Chapter 43 Going to the Subsidiary

Valerie felt like her brain was starved of oxygen, completely at a loss for how to respond to the awkward situation in front of her. She just squatted there, letting Howard guide her hand slowly downward.

Her fingertips soon touched his belt, and Valerie swallowed hard, trying to muster some courage, but her heart continued to race uncontrollably.

The belt buckle popped open, and Valerie's cheeks flushed bright red as she forced herself to continue. Her fingers carefully grasped the edge of his pants, inching them outward.

"Forget it." Just as Valerie was about to pull down his pants, Howard suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Valerie looked up in shock, her eyes filled with confusion. Howard's eyes crinkled with a growing smile as he softly said, "I was just messing with you. I can handle the leg pain myself; I've been doing it for years."

Hearing this, the embarrassment on Valerie's face quickly faded, replaced by a deep sense of guilt.

"I can help you too," she said quietly but firmly. "I am your wife."

Howard looked at Valerie, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes. He released her hand and instinctively reached out to pat her head, wanting to comfort her. But when he met Valerie's clear eyes, he stopped, turned his head, and coughed lightly. "Take it slow. We have a long way to go. You don't need to force yourself just because of our legal relationship."

Valerie stood there, stunned. She realized that Howard was different from any man she had known before; he respected her decisions and thoughts.

She quickly adjusted her emotions, smiled again, and nodded firmly at Howard. "Okay!"

The next day, when Valerie was getting ready to head to the branch office, Howard insisted on driving her. Valerie waved her hand, refusing, "It's okay. The route is more complicated now. It's inconvenient for you to drive me."

"It's never inconvenient to drive you," Howard said, tilting his head slightly, signaling for Valerie to follow.

Valerie wanted to refuse again, but Howard glanced at his watch and said, "You have only half an hour before you're late."

Valerie's eyes widened in shock. She couldn't afford to be late and quickly followed Howard to the car.

When she finally arrived at the branch office, Valerie immediately sensed something was off. Led by HR, she entered the employee workspace. Valerie habitually scanned the area, quickly noticing several employees slacking off at their desks. She couldn't help but think how different this was from the headquarters' work atmosphere.

Suddenly, Valerie felt someone staring at her. She turned and saw a girl sitting at the edge, looking at her with a hint of hostility. Valerie wondered if this girl was the one she had replaced. In those few seconds, countless thoughts raced through Valerie's mind.

HR introduced Valerie to the team, "This is our new Ms. Brown. Please cooperate with her."

Valerie smiled and nodded, but the employees' reactions were unusually indifferent, as if she were an insignificant figure. HR looked embarrassed and quickly explained, "Ms. Brown, they were up late working on a project last night, they're just tired."

"It's fine," Valerie said, still smiling. She wasn't concerned about their attitudes. Her main focus was the branch's project status. She would have plenty of time to address the employees' work ethics later.

"Where's my office?" Valerie asked, looking around.

"Over here," HR said, leading the way. Valerie entered her office and saw a pile of disorganized files on her desk. She gasped, "All these are..."

"Right, these are all the current project files. The general manager of our company heard that you were coming and, knowing your outstanding abilities, specifically had someone quickly prepare this to send to you," HR explained.

Valerie nodded, understanding. "Got it. You can go now."

Without her usual assistant from headquarters, Valerie felt a bit out of place. She started reviewing the project files but quickly realized something was wrong. The projects were a mess, with no clear goals or plans.

As she frowned, there was a gentle knock on the door.

"Come in," Valerie suppressed the anger inside her, trying to make her voice sound as calm as possible.

The door opened, and a timid girl walked in. "Ms. Brown, I'm your assistant, Lily Martin."

Valerie nodded and smiled wryly. "You're just in time. I need someone to help me."

Lily walked over, seeing the files divided into three piles. Valerie asked, "Were you recently hired, or have you been here for a while?"

"I've been here for six months," Lily replied.

"Six months..." Valerie paused, thinking. "So you should be familiar with most of the people and business here?"

Lily nodded.

"Good," Valerie said, pointing to one pile of files. "Notify the people responsible for these projects that these can be scrapped after a simple review."

"Scrapped?" Lily's eyes widened in disbelief.

Valerie found her reaction odd. "These projects are unprofitable, time-wasting, and unstable. What's so surprising about scrapping them?"

Lily awkwardly closed her mouth, forcing a smile. "No, nothing."

In just a short time, Valerie had cut half of the branch's projects, causing an immediate uproar in the company.