Chapter 12
When it came time to pay, Michael pulled out his black card.
The sales associate was thrilled and quickly reached out to take it.
But when Michael saw her move, he pulled the card back, his eyes cold. "Get someone else to ring this up."
Those simple words made the sales associate's face darken. She clearly hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
Seeing her expression, Michael casually handed the card to someone nearby, saying lightly, "You help me check out."
The sales associate still wanted to try, snatching the card from her colleague's hand and making excuses. "Sir, she's new here. Let me help you instead, so we don't waste your time."
But Michael wasn't having it, his attitude even firmer. "No need, we're not in a hurry. Let her do it."
The sales associate's face turned dark. Even though she was unhappy about it, she had to give the card back.
After all, it was such a big sale, and the other person got it without doing anything—of course, she wasn't happy.
Watching Michael's sneaky, calculating side, I couldn't help but feel better.
After we finished checking out, Michael drove me home himself.
As I walked in carrying all these shopping bags, I saw Susan waiting at my place.
As soon as she saw me, she came over warmly, but when she noticed the shopping bags in my hands, surprise flashed in her eyes.
After all, in her mind, I wasn't someone who would spend money on myself. "Nancy, why did you buy so many things?"
Seeing this uninvited guest, I felt annoyed for no reason.
"These? Michael bought them for me." I said it on purpose, my tone sweet and boastful.
As soon as I said it, I saw Susan's expression change, her jealousy impossible to hide.
But she was good at pretending. Even though she felt uncomfortable, she didn't show it to me.
Susan pretended to congratulate me while actually trying to stir things up. "Nancy, even though Michael is treating you well now, don't let him fool you. He's just putting on an act."
I smiled in response but didn't take her words seriously.
"Susan, I know you care about me, but I know what I'm doing. You don't need to worry about me." As I said this, I handed the shopping bags to a servant and ignored her, walking over to sit on the sofa.
Seeing my attitude, Susan was jealous inside, staring at me like she wanted to kill me.
While I was sitting down, she held her phone, tapping something on the screen.
I caught her actions out of the corner of my eye.
I didn't pay much attention to her and basically told her to leave. "Susan, I'm really tired lately. If you don't have anything important, just go home. And don't come to my house anymore."
Susan didn't react right away. After all, my attitude toward her had been hot and cold lately, making it hard for her to figure out.
She wanted to say something, but I'd already gone upstairs to rest.
I didn't know when Susan left, but when I came back downstairs, she was gone.
Just as I sat down, the servant who cleaned the walk-in closet quietly came over to report to me.
The servant looked around carefully before deliberately lowering her voice. "Ms. Smith, Susan took several of your outfits when she left today—all the new ones you brought back."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but look up, my tone serious. "When did this happen? Who let her into my closet?"
Susan really never left empty-handed. Now, instead of taking bags, she was taking clothes—the new clothes Michael bought me.
The servant reported the situation honestly. "Finn took her in. I happened to be organizing your closet at the time."
My expression grew more serious. No wonder this Susan acted like she owned the place every time she came to my house—someone had been letting her in through the back door.
"I see. You can go now."
After getting my order, the servant quickly stepped aside.
After calming down a bit, I called Finn over.
This matter could be big or small, depending mainly on Finn's attitude.
Finn stood beside me with a confused look, not sure what I wanted. "Ms. Smith, what can I do for you?"
"From now on, don't let Susan in without my permission, and definitely don't let her take my clothes."
Finn was surprised but still instinctively defended Susan. "Ms. Smith, Ms. Taylor is your best friend. Do you really need to do this? Ms. Taylor only took a few outfits. It's not that serious, is it?"
I laughed coldly and mocked him directly. "I didn't know you were so protective of Susan. Do you know who your boss is? Since you're so protective of Susan, why don't you go be her butler?"
Hearing what I meant, Finn quickly tried to explain. "Ms. Smith, that's not what I meant."
But I didn't want to hear his nonsense and said directly, "Starting today, you're fired."
He was just a servant. If he were gone, I could hire another one. I didn't need someone disloyal to me.
Finn clearly didn't see it coming and tried to fight for his job. "Ms. Smith, I've worked for the Smith family for almost ten years. You can't do this to me."
Hearing this, I found it even more ridiculous and showed no mercy. "You know the Smith family has supported you for ten years, but you follow Susan's every word. If that's the case, the Smith family can't keep you."
With that, I stopped paying attention to Finn and turned my gaze to the servant who had told me earlier. "What's your name? What's your area? How long have you been here?"
Hearing my question, the servant was nervous for a moment but answered honestly. "Ms. Smith, my name is Mindy. I'm responsible for the second-floor closet, study, and hallway. I've been with the Smith family for three years."
I nodded knowingly and said casually, "Starting today, you don't need to handle those things anymore."
Mindy was scared by my words, thinking she'd upset me by telling on Finn, and quickly begged for mercy. "Ms. Smith, I know I was wrong. Please don't fire me."
Seeing she misunderstood, I stated directly. "From now on, you're the Smith family's head housekeeper. Report everything to me. Your salary is doubled."
Suddenly promoted, Mindy was still in shock and hadn't processed it yet.
The sudden personnel change made several servants who were close to Finn speak up for him. "Ms. Smith, she's just a woman. How can you give the head housekeeper position to her?"
"Exactly! Finn has been with the Smith family for ten years. You can't play favorites like this."
Hearing this, I swept my eyes over them and ordered coldly. "You few don't need to come back either."
Since these people were defending Finn and questioning my decision, there was no need to keep them in my house.
In a short time, I'd completed the personnel changes.
After doing all this, I gathered all the servants in the house for a brief meeting. "From now on, don't let Susan or John near the Smith Villa. You must report anything about them to me. Besides that, I hope everyone knows who the boss is."
After giving instructions, I went back to my room.
Managing the servants was just the start; my next task was to deal with the company culture.