"Remember all I told you last night. You can't bow to anyone nor respond to anyone's greeting," Grace muttered under her breath immediately after they entered the office building.
"You can't be rude to anyone either. You have to be as polite and friendly as possible. If you want me to act like you, then you have to act like me. You can't act like Grace anymore," Ann told her quietly.
"Friendly, huh? Fine," Grace said and turned to smile and bow at the staff greeting as they hurriedly walked past them. Ann, on the other hand, maintained a calm but cold expression as she led the way to the office.
"Everyone, come into my office for a brief meeting. Right now!" Ann ordered before walking into the office.
Grace smiled in approval as she stepped back to allow Ann to run the show. Before Ann could even take her seat, they all gathered in the office.
Ann glanced at Grace briefly before turning to look at the others, "You may sit down," She said with a brief nod before flipping open a book in front of her and pretending like she was reading it.
"I'm sure the chairman must have told you the reason for my absence these past days... not that I owe any of you an explanation. But I do hope you didn't slack in your duties in the course of my absence," Ann said before crossing her legs.
"Now, without wasting my time, I'll love to introduce you to Miss Ann Peters here. She is my personal assistant. I'll suggest you accord her the same respect as you do to me," Ann said, signaling Grace to say something.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Ann Peters, and I hope to work well with every one of you," Grace said, bowing her head slightly.
"You're welcome, Miss--"
"That will be all. You can do the introductions outside. I need to get back to work," Ann said, interrupting the young man who seemed like he was trying to flirt with Grace.
They all trooped out of the office, leaving just Grace and Ann alone. "I'm impressed. For a moment there, I thought it was actually me speaking," Grace said with a smile.
"You did well too. I didn't know you could bow to anyone," Ann said before standing up from the seat and taking off the heel she was wearing.
"What are you doing?" Grace asked with a frown.
"I'm sorry, I just can't get used to wearing these heels for long. My leg is aching," Ann explained.
"You'll have to learn. Everyone knows Jiang Grace loves her heels," Grace said quietly.
"Now, what am I to do today?" Ann asked Grace, turning in her seat to look at her.
Grace noticed some of the staff were looking at them through the glass, so she quickly drew the blinds close to stop them from seeing them.
"You have nothing to worry about. I'll tell you everything you have to do and say. First, I have to look through my schedule," Grace said, opening her drawer to take out her office notepad.
"Oh shoot! You have to attend a meeting with some foreign investors. We're launching a new line of lingerie, and they want to see some samples and also hear what we have to say," Grace explained with a frown.
"I'm sure you can handle it," Ann said nervously.
"No, I can't. It would be out of character if I let someone else take the lead at something as important as this," Grace explained.
"Well, there is always a first time. I'm sure you can convince them," Ann said. She had no intention of going there to make a fool of herself.
"Ann, this is my life. You can't mess it up. You'll have to do this on my behalf. We still have some hours left, and I'll make sure to teach you all you need to know," Grace told her gently.
"You're sure I can do this? You have first to promise me you won't blame me if I screw things up," Ann said reluctantly.
"You have nothing to worry about. Let's get started," Grace said before pushing forward a little whiteboard that was hidden behind her chair, which she usually used to process her thoughts.
***********
"Where are you going to?" Mrs. Jiang asked Zoe who was dressing up to leave the house.
Zoe blinked at her mother in surprise. Her mother hardly came around to her room, so why was she here now?
"I'm going to the company. I'm meeting up with sis," Zoe said after a small pause.
"When do you intend to start working at the office like your sister? You're not getting any younger, you know?" Mrs. Jiang asked, moving farther into the room to sit at the edge of the bed.
"When you do as I requested. I don't mind managing a dance agency," Zoe said as she turned to look at her mother. She needed her to leave so she could get her things together into her backpack.
"And I already told you I'm not going to let you do anything dance-related," Mrs. Jiang told her.
"Fine. So I'll just play around the house and office until a rich and handsome heir sweeps me off my feet," Zoe said dreamily, making her mother glare at her.
"You're distracting me. I need to hurry up," Zoe told her with a polite frown.
"I guess that's my cue to leave. I'm going shopping later. Do you need something?" She asked as she stood up to leave.
"No, I don't. Thanks for asking," Zoe said with a smile and waited for her mother to leave before opening her backpack.
She quickly put in the breast chest binder she had gotten the previous day alongside male tops and shorts.
She was wearing a simple short plain gown and unisex white trainers shoes. She looked at her hair in the mirror and decided she needed a haircut.
She quickly hurried out of the house with her backpack in hand. She didn't need her mother seeing her and asking what she had in the bag with her. Neither her father nor Grace actually knew that the dance academy she had registered at was for males only. That was the kind of dance she was actually interested in.