Chapter 42
Lily exclaimed, "Mr. Langley is so generous!"
Charlotte thought it was indeed quite sincere. She put it on her sleeve and sat back down at her desk.
"Take that set of rules I just made and send it to the sales department again."
"Yes."
Lily agreed and went out with the rules she had drafted.
Everyone was still privately speculating about Charlotte's identity. Even when Nora brought up Charles, it didn't work.
Instead, Nora was completely subdued.
To this day, no one knew what had happened in those few short minutes in the office.
But seeing that even Nora had stopped resisting, they understood what it meant and unconditionally began to follow Charlotte's arrangements.
No one dared to eat or drink coffee in the office area anymore. Everything had to be done in the break room.
Every desk in the sales department had to be kept tidy. The attendance system was posted in front of everyone so they could see how much they were still short of their monthly targets.
The entire sales department took on a new look. In just one day, it had become an orderly and energetic department.
And word of this spread to other departments to some extent.
Suddenly everyone knew that the sales department had a very capable deputy manager who had reorganized the entire department.
Now the sales department was completely transformed.
Lily personally went upstairs to report all of Charlotte's actions to Victoria.
Victoria sat in the CEO's office, listening to Lily's account, her smile growing deeper.
"She acts decisively and efficiently, quite like I did back in the day."
She picked up her phone, wanting to call Charlotte, but put it down again.
"Never mind, you can go back now. I'll go find her myself when it's time to get off work."
Lily nodded and left. At the door, she paused and turned back.
"What should we do about Nora being so careless about her work in the sales department and neglecting management?"
Victoria narrowed her eyes.
"Last time Charles pleaded for her, asking me to give her three months of probation. This is only the first month, and the sales department is already in chaos. Her work ability is quite obvious. Even if she's my niece, I won't let it slide."
"Pass my message to her: if she doesn't meet the performance requirements like the other sales department employees, she can forget about being manager."
Lily nodded and quickly left.
In the afternoon at quitting time, Charlotte packed up her things and had just walked out of the office area to the ground floor when a Maybach stopped in front of her.
The window rolled down, and Victoria turned her head with a gentle smile.
"Charlotte, get in."
Charlotte looked at this female CEO sitting in the car with smooth long hair, wearing a white suit, gently and elegantly holding a tablet.
She was the current CEO of the Langley Group, Victoria.
Her mother.
This was only their second meeting, counting from the beginning.
The first time was when Victoria personally came to the countryside to find her and bring her back.
It had been over a month since they'd seen each other.
She wasn't familiar with Victoria and didn't have that immediate feeling of excitement upon seeing her mother.
But she definitely felt a natural closeness to her.
Charlotte knew this was someone in her safe zone who wouldn't hurt her.
She stepped forward and got in the car.
Victoria immediately handed her a box of desserts.
"Are you tired? Eating something sweet can improve your mood, right?"
Charlotte met her loving gaze and paused slightly.
"How did you know I'm in a bad mood?"
Victoria smiled, her tone carrying a hint of pride.
"I've already heard all about it. You took down that Ms. Garcia from Sterling Group today, didn't you?"
"But Nora was being difficult and made you uncomfortable, right? As soon as you made your move, you secured this big deal with Sterling Group. The whole company is talking about you."
Charlotte didn't respond.
Victoria looked at her, the pride in her eyes turning to heartache and guilt.
She knew Charlotte must have suffered a lot to develop this unapproachable personality.
The more she thought about it, the more her heart ached, and the more she wanted to make it up to Charlotte, yet she was afraid that being too eager or enthusiastic would make Charlotte uncomfortable.
"You've already come to the Langley Group today, so why don't you come home with me tonight? We have the best chefs from all over the country at home. Your grandparents are waiting for you at home. They'd be so happy if you came back."
Charlotte cut her off directly.
"Today in the sales department, I discovered many problems. Not just in the sales department—the management of the entire company has some issues."
Victoria was stunned for a moment, then smiled.
"Okay, then tell me, what exactly is wrong?"
"There are problems with the coordination mechanisms between the company's departments. I looked at the reports and found that their data isn't truly clear and transparent."
Victoria listened quietly, looking at her with increasing satisfaction.
Only when Charlotte was almost finished did she clear her throat lightly.
"Can we talk about these things later? Right now I want to take you somewhere."
Charlotte paused. "Where?"
"You'll know when we get there."
Victoria looked at her eagerly. "Don't refuse me, okay?"
Charlotte frowned and looked at her, but eventually nodded reluctantly in agreement.
Victoria breathed a sigh of relief, then smiled and waved to signal the driver to start driving toward their destination.
On the way, Victoria kept staring at Charlotte, hesitating to speak several times.
Charlotte felt somewhat uncomfortable being watched and couldn't help asking, "Is there something you want to say?"
Victoria smiled and tentatively held onto her sleeve, but didn't dare touch her hand.
"What you did in the sales department today—I'm proud of you."
Charlotte gave a soft "mm" and looked out the window without much response.
Victoria's eyes reddened, but then her gaze gradually became determined.
This daughter was as excellent and strong as she had imagined, but she felt heartbroken that Charlotte had lived alone, rejected by the Johnson family, and had become so unaccustomed to her affection.
It didn't matter. She had plenty of time. She could slowly build a relationship with Charlotte.
After all, everything in the Langley Group, everything she could offer, the vast business empire she had built over the years—it was all Charlotte's. No one else could touch any of it.
The car finally stopped in front of a secluded courtyard.
Charlotte got out and looked up.
It was a very old mansion with two ginkgo trees planted at the entrance.
There was a sign at the gate that read "Moonlit Tea Pavilion."
Charlotte looked around and asked, "Where is this? Why did you bring me here?"