Chapter 7

Chapter 7

One Marketing Department.

My words made everyone's faces change instantly. They'd originally belonged to different departments, but as soon as I walked into the conference room, Chloe had personally ordered them to merge into the new Marketing Department.

And Chloe had clearly said I was the market consultant.

The conference room fell silent. Everyone had a different look on their face. I didn't relax at all. I vowed to ask Chloe later if she'd set this up just to get back at me for pretending to be Noah. If that was the case, I'd quit on the spot. I was just a small internet café owner, but I could still support myself.

Just then, a woman in a business suit walked into the conference room. "The Marketing Department meeting is adjourned. Market Consultant, please come with me to CEO Morgan's office!"

That's it? I stood there for a second, then turned back to the whiteboard and wrote two words: "Ethan Carter. That's my name. If I decide to stay in the Marketing Department, I'll probably do a lot more things that annoy you. So remember the name of your market consultant—Ethan Carter!"

I followed the woman in the business suit to Chloe's office. To my surprise, Noah was there too. When he saw me, he winked at me repeatedly. "Bro, you're awesome! You shut down those troublemakers with just a few words. My dad said the people in the Marketing Department are usually a bunch of hotheads—and now I see why!"

Was that the point? I glared at Noah. "What are you doing here?"

Noah nodded toward the person sitting behind the desk.

"I asked Noah to come," Chloe said, looking up from the papers she was writing on. She set down her pen. "I was really angry that you and Noah tricked me."

"And then?" I asked, annoyed. "Was that little stunt just to get back at me? Or was it a test?" I knew pretending to be Noah and going on that date with her was wrong, but back then, Chloe had been a stranger to me—Noah was my friend.

Chloe shook her head. "I'm not that petty." She picked up the papers she'd been writing on and handed them to me. "This is an offer letter. I'm officially hiring you as the market consultant for my company."

Embarrassment struck again!

I'd marched in here, ready to confront Chloe, and she'd handed me an offer letter instead. I was so embarrassed I wanted to dig a whole villa out of the ground and lock Noah in it. Couldn't he have sent me a heads-up first?

Noah coughed awkwardly, scratching his nose. "Wenwen, if this is company business, why did you ask me to come?"

Chloe gave him a sideways glance, sounding annoyed. "You brushed me off, so you owe me a welcome dinner. We're having a welcome party for the new employee tonight—and you're paying, Mr. Zhou."

"Paying's no problem," Noah said, readily agreeing. Money meant nothing to him. Besides, taking his girlfriend home had gone surprisingly smoothly—his dad had even said he wouldn't interfere in his personal life anymore. Noah gave me a silent "OK" gesture.

I didn't get it. I looked at him in confusion.

Chloe walked around from behind her desk and handed me the offer letter personally. "When we talked at the internet café, I could tell you're really talented. My company needs people like you—people with real skills. That's why I decided to hire you."

"See, Wenwen? You made the right choice," Noah said, slinging his arm around my shoulders and winking at me again. "Ethan's got great instincts. Back when we were in school, I used to follow him when he invested in stocks. It was just small-time stuff, but we earned enough to cover our living expenses and tuition all on our own."

Noah gave my shoulder a squeeze. "You've got good taste too!"

The offer letter was covered in a velvet fabric. I opened it and saw the official stamp on it. I didn't notice the meaning behind Noah's winks.

Holding the offer letter, I felt like I was in a dream. "I feel like I've been tricked," I said. "I opened Jiayue with Noah—spent all our 'big money'—because I didn't want to work a 9-to-5 job."

"As a consultant, you don't have to clock in and out strictly," Chloe said, holding out her delicate hand. "But you need to keep your phone on at all times. If the company needs you, we have to be able to reach you right away. Is that a problem?"

I stared at her fair, ivory-like hand, frozen for a second. Flexible working hours? Was there really such a good deal in the world?

I'd never believed in "free lunches falling from the sky."

And now, I couldn't tell if this was a free lunch or a trap—but it had landed right in my lap. While I was still in a daze, Noah nudged me with his shoulder. "What are you spacing out for? A pretty girl's offering to shake your hand!"

I quickly reached out and shook her hand. "Then thank you for the opportunity, CEO Morgan!"

It was a short handshake—no extra warmth, no awkwardness. Just a formal, professional shake.

Chloe pulled her hand back quickly, smiling. "Welcome to the team!"

Holding the offer letter, I blurted out without thinking: "CEO Morgan, I don't work for free! What about my salary?" As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to bite my tongue off.