
His refusal to accept dividends stemmed from a desire to remain unbound.
Alarieka wrestled with wanting to keep Shi Yao while not hindering his pursuits.
She felt torn; his talent was rare, his skills far exceeding his arrogance.
So when Shi Yao proposed his terms, she agreed immediately.
A month of his time was invaluable.
With the company preparing for IPO, his expertise would prove crucial.
Alarieka promptly hauled him back to headquarters, shoving him into a chair at her office desk.
Her programmers were summoned for emergency overtime – remote workers included. She ensured fair compensation: triple their daily wage plus fully reimbursed travel and meals.
The critical bug stumped even her team of master’s graduates from top universities. With Jaylene and Nie Guanyu on a southern business trip, Alarieka had only received a vague alert about the issue.
To expedite fixes, she’d resorted to dragging Shi Yao in.
Within an hour, they’d patched the bug and handed it to the testing team.
Alarieka took a coffee from her secretary, offering it to Shi Yao: “Thanks for the hustle. Dinner’s on me tonight.”
“No way,” Shi Yao scoffed, pushing the cup away. “Last thing I need is another forced overtime.”
“Suit yourself,” Alarieka shrugged. “Head out first. I’ll stay awhile.”
As Shi Yao passed behind her chair, he mischievously ruffled her neatly styled hair into chaos.
“Later, workaholic.”
She spun around to glare, but he dodged her swat with lightning reflexes.
After he left, Alarieka meticulously reviewed the newly written code line by line – a years-old habit born of relentless caution.
Chapter 397