Chapter 35 Annual Meeting
People loved to get lost between tenderness and hesitation—the former lures you in, the latter clouds your judgment.
Caroline wasn't one of those women whose IQ dropped at the first sight of romance. Leopold thought he was subtly drawing her into his web, but he overlooked one crucial detail: Caroline was emotionally stable and laser-focused on her career.
Career over romance—that pretty much summed up women like her.
Leopold waited an entire day without receiving Caroline's call. This round of their little power play went to her.
Their next encounter would be at the annual company gala.
Leopold had been up since dawn, inspecting every detail of the event preparations. From the grand layout of the venue to the precise placement of each flower arrangement—nothing escaped his attention. After Seaside City had been blanketed in snow earlier that week, Leopold had specifically hired two snow plows to clear the routes leading to the hotel, determined to provide the most seamless experience possible for the attending guests.
The gala was scheduled to begin at one in the afternoon. Caroline arrived an hour early. The moment her car pulled into the hotel parking area, Leopold spotted her through a second-floor corridor window and rushed downstairs to intercept her.
At the entrance, staff members were assigned to provide corsages for female guests and boutonnieres for male attendees. The women's corsages were crafted from pure white jasmine flowers—Leopold had commissioned ten florists from a nearby shop to create them on-site. Paired with delicate pale green ribbons, the corsages released a subtle fragrance that lingered on the fingertips, earning appreciative smiles from many of the female guests.
Just before Caroline entered the main hall, Leopold reached the reception area and positioned himself near the massive power company gala backdrop, pretending to assist the florists.
Caroline immediately noticed Leopold among the crowd but approached casually, finding all the florists already occupied with guests.
"This way, please," Leopold called to her.
Caroline moved toward him, both maintaining the pretense of being mere strangers facing each other without exchanging pleasantries.
"Do you actually know how to make these?" She asked, skepticism lacing her voice.
His answer was characteristically concise. "Yes."
Still doubtful, Caroline extended her arm. Her wrist was slender, the skin so delicate that the faint blue veins beneath were visible.
He'd been holding a corsage ready, and now carefully fastened it around her wrist. Leaning slightly forward with meticulous attention to the task, he secured it perfectly. Caroline's cheeks betrayed her with an unexpected flush of warmth.
She suddenly realized her corsage looked different—fuller, with more jasmine flowers than the others.
Leopold straightened up. "All set."
"Thanks," Caroline replied.
As she started to walk away, she overheard someone nearby asking, "What's the meaning behind jasmine flowers?"
The florist answered, "They symbolize a sincere wish for a friend not to leave."
"Well, the company's really going all out with the symbolism this year," someone joked. "Don't worry—after how hard I worked to get into this power company, I'm definitely not going anywhere!"
The comment triggered ripples of laughter among colleagues.
Caroline faltered mid-step, glanced down at her corsage, then continued striding toward the main hall.
Watching her retreating figure, Leopold's gaze deepened with unspoken meaning.
After the thirty-minute entry period concluded and nearly everyone had arrived, someone reviewed meeting etiquette before the leadership speeches began.
When Caroline took the stage as the representative of the younger generation, Leopold watched her from a distance.
"Distinguished leaders and colleagues, good afternoon. As this year draws to a close, we gather together to celebrate early and wish all our power company staff a happy new year, professional success, and most importantly, safety and smooth operations."
"I want to express my gratitude to all my Seaside City colleagues who've fought alongside me this year. Thank you for your companionship, dedication, and support. I'm also grateful to our leadership team for their guidance and assistance in my professional development, and to the company for providing me with a platform to realize my potential and establish my career goals."
"In our work, our department serves as the vanguard—the frontline workers of the power industry. We've faced challenges and tests, but these obstacles haven't defeated any of us. Instead, each trial has strengthened our professional capabilities and technical expertise. This gives me hope for our future and reinforces my sense of responsibility. The cohesion of our team is truly unbreakable."
"This year, through Xander's coordination and the steady efforts of each department working as one unified force, we've carved out a new development path for Seaside City. Once again, I've witnessed the enduring spirit of the Seaside City Power Company. Our challenges never end, our pursuit of excellence never stops, and our commitment to safety must be constant, protecting everyone at every moment. Finally, I wish us all continued brilliance in our professional endeavors."
Caroline concluded with a respectful bow as thunderous applause erupted. From the sidelines, Leopold marveled—he hadn't realized Caroline was such a skilled public speaker, so adept at delivering the perfect corporate address.
With only Caroline selected from the three candidates to deliver the representative speech, the implications weren't difficult to guess.
The next hour featured performances from various branch companies. Laughter and applause filled the room as Caroline watched Seaside City's comedy skit, grateful she hadn't been roped into performing this year.
The prize drawing was her favorite part. Last year featured an infamously cruel first prize: a photo opportunity with the CEO. The second prize was the latest smartphone model, the third prize was a laptop, and even the consolation prizes were two hundred dollars cash. She'd felt genuine sympathy for the colleague who won first place, forcing a painful smile while posing with the CEO.
This year, Caroline lucked out with a consolation prize. Standing on stage with other winners, cash in hand for the group photo, she noticed Leopold taking her picture from nearby.
After leaving the stage, Caroline messaged Leopold.
Caroline: [Delete that photo.]
North: [What photo?]
Caroline: [Don't play dumb. I saw you taking my picture.]
North: [You're mistaken. I was photographing the entire venue for future event planning references.]
Caroline: [Yeah, right.]
North: [Don't believe me? Come check for yourself.]
Caroline: [Where are you?]
North: [Main lobby by the entrance.]
Caroline tried to slip out discreetly, but Xander caught her arm. "It's almost over. Where are you going?"
"Bathroom," she said.
"Hurry back."
"Will do."
The venue had four exits. As she pushed one door open, she ran into Aaron and Upton. She caught the tail end of their conversation, definitely hearing her name mentioned. Their expressions simultaneously shifted to awkwardness and surprise—clearly they'd been talking about her behind her back.
Caroline initially planned to pretend nothing happened, just exchange pleasantries and move on. But Aaron couldn't let things go—still bitter about how Caroline had interfered with arrangements he'd made through his connections. If he couldn't confront her directly, he could at least throw some passive-aggressive shade.
"Ms. Tudor really stole the show today," Aaron's voice dripped with fake admiration. "Nobody else's speech came close to your eloquence."
Considering the speakers before her had been either corporate executives or branch managers, implying they lacked her "eloquence" was a thinly veiled insult disguised as flattery.
Even with Aaron's talent for backhanded compliments, openly creating conflict at today's event wouldn't be appropriate. He could only subtly jab at her.
Caroline maintained her composure, her tone remarkably even.
"Mr. Hill, you're too funny. What eloquence? You've been with the power company longer than I have—your seniority far exceeds mine. If you'd given the speech, you would have performed much better. But you know our department's situation—Xander hates memorizing prepared remarks. That long speech was challenging even for me to remember. He was desperate and pushed me onto the stage. How could I possibly refuse? That would be disrespectful to leadership. Between us, I actually forgot two lines—but I guess you didn't notice."