Chapter 341

"Okay, give me half an hour. I'll send the materials to your email. Do you need me to prepare a speech?"

"If it's convenient for you, that would be great."

Caroline had no idea there was even a speech involved. She originally wanted to say she'd have her secretary prepare it, but considering it was such a big occasion and Gavin had more experience, she changed her mind.

"Of course it's convenient, just wait!" Gavin thought back to when he first switched jobs here - he'd faced plenty of mockery and sarcasm. Everyone thought he was ruining his career by running off to a small company.

Now, he couldn't wait to see their faces when they found out this little company had won the Outstanding Enterprise award. It was going to be priceless.

He pumped himself up, determined to write Caroline a great speech, let her shine, and show all those people.

His decision to quit and join Caroline's company was never a mistake.

Caroline had no idea Gavin was getting so worked up over this. After delegating the task to him, she went to bed peacefully.

At the same time, she was still thinking about hiring more people for the company. This should have been done ages ago, but she'd been too busy and never had the time. Now she absolutely couldn't put it off any longer.

With nothing weighing on her mind, Caroline slept wonderfully and woke up refreshed. When she left her place, she discovered a lunch box at her door.

The lunch box looked familiar - it was one she'd used before when preparing meals for Arthur. She never expected to see it again.

Who had prepared this was obvious without even thinking about it.

She initially chose to ignore it, but after walking just a few steps, Arthur appeared out of nowhere and stuffed the lunch box into her hands. "You forgot to take it."

Caroline stared at the lunch box in her hands, feeling a bit helpless. "You don't need to make these for me. I don't need them."

Her tone was calm, her eyes showed no emotion. Arthur looked at her and felt bitter inside. "So when you used to bring me meals and I rejected you, is this how you felt?"

Ignoring his murmuring, Caroline frowned. "We're in the past now. I don't want you wasting your energy on me."

"But you're single now, I can pursue you!" Arthur stepped forward, staring at her. "This is my way of showing you how I feel. If you don't like it, then throw it in the trash."

Caroline gripped the lunch box in her hand.

The warm lunch box suddenly felt heavy in that moment.

"If I throw it away, will you stop bothering me?" she asked.

She thought that being this cold, given Arthur's personality, he would surely back down.

But he shook his head. "If you throw it away, I'll buy you a new one and make it again tomorrow."

"You're wasting food."

As soon as Caroline said this, Arthur laughed. "Let it be wasted then. For you, I'm willing."

"You're the father of two children. You can't be teaching them these wrong values." Caroline turned her head away, ultimately not throwing the lunch box out. "Don't bother from now on. I'm not used to eating in the morning."

With that, she turned and left.

Arthur stared at the lunch box she was holding, a slight smile on his lips.

Helen was right - she didn't refuse, which meant he still had a chance.

At the company, Caroline ran into Gavin.

For her sake, Gavin had worked overtime without pay until late at night, packaging all the materials and sending them to her before finally resting.

When he came to work, the dark circles under his eyes were especially obvious.

Caroline was startled when she saw him. "How late did you work last night? Should I give you some overtime pay?"

Gavin shook his head. "No need, I did it willingly!"

Caroline was amazed - had he been hanging around fresh graduates so much that he'd caught their attitude?

This spirit of selfless dedication to the company... she wasn't some heartless boss!

She handed him the lunch box in her hand. "Then have some of this."

"This is... you made it yourself?" Gavin looked at the cute lunch box in his hands, stunned for a moment.

Caroline shook her head. "Someone gave it to me. You eat it."

Gavin refused. "If it's someone's kind gesture, then I'd better not."

Caroline couldn't convince him, so she had to take the lunch box back to her office.

Maybe because of the traffic jam on the way, she was actually a bit hungry.

Caroline pressed her lips together and finally opened the lunch box, eating while handling work.

Although she'd spent two days in Majestic City, she hadn't fallen behind on company matters. However, in her inbox was an invitation that Caroline found very puzzling.

Vanguard Enterprises Group?

Wasn't Richard already in prison?

She racked her brain but couldn't figure out why anyone from Vanguard Enterprises Group would want to meet with her.

Hadn't she already made enough enemies with Vanguard Enterprises Group?

She called her secretary over. The secretary looked carefully and finally remembered, "Vanguard Enterprises Group has a new CEO now who's drawn a clear line from the previous Mr. Morris."

"He came in person to leave this invitation a while ago. I told him you were on a business trip out of town, and he didn't mind. He just said to make sure to deliver the invitation when you got back, that he'd keep waiting. Then he left."

After saying this, the secretary shook her head. "That new CEO was quite polite, quite different from the previous Mr. Morris."

Whatever this new CEO was planning, Caroline didn't want to continue any contact with Vanguard Enterprises Group.

She tossed the invitation in the trash. "No need. If anyone from Vanguard Enterprises Group comes again, just refuse them directly."

"Okay." The secretary agreed. She hadn't refused directly before only because she wasn't sure of Caroline's attitude toward the new CEO.

Now that she had clear instructions, she'd know how to handle it next time.

But some people won't be avoided just because you want to avoid them.

Caroline had clearly had her secretary refuse him, but she still got cornered at a business dinner.

He was a very refined young man, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a white suit, looking extremely cultured overall.

Caroline almost thought he was a teacher, until he stopped in front of her. "Ms. Hamilton, I've heard so much about you."

Caroline looked up. "You are?"

"I'm Clifton Farley, the new CEO of Vanguard Enterprises Group. I sent you an invitation before, but Ms. Hamilton is so busy, you might not have noticed it."

"But it seems Ms. Hamilton and I are quite fated - we can meet even here."

He wore a smile and even gave Caroline an out.

Caroline looked at him but didn't respond as he'd hoped. She just gave a light laugh. "Is that so? I saw your invitation. I remember refusing it. Didn't you receive that?"

She was the boss. She had no obligation to play along with him.

She didn't want contact with Vanguard Enterprises Group, and she didn't need to care about anyone's feelings.

Now no one could interfere with her choices, and no one could force her to deal with people she didn't like.