Hearts System: 1000 Ways to Tell CEO I Love You-Chapter 21: Do You Find It Acceptable?

Behind him were a middle-aged man and his secretary. Galaxy quietly followed them, glaring at the women on the side.

Houston stopped by them after ending another phone call. He looked at Luellen. "That’s a stunt that easily went catastrophic. Never... do that again."

"I’m sorry..." Luellen lowered her head. She then looked in the direction the crowd took. "What’s happening? Did Mr Leander get angry because Ms Gala got called a skimpy wench?"

"I don’t know." Houston cleared his throat, attracting Summer and Luellen’s gaze. "He picked up your call... and took off before I could ask for my phone back. Did Jackielyn insult Gala alone?"

Summer huffed and reiterated Jackielyn’s words to Houston. "Oh, no! She said way worse about Lue! Do you know? She called Lue a slutty eyecandy! That’s not even the worst thing she said!"

The secretary was as horrified as Luellen had been. However, he only heaved a deep sigh before pocketing his phone. "She can probably get away with badmouthing Gala, me, and the office. Leander will draw the line at a single stray comment against Madam Henny."

He then looked toward the office. "I should attend to his business over there. If he fires someone, it’s my job to draft the email."

"Make her pay for everything she said against Lue!" Summer reminded Houston, but the man had left without a word. She then patted Luellen’s shoulder. "Don’t worry about it, Lue. The least that could happen is that she loses her position. We should head back to our offices now."

"...right, he should have gotten angry because of what Madam received..." Luellen sighed and walked off like a robot.

...

Luellen returned to an almost empty office. On one side was Shirley, who struggled to finish her work. She glared at Luellen. However, the maiden only found her spot on the couch. With nothing more to do, she could only sink into it and pass the time. Unlike earlier, she no longer had the energy to care about her real responsibilities.

[You have gained more of (Leander Wentworth)’s interest! EXP +20!]

[Congratulations on reaching Level 7! You have earned 1,000 Yellow Heart/s, 10 Proficiency point/s, and 2 Red Heart/s!]

The sudden notification made Luellen flinch. She lifted her face and watched Leander walk into the office with Gala and Houston. Leander didn’t even slow down when he got to the inner office door.

"Ms Piper, my office now."

Luellen froze for a second. Her gaze moved to meet Houston’s eyes, but they ran into Galaxy’s glare first. The older lady tore her soul apart with just a pair of sharp eyes. Luellen turned around and raced into the inner office. Perhaps, she was safer with Leander than out here.

She closed the door behind her and watched Leander settle behind his desk. Luellen walked closer, only stopping before the chair in front of the desk. "Sir...?"

"Go through the reports from last month. Find that acquisition report for their computers." Leander glanced at her once. "It should be there in the cabinet."

"Yes, sir...!" Luellen quickly walked to the cabinet and opened it. Her fingers ran across multiple folder spines before locking on one file. She took it out and skimmed through it. Her eyes moved so fast, scanning a list of items the company mentioned had bought over the last month.

Her brows knitted. She brought the file down and searched the cabinet again for something else. More folders appeared in her hands, and she even sat on the floor to go through them all.

Leander had finished reviewing a few contracts before he realized Luellen’s silence. When he looked past his desk, he saw Luellen reading through a quarterly financial report. He frowned at her. "Ms Piper, where is my report?"

"Sorry, Mr Leander...!" Luellen gasped and got to her feet quickly. She brought the folders she found relevant. "I just... it’s not here..."

"Not here?"

"I found the summarized acquisition report for their office’s purchases, the receipts for the batch, the purchase reflection on the company’s expenses..." Luellen presented the folders, left open on the pages she needed. "But I don’t have records of computer hardware acquisition. The company logs all items’ serial numbers for their reports. We had one for the chairs last month. I can’t find that report for the computers."

Leander looked at her for a few seconds before glancing at the pages in front of him. He skimmed through them without touching them. "Interesting."

He reached over and picked up his desk phone. Leander tapped on the folders for Luellen to clear while he waited. He only kept the summarized report. When the other person picked up, he spoke, "Is Ms Dales still there?

"Henny, there’s no acquisition report with the serial numbers. Make him produce those computers." Leander waved the folder in his hand. A scary smile even curled his lips. "I have reports reflecting the successful transactions. Tell him that I will come for him next if he doesn’t deliver."

Leander then hummed and ended the call. He looked at Luellen, who was only watching him from where she stood... right in front of his desk. He stared at her longer, waiting for her to notice.

In the end, he just called her name, "Ms Piper..."

"Yes?" Luellen visibly snapped out of her trance. She noticed him handing the folder back to her, which she took. "I’m so sorry for spacing out. Did you need me to do something for you, Mr Leander?"

"No. Put them back now. Then sit down." Leander gestured at the chair before his desk. He didn’t wait for her to finish. He had a lot to do, and Luellen pulled out several other folders. Perhaps she could only sit down when she was ready.

It didn’t take more than five minutes. Luellen sat on the chair, and Leander brought down the papers in his hands. He laced his fingers before him.

"Ms Piper, how are you feeling?"

"Sir?" Luellen’s eyes flickered. She discreetly shifted in her seat before feigning a smile. "I’m... doing okay. I can still work."

Leander stared at her longer. Before she could say anything, he clarified himself. "Ms Ross’s behavior is inappropriate and punishable. I heard the words she said through the phone. I made sure it would reflect on her record. She might not be fired because of her qualifications, but she should have lost the nerve to do something similar in the future.

"Is that acceptable to you?"

Luellen flinched. She fiddled with her fingers out of sight. "I think... disciplinary actions are... I think disciplinary actions are the best way to deal with these cases. She said bad things; she even insulted you. It’s not real grounds for termination..."

The maiden lowered her face. "At least right now. She’s running an office that’s always behind schedule due to her company’s oversight. If we fire her now, it will look different to labor unions. They might even think you’re firing her for not keeping her mouth shut. She did talk about the problems their office faced."

A small smile curled Leander’s lips. "So... I can fire her if her office fails to deliver after we bring those computers to them?"