Chapter 58 Obedience Tendency

Chapter 58 Obedience Tendency

Emily's POV

Mira wasn't backing down: "Fine, I'll do it. I can definitely do better than you."

I shot Christopher a cold look, my tone firm: "Let go of me!"

"Emily, I..."

"Stop calling me Emily. You don't have the right to call me that, or you'll regret it."

I shook off his hand and got up to leave. Hearing Joshua snickering nearby, I didn't hold back—I kicked him right off his chair onto the floor.

"What are you laughing at? I'm in trouble here, and instead of helping, you're just watching the show. That's really out of line."

Joshua's smile vanished instantly after getting kicked for no reason, replaced by a strange flush on his face. I glanced at him briefly but didn't think much of it.

As I was almost at the door, Mira's smug voice came from behind: "Christopher, you don't need to beg her. Whatever she can do, I can do too."

Just empty bragging.

I walked out of the conference room, and soon after, Joshua followed.

"Emily, Emily, wait for me."

Hearing him calling out, I not only didn't stop but actually walked faster.

Joshua had to jog a couple steps to catch up, asking in confusion: "Emily, why do you walk faster the more I call you?"

He gently tugged my hand, and I stopped, looking him over carefully before asking seriously: "Joshua, take a good look at me. What do you think?"

Joshua's face turned bright red instantly. He lowered his head, twisting the hem of his shirt with both hands, stammering for a long time without daring to look up at me.

"Emily, I'm still young, I'm only 22, you shouldn't..."

Hearing this, I felt a wave of emotion. 22 years old? So young, really enviable.

"Alright, that's not what I meant." I pointed toward the conference room. "Tell me, if you had to choose between me and Mira, who would you pick?"

Joshua's expression turned serious for two seconds, then he suddenly turned his head away, his ears turning red, saying firmly: "Of course I'd choose you, Emily."

My heart leaped with joy, and I stepped forward to press: "Why?"

Joshua's face grew even redder, his eyes avoiding mine, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly: "Emily, why what?"

"Don't play dumb with me, just say it!"

"Because... because... I like mature women."

Joshua seemed to use all his strength to say this sentence. After saying it, he slumped to the floor like a deflated balloon.

Seeing him like this, a mischievous thought instantly popped into my mind. I looked down at him from above, took off my high heels right in front of him, and lightly placed my foot on his shoulder, leaning down to close the distance between us.

I half-closed my eyes, deliberately drawing out my words: "So you like mature women?"

Sure enough, Joshua's breathing became heavier, his whole face flushed, even trembling slightly with nervousness. I was now certain he had submissive tendencies.

After confirming this, I withdrew my foot. Watching Joshua clearly relax, though his eyes dimmed slightly, as if after the tension lifted, he felt somewhat disappointed. I made a mental note of this detail—it confirmed my judgment once again.

I covered my mouth and giggled, crouching down to tell him: "If you're willing to help me, maybe I can take better care of you in the future."

I winked playfully, and Joshua obviously read too much into it, his breathing becoming rapid again.

"Emily, don't worry, whatever it is, I'll give it my all."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I'll do whatever it takes!"

I rolled my eyes. This guy really knew how to talk. "By the way, why did Christopher insist on bringing Mira?" I didn't believe it was just because of Aria's request—there had to be another reason.

"Emily, don't underestimate Mira. She graduated with a law degree and has practical experience. She can handle intellectual property, legal affairs, and operations all by herself—she's worth several people."

"Christopher brought her because of that. After all, you're a designer. Even if you have experience managing a company, you probably don't know much about legal stuff."

"Don't let Christopher's achievements fool you—they don't have much to do with him. He's actually pretty dumb."

"My project is something I actually researched myself. I have a master's degree in pharmaceuticals."

I nodded. Just as I thought. Given Christopher's personality, how could he bring Mira for no reason? Even if he's dumb, he should know that putting two women who both like him together would definitely cause conflict.

No wonder—he valued Mira's abilities. After all, he's even poorer than me now. Hiring a professional lawyer for the company's PR? Don't even think about it.

I couldn't help but think deeper. Maybe he had other motives—maybe he deliberately wanted to make me jealous.

It wasn't impossible. That guy was pretty shrewd.

Thinking of this, my gaze at Joshua became more intense. What could be more satisfying than giving someone a taste of their own medicine? Nothing!

At the same time, another thought occurred to me—Joshua graduated with a pharmaceutical degree. If I sent him to the workshop, under the guise of helping out, to learn the core secrets of Martinez BioGroup's collaboration, then in the future...

I started fantasizing about the good life ahead.

But I quickly shook my head. No, I couldn't think like that. While it seemed like I could get the core secrets, doing so would completely offend Ethan. If he then targeted the company, it would be more trouble than it's worth, and we'd lose an important partner.

"Emily, what are you thinking about?" Joshua asked curiously.

I glared at him irritably: "Someone bullied me and you just watched without helping."

"That's not fair. I didn't even have time to help before you kicked me down."

I covered my mouth and giggled, reaching out to pull him up: "Fine, I won't hold it against you. We're going to be busy from now on. The collaboration with Martinez BioGroup isn't a long-term solution—they're only working with us because they can't build their third production line in the short term."

"Once their workshop is built, our collaboration will end. We need to figure out our next move during this year. I'm leaving this to you. If you can solve it," I smiled mysteriously, leaning close to his ear, "I'll reward you with my worn stockings."

"Really?" Joshua's eyes lit up instantly.

I nodded.

Joshua suddenly put on a righteous expression: "Emily, don't say that. For the company, I'll do whatever it takes!"

I rolled my eyes, stood up and yawned: "Alright, alright, I'm going to bed. I'm exhausted. We'll talk about anything else tomorrow."

"Emily, don't forget about the reward!"

I glanced back at his retreating figure in the hallway and found it almost absurd. All that 'geeky engineer' nonsense—his mind was clearly anywhere but on his studies. Still, for some reason, it actually lifted my mood.

Then I thought about how sometimes I'd have strange thoughts because of Christopher too. Could I also have submissive tendencies?

Impossible, absolutely impossible. I couldn't be that kind of person.

The Next Day

I was woken up by a phone call from Nicholas.

"Ms. Johnson, you need to come quick. The two groups at the factory are fighting again, and people from Martinez BioGroup are watching and egging them on."