Chapter 2 Plant vs. Zombies

But that said, no matter how terrible a man was, as long as he was rich, handsome, and at the top of the pyramid, his status in most women's hearts remained unshakable. The world was never short of foolish girls like moths to a flame.

In a big company like Anderson, there were plenty to be seen.

When Elaine first joined Anderson Group, she was in the design department. Though formally trained, she was young and inexperienced, seen as a "gopher" for a year.

Fortunately, Elaine always followed her ancestor's teachings that "suffering is a blessing." Having graduated from Tomasso University in a small town and finding a high-paying job here, she felt grateful. Being treated like a gopher daily was rather enjoyable. Over time, she got along well with her colleagues.

But within just a year, after the big boss on the 18th floor fired the tenth assistant, the HR department had to change tactics from external recruitment to internal transfers.

Maybe the HR manager noticed Elaine's diligence, and the miraculous position fell to her.

When she heard the news, it was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. Besides not being in her field, she feared that within two months, under the tyrant's policy, she would be packing her things and leaving the company.

When she left the department, her colleagues all cast pitying glances at her, shedding a few crocodile tears.

In reality, a tyrant is indeed a tyrant.

Elaine felt that Liam acted like everyone owed him money that they hadn't paid back. He spoke arrogantly to everyone, had a condescending attitude, his nose in the air, his eyes looking down on everyone as if even the Jade Emperor wouldn't be respected by him. His temper was particularly fiery, scolding subordinates was routine, causing the ground to shake with each outburst. When extremely angry, he even damaged an expensive mahogany desk and berated a company elder in his fifties to the point of a heart attack that required hospitalization.

Elaine, sitting outside, couldn't help but be scared out of her wits.

Sometimes, she wondered how Anderson Group could remain so strong and leading in the industry; it seemed like a miracle. But after learning about Liam's powerful family background, she felt it made sense. In this world, with a substantial family fortune and political connections, doing anything would be as easy as turning a hand.

Moreover, the chairman of Anderson Group, also with the surname Anderson, was Liam's father. Simply put, Anderson Group was founded by his father, and the truth was that Director Anderson was merely living off his father's success, fortunate to be born into wealth.

Liam, of course, didn't pay any attention to his assistant, Elaine. Or rather, he didn't even notice her. Only when rushing work did he rudely say over the phone, "Bring XX in here immediately."

Occasionally, he would open the door, coldly demand, "Why isn't this ready yet?"

Apart from those instances, whenever he walked past her desk, he didn't even glance at her. Elaine couldn't help but suspect that even now, he probably didn't know her name. Outside the office, he might not recognize her at all.

But somehow, Elaine safely made it through a year of trepidation in this bizarre company. Her salary was even higher than before. Each time she heard Liam's impatient tone, she expected the next line to be, "You can get lost now." But after all this time, she had never heard anything remotely implying that.

Elaine felt that the miracles she encountered in this strange company were just as strange.

In fact, those who knew Elaine in the company thought it was a miracle too.

When Elaine returned to the office, it seemed Liam had finished his business.

The beautiful woman, holding a check, slipped out of the inner office, and after closing the door, stood there, joyfully kissing the check. When she looked up, she seemed slightly startled to see Elaine suddenly appear in the empty office. Embarrassed, she put the check away, regained her usual elegant arrogance, sneered at Elaine, and strutted out.

Elaine watched her leave, looking at the black stockings, and sighed silently. No wonder she was the new hot girl; wearing black stockings, not only did she not look slutty, but she exuded a goddess-like aura.

Elaine had worn short skirts before. When she was first transferred from the fifteenth floor, she dressed simply and didn't care much about her appearance. Later, the HR manager mentioned that the assistant to the CEO represented the company's image and told her to learn how to dress like the other secretaries.

High heels, office wear, stockings... Gradually, Elaine started looking like an intellectual beauty. But that first day she wore a short skirt, standing in a crowded elevator, several male colleagues ogled her as if she had done something wrong or was dressed inappropriately. When she exited the elevator, she happened to meet Liam coming out of the VIP elevator. With his usual cold face, he glanced at her legs, his expression turned even icier, and he snorted, "We are a proper company, not a nightclub."

Following his disdainful gaze, Elaine looked down at her legs, her cheeks immediately flushed as if she had committed a grave sin.

From that day on, she stopped wearing short skirts to work.

Lost in thought, Liam opened the door from inside, glanced at her coldly, and asked, "Where's the document?"

Elaine hurriedly nodded and brought the printed document into his office for review.

Since becoming the CEO's assistant, Elaine had hardly left work before eight in the evening. The unwritten rule was that as long as the CEO hadn't left, neither could the assistant. Unfortunately, Liam was a workaholic, feeling guilty if he didn't work overtime every day.

The worst part was that even if not working, he seemed to enjoy staying in the office. He wouldn't leave before 11 PM.

Once, after work hours, when Elaine handed him a document, she saw him engrossed in his computer. Curious, she peeked at the screen and almost spat blood.

To her surprise, the great CEO was playing a childish, pointless game, "Plants vs. Zombies."

Elaine wanted to cry, kneel, and beg him, "Please go home and play, don't keep me here!" But she managed to suppress such thoughts. After leaving Liam's office, she quietly noticed the empty secretarial office next door and felt a sudden urge to quit. But thinking of the high salary, the urge faded away.

Actually, the worst part was that even on weekends, Elaine was often called in for overtime by the big boss.

Sometimes, Elaine was puzzled. Liam spent most of his time at the company, so he couldn't possibly be everywhere, but how did those scandals keep coming?