Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sam Yates, the boss, rarely came to the company. It wasn’t until one evening, right before off-work time, that I finally met him. He was of medium build, a bit chubby, and looked quite ordinary.

"Sam, this is Jane Cooper, our new colleague," Lydia Lin called out to Sam Yates as he hurried past, introducing me to him. "What’s the rush? You in a hurry to get somewhere?"

Sam Yates looked up at me, a strange glint flashing in his eyes. "If you keep talking nonsense, I’ll ask my dad to go to your house to propose marriage."

I ignored the odd look in Sam Yates’ eyes, casually nodded my head, and went back to typing on my keyboard.

Lydia Lin jumped up and chased after Sam Yates to hit him. "If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll quit too – and I’ll take everyone in the company with me, leaving you as a one-man team."

I could clearly hear the sound of Lydia Lin and Sam Yates bickering in his office.

Sam Yates was a wealthy second-generation heir – the third son of the CEO of a listed company, and he was doted on by all the elders in his family. To many people, Sam Yates was the perfect "catch" for a marriage.

In fact, there were several other wealthy second-generation kids like Sam working at the company. They were all bored at home and had come out to find something to do. The clerk who had resigned earlier was actually the landlord of Sam Yates’ company.

Out of the more than thirty people in the company, fewer than two-thirds were there to work seriously, like me.

After finishing my work, I walked over to Sam Yates’ office and knocked on the door. "Mr. Yates, I’m here for Lydia Lin. I’ve finished my work, so if we leave now, we can just make it to the 7:30 subway."

The office door opened, and Sam Yates and Lydia Lin walked out. Sam was holding a car key in his hand. "Coincidentally, I need to run an errand near your place – I’ll give you two a ride!"

As we got into Sam Yates’ BMW 7 Series, Lydia Lin, who was sitting in the passenger seat, curled her lips. "Sam, you’re not trying to butter someone up, are you? You’re after Jane Cooper, aren’t you? She’s my family’s tenant – you stay away from her."

Sam Yates glanced at me in the backseat through the rearview mirror. "We got a new colleague, and you didn’t even tell me."

I knew I had good looks, but a smart woman didn’t just rely on her appearance. If women were divided into different tiers, those who used their looks to get what they wanted were the lowest.

Women in the middle tier knew how to read the room, use their advantages to form a bond with their target, and then achieve their goals – like getting pregnant to force a marriage.

The top-tier women, however, knew how to use all available resources, maintain a perfect image, and get what they wanted. In other words, they were the "high-level green tea bitches."

"Tsk, I knew you had an agenda," Lydia Lin whispered to Sam, warning him. "Janie’s not like those girls you usually hang out with in your rich kid circles. You better watch out – you might end up getting burned."

I could only see Sam Yates’ profile, but I could tell he didn’t take Lydia’s warning seriously. After all, how could an ordinary girl resist the temptation of a wealthy second-generation heir? What if she got lucky and climbed the social ladder overnight?

I was sure that was exactly what Sam Yates was thinking. I sneered to myself – I knew all the tricks in the rich kids’ playbook. If Sam tried to play games with me, I’d make sure he ended up with a bloody nose.

In fact, even though I was from a small town, my family wasn’t exactly ordinary. My father used to be a wealthy businessman, but he went bankrupt after failing to survive the financial crisis of the 1990s.

Before I turned a teenager, even though my family had gone bankrupt, I still lived a fairly comfortable life.

That changed when my father was lured into picking up some bad habits from the "rich kid circles." He ended up squandering all our remaining savings, fell into a slump, and became an alcoholic.

Wealthy second-generation heirs didn’t tempt me at all – because they could lose everything in the blink of an eye.

As for Sam Yates glancing at me repeatedly through the rearview mirror, I pretended not to notice. "Lydie, Mr. Yates has errands to run. Let’s get off at Xingguang," I said, handing my phone to Lydia Lin to show her the list of movies playing at Xingguang Cinema.

Before Lydia Lin could say anything, Sam Yates spoke up. "As the company’s leader, I should organize a welcome party for the new colleague. How about this – I’ll take you two to finish my errand first, then I’ll treat you to dinner tonight."

"You two-faced jerk," Lydia Lin glared at him. "A welcome party should be for the whole company, right? We can’t do it today – Janie and I already have plans."

Sam Yates showed some gentlemanly manners and dropped Lydia Lin and me off at Xingguang.

Watching Sam Yates’ BMW 7 Series drive away, Lydia Lin said, "Sam Yates is really interested in you!"

"I’m only interested in the salary he pays me every month," I hooked my arm through Lydia Lin’s and dragged her toward the cinema without waiting for her response. Even though Sam had driven away, I was certain he was still keeping an eye on me.

After all, before we got out of the car, he’d asked for my phone number on the pretense of needing to have contact information for all company employees.

As soon as we walked into the cinema, I turned off my phone.

"Playing hard to get?" Lydia Lin held a bucket of popcorn and leaned over to whisper in my ear. "Seems like it’s working."

"Cut it out," I said. "If I had any interest in that sort of thing, Mr. Lin would be a better option than Mr. Yates, right? I’m way more familiar with Mr. Lin than I am with Mr. Yates – he’s even got the ‘geographical advantage.’"

I looked at Lydia Lin seriously. "We haven’t known each other for long, but we get along well. Let me tell you – don’t joke about this kind of thing."

Lydia Lin pouted and apologized quickly, admitting she was wrong. Then she told me that some female tenants had indeed hit on Mr. Lin before, but nothing had come of it. I was the first one who’d openly discussed Mr. Lin’s "geographical advantage" with her.

"I need to butter you up properly – maybe you can get my rent reduced a bit?" I took out my phone to show Lydia Lin my budget. "Let me tell you, with the salary the company pays me, after covering transportation, food, clothes, bags, and makeup, all I’m left with is enough to struggle to pay the rent."

My phone was turned off, so it didn’t light up when I pressed the power button. "I’ll turn it on after the movie, then show you the full breakdown when we get back."