Polly Song didn't go out for dinner, nor did she order room service from the hotel; Victoria Parker only found out after she was done with work.
When he arrived at Polly Song's room, he saw papers scattered all over the floor. Polly had her hair pinned up with a pencil and was busy sketching at the desk, with more discarded papers at her feet.
Victoria didn't enter to disturb her. Instead, he leaned against the wall in the hallway, watching the woman inside as she frowned and scratched her head. So, she could be serious about work after all.
Victoria stood for a moment, then turned to leave, asking the hotel to send up a late-night snack. Polly glanced up at him, chewing her pencil, then resumed her drawing.
After dealing with work matters, Victoria checked the time, and it was already 2 a.m.
He wanted to rest but inexplicably decided to check if Polly Song was asleep.
When he went in, he saw more waste paper on the floor, with no difference from when he was there earlier, except that the late-night snack on the desk was now stone cold.
Victoria frowned and went over to grab Polly Song's wrist, "Come with me."
"What are you doing, I was..."
Victoria turned back, took the Bluetooth headset from her ear, tossed it on the sofa, and led her out.
On the other end of the phone, Emma Turner and her senior were staring at each other, puzzled. What's going on?
"Grace Ginger won't be in any danger, will she?" The senior was quite worried.
Emma yawned and stretched lazily, "I think we should call it a night. Pulling an all-nighter is out of the question."
After all, someone now had someone to look after them, unlike them.
The senior was confused, "What are you talking about? Do you know who Grace Ginger is with?"
"Those kids' daddy." Emma looked at him, said her piece, and left.
The senior moved his lips as if to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.
Polly Song was taken back to Victoria's room and directly thrown into the kitchen, "I'm hungry, make me something."
Polly barely regained her balance and heard what he said, "What did you say? You want me to cook for you? Are you out of your mind, or am I sick?"
Victoria lowered his eyes, unbuttoned his cuffs, and rolled up his sleeves.
Polly took a step back, "What are you doing?"
Was he about to hit her?
"Cook a meal, and I'll reduce the contract term by a month."
Polly paused her retreat, a month less would mean they had only ten months and fifteen days left, "That works for me."
In that case, wouldn't she get divorced faster if she cooked a few more meals?
Thinking this, Polly felt better. It's just cooking, after all.
She's never seen a pig run but surely has eaten pork, hasn't she?
Victoria watched as Polly started preparing with some semblance of order. Who knew she could cook...
Ten minutes later, Victoria still hadn't sent out his email.
"Ah—"
Polly suddenly screamed. Victoria quickly ran over, saw the flaming pan, pulled her away, and covered it with a lid, surveying the kitchen chaos.
Victoria: "..."
He took back what he had said before.
"You don't know how to cook?" A kid who grew up in the countryside, with deceased parents and a sickly grandfather, yet she couldn't cook.
"Who told you I could cook?" Polly blew on her hand, which had turned red from the burn.
Victoria turned to look at her, his gaze curious.
Polly was intimidated by his look and couldn't help but take a step back, "What, is it a crime not to cook?"
Victoria withdrew his scrutinizing gaze, grabbed her wrist, and led her out. He had the staff bring up some burn ointment, applied it to her, and then went to clean up the kitchen.
Polly nervously followed him to the kitchen door, "It's not that I didn't want to cook, does that month reduced still count?"
"You dare try to bargain with me after cooking like this?"
Polly watched Victoria skillfully handle the situation, surprised that a young master like him could do such things?
And he didn't look like a novice at all.
Victoria finished tidying up the kitchen and cooked two bowls of noodles. Polly wasn't feeling hungry before, but now her stomach growled. She grinned and took the bowl of noodles, "Didn't expect President Parker to have this talent?"
"At least I won't starve. How on earth did you grow up?"
Polly loudly slurped her noodles, devouring them ravenously. For the first time, Victoria felt like he was feeding a cow.
Polly finished her noodles in a few gulps, even drinking the soup, while Victoria had only taken a few bites as he rarely ate at night.
"Aren't you eating?" Polly looked at Victoria eating slowly, her big eyes wide open, as if afraid people wouldn't get what she meant.
Before Victoria could say anything, Polly had already grabbed the bowl, "I haven't eaten anything since morning. It's not that I eat a lot; it's just I'm starving."
Victoria put down his chopsticks and looked at her with her head practically buried in the bowl, "How did you get this far in life?"
"Good fortune, a lucky star from the heavens," Polly said, feeling good as she ate.
Victoria: "Then let me tell you something that might not be so lucky: Parker Corporation's bidding has been moved up to the 3rd of next month."
Polly froze mid-bite, her eyes wide with shock, "The 3rd of next month?"
She hurriedly swallowed her noodles and counted on her fingers, "That's not much time... Wasn't it supposed to be two months?"
"Parker Corporation's board unanimously decided to move it forward a few hours ago. I'm not in City A, out of reach."
Besides being out of reach, Victoria didn't have enough shares to completely suppress all the shareholders.
Polly was stunned for a moment, finally processing the news, she gulped down half her noodle soup before wiping her mouth.
"Damn capitalists."
Victoria watched Polly get up to leave and frowned, "What are you going to do?"
"Not enough time, less than 20 days. I have to work hard for that five million."
Victoria looked at the woman wiping her mouth and leaving, "Five million... I don't know if you're really smart or just blind."
Has she not realized how much the person standing in front of her is worth?
When Polly returned, it was already close to 3 a.m. She didn't contact her senior or junior colleagues but continued revising her drawings alone.
Victoria sat at the dining table for a while, pinching the bridge of his nose. The Parker's habit of saying one thing and doing another was deeply ingrained, evident at the highest levels and trickling down.
For instance, the hotel's security measures were so lax, yet no one raised any issues. All the reports stated everything was running smoothly.
Victoria's phone, resting on the table, rang, and he glanced at it before answering.
"When are you coming back? Do you know what you're doing?" The person on the other end was holding back anger.
"The family business has some issues."
"Are you really so desperate for the Parker Corporation?"
"The thirty thousand employees at Parker Corporation's factories shouldn't be dragged down by these people." Victoria leaned back in his chair, gazing at the night sky, "I'll explain to Edgar Lucas's side, don't worry."
"Victoria Parker, you..."
"Mr. Jones, have you ever tried your utmost to do something?"
"What on earth?"
"For example, for five million."