Chapter 18 17. Professionalism

Chapter 18 17. Professionalism
Chapter 17

Professionalism

Beck arrived in front of his office, as usual he pushed the door to his room slowly while praying in his heart that this morning he would not find Vanilla in his office. His prayer that morning was answered. There was no Vanilla there but his mother there looking at him with a cold stare.
"Is this how you lead the company?" asked Lucy who was sitting in Beck's work chair, the woman leaning her back on the back of the chair comfortably.
"I'm not late," protested Beck as he arrived five minutes before work started.
"You should have come earlier."
Beck secretly sighed, whatever he did was always wrong in Lucy's eyes since Vanilla left him for New York.
"Is it really me or Vanilla, your biological daughter?"
"If I had to choose, I'd rather have Vanilla." Lucy straightened her back. "And speaking of Vanilla...."
Beck swallowed, this morning Vanilla didn't show up in his office but the girl still made him feel uneasy. "I don't want to talk about it," he said as he pulled up a chair across from his desk.
Lucy narrowed her eyes. "Vanilla doesn't know anything, the decisions I make are the result of my own thinking."
"You don't need to protect Vanilla because I don't believe it at all," Beck said, still with his prejudice.
Lucy shook her head. "Is Vanilla so bad in your eyes?"
"I don't understand how you can be brainwashed by Vanilla."
Lucy smiled sarcastically. She knew how hard Beck was. "I could fire you, but I'm not the kind of mother who would abandon her child." She picked up a pen on the table.
"Now that I think about it, I'd like to give you and your boyfriend a chance, you can get married but as for being your secretary, I won't allow it."
Beck didn't know whether to be happy or laugh at his mother's decision, which he found strange because Lucy seemed to be giving her blessing to him and Sophie but not allowing her boyfriend to be her secretary again.
"Don't play politics with me, Mom."
"You think I'm playing politics? If your lover is your future wife, is it appropriate for her to work as a secretary? A madam should learn to handle business, not be a secretary," Lucy said, her tone flat and cold.
"So, what do you mean?" Beck was impatient because his mother was talking too convolutedly in his opinion."
"I think you should educate your wife to manage a business, you could maybe put her in one of our companies... one of our company branches, I mean... you could make her a manager or something in her field of education." Lucy watched Beck's face intently.
Beck looked back at his mother, what his mother said was true but there had never been any talk of marriage between him and Sophie and they never planned to, in fact they had no intention of getting married. It seemed that way because Sophie never demanded marriage from him.
"I'll think about it."
"You should think about it," Lucy said sharply. "Oh, yes. I have a condition, you're not allowed to bring your girlfriend home until you're officially married."
Beck frowned. "Sophie and I haven't thought about marriage and again, what kind of ridiculous condition is that?"
Lucy shrugged her shoulders. "So, you don't want to get married? Then what will happen to this company, Beck? If you don't have any children, do I have to give the company to Vanilla?"
Vanilla again and again. Oh my Gosh!
Beck swallowed, his mother had a point. He needed a successor but why did everything have to be linked to Vanilla. "I can give offspring even without marriage, Ma. You don't have to worry about that."
Lucy looked at Beck, embers visible in her eyes though not fully lit. "What child out of wedlock? No, Beck!"
Beck was at a loss for words, all his words were broken by his mother and all his beliefs were challenged. "So, what exactly do you want? You won't allow Sophie to be my secretary again, you insist we get married because you know it's impossible. You're playing politics. Ma!" her voice rose.
"No one is playing politics, it's only natural that I want you to start a family, you're the sole breadwinner, you need a companion." Lucy's voice was no less high.
Beck snorted. "Basically, you still want to play politics by making Vanilla my secretary, don't you?"
Lucy laughed blandly. "Don't worry, Beck. Vanilla will never be your secretary and she won't come near you again either. I guarantee it. You have my word."
There was a sense of loss that hit Beck's feelings, all this time he was very happy when he saw the disappointed look in Vanilla's eyes every time his tricks failed to approach her. "It's good that I can rest easy."
"Your new secretary will be here around ...."
"Nowhere does a secretary come in at ten o'clock on her first day of work," Beck cut in quickly.
Lucy was getting fed up, Beck really wasn't like her son Beck used to be. Beck was a complete ass. Lucy had her patience in check, she wasn't serious about giving Beck and Sophie her blessing, she just wanted to see how much influence Sophie had on Beck, how much the woman of unknown origins had brainwashed Beck.

At exactly ten o'clock, a woman wearing casual clothes entered Beck's study.
Beck stared at the woman who had just entered his study, observing her appearance from top to bottom.
Her appearance was too expensive for a secretary.
The price of the girl's clothes, shoes and watches. The salary from Beck's company for one year could not buy her watch alone.
"Good morning, Mr. Peyton." The woman with hazel eyes greeted Beck in a very graceful manner. If Sophie was beautiful, then this girl was definitely more beautiful, elegant, and classy. It was almost incomparable.
"Good morning," Beck replied flatly. "So, you're my new secretary?"
"Yes, I'll be your secretary for one month," Charlotte, the woman's name, replied.
Damn it!
Charlotte wanted to curse her mother for suddenly forcing her to help her old friend whose son had lost his secretary. She had to help out as a secretary for one month. And to make matters worse, the company she was working for was just a standard company that was nothing compared to her family's company.
Her mother was ridiculous, she was the daughter of one of the richest businessmen in Spain. She could run her family's company instead of being someone else's secretary. It was because she never took her work seriously, she had too much fun that her parents punished her in a very annoying way.
Okay, just one month, thirty days.
"What's your name?" asked Beck flatly.
Damn it!
The way Beck looked at Charlotte, his gaze cold and cynical made Charlotte eager to show him who she was. The man who was going to be her boss for one month didn't deserve to treat her in such a cynical way.
"Charlotte," Charlotte replied briefly. She didn't want to mention her family name.
"Your family name?"
Charlotte smiled kindly. "I don't think it's important."
Beck smiled wryly, it was not important but it would be important because it could be that his new secretary was a conspiracy between his mother and Vanilla.
"Okay." Beck observed Charlotte. "I hope you can work well, even though you are my mother's person don't expect me to treat you special."
"I can work well and professionally," Charlotte said firmly.
She is Charlotte Danish who has the ability according to her nature as the bearer of her family name.
You will regret underestimating me later. You, arrogant man!