Chapter 182
Manuel walked straight through the door. Behind him, the Maybach had completely disappeared at the end of the tree-lined road.
As he passed through the foyer and entered the living room, Dahlia had already returned to the dining table, head lowered as she sipped a bowl of porridge.
Hearing his footsteps, she looked up, her face wearing that habitually obedient smile. "Manuel, Lucinda left?"
"Yes." Manuel gave a flat response. As he passed by her, he didn't even glance in her direction.
He picked up his coat from the sofa and headed toward the entrance hall. "I'm going out."
He didn't say where, but Dahlia knew perfectly well.
Her gaze darkened for a moment, then she quickly lowered her eyes, as if she hadn't noticed anything at all.
Forty minutes later, the elevator doors at Ridgeway Tech opened.
Lucinda had just sat down at her desk, hadn't even taken a sip of her coffee, when a knock sounded at the office door.
Fiona pushed the door open, her expression somewhat peculiar. "Ms. Wipere... Mr. Douglas is here."
Lucinda froze. Before she could even stand up, a figure had already walked through the doorway.
Manuel strode in slowly, carrying the composed aura of someone long accustomed to authority. Behind him followed a young woman in a black suit—his assistant—holding a black folder in her arms.
"Manuel?" Lucinda set down the document in her hand, looking at him with some surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Passing by." Manuel walked in, his gaze sweeping over her office, and spoke flatly. "Call in the heads of all departments. Small conference room in five minutes. We're having a meeting."
Lucinda raised an eyebrow. Her gaze paused on his face for a moment. Without asking further, she turned her head and nodded to Fiona. "Send out the notice."
Five minutes later, the conference room was filled. The heads of all business lines sat along both sides of the long table.
After all, the president of the parent company had suddenly descended. No one dared to be negligent.
Lucinda sat in the seat next to the head of the table. Manuel stood at the head, not sitting down.
His gaze swept over everyone present, and he spoke calmly. "I'm here today to announce one thing."
He paused, took the black folder from his assistant, flipped it open, pulled out the top document, and placed it on the table. His finger pressed lightly on it. "Ridgeway Tech, effective immediately, all major decision-making authority belongs solely to Lucinda. Any decision she makes within the company does not require approval from the Douglas Group headquarters."
The conference room fell silent for a moment. The next second, everyone's eyes lit up.
Didn't this prove that from now on, Lucinda was the undisputed boss of Ridgeway Tech?
Manuel didn't look at their reactions. He continued. "This is the parent company's full trust in Ms. Wipere's capabilities and judgment. The relevant authorization documents have already been signed by me in advance."
With that, he pushed the folder in front of Lucinda.
Inside was a thick stack of documents. Each page bore his signature at the bottom.
But the pages themselves were completely blank—as if waiting for her to write anything she wanted on them.
"Any contract she signs, any decision she makes, any personnel changes she approves—all carry the same authority as the signature of the Douglas Group president."
The conference room fell silent again for a few seconds.
Then, someone started clapping. It was unclear who went first.
The applause began with the head of the tech department, then spread to marketing, product, finance... The entire conference room erupted in neat, unified applause.
After all, over these past days, everyone had witnessed Lucinda's leadership firsthand. The people inside the company had long been won over by her.
This outcome was expected by all of them.
Lucinda sat there, looking down at the stack of signed blank documents in front of her, and smiled helplessly.
Her big brother... really doted on her.
After the meeting ended, Lucinda returned to her office. She'd just sat down when Manuel followed her in.
He was holding his phone, the screen displaying something. He walked up to her desk, looked down at her workspace, and frowned slightly. "What's next to your office?"
Lucinda followed his gaze toward the door. "A storage room. It's used for old equipment and archives."
Manuel's frown deepened. The next second, he pulled a sticky note from the inside of his pocket.
Seeing that sticky note—decorated with cartoon graphics—being pulled out by her no-nonsense older brother, Lucinda felt a momentary sense of disconnect.
Was this really the legendary meticulous big brother?
Manuel carefully reviewed the "Pamper Little Sister" plan he'd stayed up all night drafting, confirmed it, then directly picked up his phone and dialed a number.
The other end answered quickly. He didn't bother with any preamble, his tone direct. "Knock through the storage room next to Lucinda's office and renovate it. Three functional zones: bedroom, walk-in closet, small lounge. Use only the best materials. Double-layer soundproofing. Color scheme according to her preferences."
Lucinda listened to his instructions, somewhat surprised.
Was he building her another home inside the office?
Manuel paused, then continued. "Also renovate the balcony at the end of the hallway. Turn it into a small dining area. A table for two is fine. Starting today, have three meals delivered on time every day. Breakfast at 7:30, lunch at noon, dinner at 6:30. Change the menu daily. According to her tastes."
The person on the other end was clearly taking rapid notes, responding repeatedly.
Manuel hung up, put his phone and sticky note back in his pocket, then looked up at Lucinda. "They'll start tomorrow. Everything will be done within three days."
Lucinda looked at him, silent for two seconds, then spoke helplessly. "I'm here to work."
Manuel raised an eyebrow. "I know."
"You've arranged a bedroom and dining room. Should I hang up a curtain and sleep here too?" Lucinda's tone carried a hint of helpless teasing.
Manuel smiled slightly, his tone gentle. "You work until late every night. Sometimes when you're busy, you even forget to eat. If you're willing to stay at the office, then the office shouldn't let you suffer. When you're tired, you have a place to sleep. When you're hungry, you have food to eat. When it's cold, you have a closet to change clothes. That's how it should be."
His tone wasn't heavy, but Lucinda could hear the unwavering determination in it.
She looked at him and suddenly felt something warm gently strike her chest.
This was something she'd never experienced in her twenty years with the Wipere family.
"What about you?" she asked. "You're running around outside every day. You're way more exhausted than I am. How come no one's installing a bedroom next to your office?"
Manuel froze for a moment, then reached out and gently ruffled her hair. "I'm a man. I'm used to roughing it. You're my sister. You can't suffer even a little."
Lucinda didn't dodge. She lowered her head, her lips curving slightly.
After a few seconds of silence, she looked up, her voice softer than before. "Thank you."
Hearing Lucinda's "thank you," Manuel nearly jumped for joy.
But in order to maintain his image in front of his sister, he forcibly suppressed the excitement surging inside him.
'Stay calm. In front of your sister, stay calm.'