Chapter 11
Back in the car, Sophia repeatedly refused the gifts, saying she didn't dare accept them; but as Alex insisted, forcing the bags into her hands until she had no choice but to accept.
In truth, his thinking was simple: managing the Royalist Group would be impossible without Sophia's help.
Compared to that, these bags meant nothing; it was just investment in his eyes, nothing more than that.
After loading everything, they drove toward a towering office building, where a long queue had already formed in front of it.
Two neat lines of people stood respectfully, clearly waiting for someone important; passersby couldn't help but stop to stare in shock.
"Look, isn't that a senior executive from the Royalist Group? I've seen him on TV!"
"Isn't that the head of engineering? Why is he here?"
"Those people… they're all high-level bosses from the Royalist Group. Who on earth are they waiting for?"
The scene was shocking, as this high calibre guy had been standing for nearly two hours! Making people wonder who could make these powerful figures wait so long willingly?
Soon, the red Pagani appeared with a deep, beast-like roar and the moment the car came into view, everyone straightened up and stared at the car door, knowing the real big shot was about to step out.
With countless pairs of eyes now locked onto the fiery red Pagani, the gull-wing doors rose slowly like wings, opening with a smooth, dazzling motion.
"Fuck, I just realized — that's a Pagani Huayra!"
"It's real! Holy cow! Who the hell owns this thing? First time I've ever seen one in person!"
"Its whole body is made of carbon fiber. Just one maintenance session costs tens of thousands. Normal people like us can't even dream of affording the car itself!"
Passersby kept exclaiming in awe, as this level of luxury was completely beyond their imagination.
When Sophia Blake stepped out first with her long, slender legs, every man present felt their heart quickening up a bit.
'Is she the owner?'
The cold, aloof aura, alluring face, tall and curvaceous figure — she was a beauty in her own right, and in front of her, everyone present felt a deep sense of inferiority; making them even doubt whether anyone in the world was worthy of such a woman.
But then, everyone watched as Sophia quickly walked around to the driver's side and respectfully opened the door for the man inside.
Her humble, deferential posture was clearly genuine.
"Hiss—"
A collective gasp swept through the crowd, as they couldn't understand why such a stunning beauty would lower herself like this.
'Could it be.' A shocking possibility flashed through their minds, but they barely dared to believe it.
"Boss, these are all the executives of our group," Sophia said with a faint smile.
"Mm," Alex replied, nodding with satisfaction.
The executives looked energetic and confident regardless of age. With talent like this, the Royalist Group was clearly in good hands.
The onlookers, however, were completely stunned, they had been wrong the entire time!
The young man in ordinary clothes was the real boss; he was the owner of the Pagani, the one who had made all these high-level Royalist Group executives wait standing in line for nearly two hours!
Everyone exchanged shocked glances, their assumptions had been completely shattered; if the breathtaking beauty wasn't the owner, then what was this young man's true background?
Just as they were lost in confusion, all the Royalist Group executives suddenly shouted in unison:
"Welcome, Boss!"
The words weren't shouted loudly, but they hit everyone like a hammer to the chest.
Boss?
Many people's eyes went wide, their expressions frozen in disbelief. They trembled as they looked at each other, unable to process what they had just heard.
An unusual silence fell over the area; then came the uproar. Gasps filled the air one after another as people stared with wide eyes.
This young man was actually the CEO of the Royalist Group? But why had they never heard of him before?
If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, they would never have believed it. By the time they recovered and tried to take photos, Alex had already entered the building with Sophia.
Inside the Royalist Building, every employee looked at Alex with deep respect. When they saw how young the new boss was, they were equally shocked.
'This young guy now controlled an eighty-billion-dollar conglomerate? How on earth had he done it?'
Normally, young people in high positions were looked down upon; but Alex carried an air of mystery and unshakable confidence that made him impossible to read.
As the new boss, Alex toured the company to get a feel for its internal operations.
In truth, he didn't need to do much, after all, he had been just a small clerk before. Managing a massive group wasn't his expertise.
He would simply leave it to the professionals and enjoy being the boss, so just after the tour, one thing suddenly occurred to him — resignation.
He was now worth tens of billions; there was no reason to stay connected to that company as a lowly clerk.
"Might as well go through the formal process and say a proper goodbye to the past," Alex smiled slightly and drove the Pagani back to his old company.
...
Before he even reached his floor, he ran into a colleague in the lobby.
"Alex? Where have you been? You're late again — the manager was looking for you!" A man warned him anxiously.
Looking at the man Alex smiled at him, this man's name was Ethan Cole. He had been with the company for five years; with his ability and seniority, he should have been promoted to manager long ago.
Unfortunately, he was honest and didn't know how to play office politics, so he was still just a regular employee.
He and Alex had always gotten along well, so he was genuinely worried for him.
"Don't worry. He can't do anything now," Alex patted Ethan's shoulder calmly and stepped into the elevator with him.
hearing those words, Ethan was taken aback, because for some reason today's Alex felt a little different. But he couldn't quite put his finger on why.
Slowly the elevator rose to the fifteenth floor — Room 1503 and the moment Alex walked into the office, his colleagues' eyes turned toward him with various expressions: mockery, schadenfreude, and ridicule.
"Yo, this guy actually dared to show up? You've been gone so long I thought you'd grown guts and quit," a woman in a short skirt sneered, holding a folder.
This little shit's name was Fiona Reed. She was the company's well-known social butterfly and extremely close to the manager, there was even a rumor that she had an illicit relationship with him, though nothing was confirmed.
Thanks to the manager's favor, she acted arrogantly around the office.
"I don't know if I have guts or not, but I'm sure you know very well whether you have or not?" Alex glanced at her and chuckled, while whispering, 'To do it with an old rag.'
Fiona's face turned ashen with rage. She never expected the usually submissive little clerk to talk back like this.
"I really don't understand why you're still here. No amount of big talk changes the fact that you're a worthless loser! I'm calling the manager right now. Just wait to get thrown out!" Fiona hissed viciously before turning and twisting her hips as she went to fetch the manager.