Chapter 5

Sophia made a humble remark, indicating the end of her presentation.Since it was an analysis report
about the food field, Sophia had little exposure to it, but thankfully, she was well prepared.She
performed well and finished the presentation very smoothly.

Patrick, who was seated across from her and should have been concentrating on the presentation, was
intensely staring at her as if sizing her up.

This caught Lianna's attention when she lifted her eyes.She was also quite surprised by the intensity of
Patrick's gaze on Sophia.She silently wondered, 'Could it be that the President knew Sophia?' Then,
she remembered Claire's detailed summary of what happened during that interview.She emphasized
Sophia's lack of confidence when answering Patrick's questions.

Strictly speaking, given the high qualification for this position, she had no way of passing the interview.

Unless...

Quite intrigued, Lianna inquisitively gazed at Patrick and Sophia and scrutinized every subtle
movement they made that might convey the relationship between them.

Samuel suddenly interrupted the pervading silence inside the conference room by asking, "President
Evans, Manager Parson, what do you think of this analysis report?"

Having been in the workplace for some time, Lianna naturally wouldn't steal the spotlight from her
superior, so she simply kept her silence and let him speak.

Patrick began indifferently, "Miss Miller, this analysis…”

Deep inside, Sophia felt embarrassed, but she still politely interrupted him by saying, "I apologize for
interrupting President Evans, but my surname is Hill"



Then, she deeply looked at him as if trying to figure out whether he was just pretending or he had truly
forgotten about her.

Patrick was not flustered when he heard this.

Even his expressions didn't change for a bit.

Upon sensing her penetrating gaze, his eyes moved slowly towards hers.

There was an obvious contempt in his eyes, though he tried to conceal it with his gentle smile.

Only then did Sophia truly understand that even though he clearly remembered her, he was doing this
method to draw a line between them and simply remind her of her position.

Since that was what he intended to do, then she'd willingly comply.

After all, she was just a stranger to him.

While he appeared to be enlightened when he heard of this, anyone in the conference room could feel
his lack of interest when he carelessly continued, "Oh, so your surname is Hill.Then, I'm sorry, Miss
Hill, but I am not quite pleased with this analysis report."

He paused and then ordered Lianna, "Lianna, carefully analyze it for Miss Hill and make sure she
knows why we're not satisfied with it"

Sophia could discern the insincerity behind his words, but she had no right to question him.She could
do nothing but only accept the blaming glances from Samuel.

After saying this, Patrick, with a calm yet emotionless expression on his face, didn't even bother to look
back as he unhurriedly strode out.



Under his solid mask, one could never know how many hidden thoughts he had nor how profound they
were.

Who could perceive it? The people in the conference room had nothing else to do, so they also left.

Only Lianna and Samuel remained.

Lianna started to pack her things on the table and bluntly said, "As a certified data analyst, if you can
only come up with such a poor proposal, then I apologize; I'm afraid our cooperation will have to end
here."

Although Lianna's mouth was poisonous, Sophia clearly understood that in a large company, no one
would be willing to adjust to your growth.

You only had yourself to rely on, and you had to make sure you had a competitive advantage to stand
amongst others.

Otherwise, you would likely be eliminated.

Samuel's demeanor shifted when he realized the weight of the situation.

He seriously said, "Sophia, this analysis report is related to the success of our department for the next
six months, so you have to try your best to meet their demands, understand?"

Sophia was embarrassed but had no choice but to comply.

Only when Samuel was in the comfort of his car did he loosen his tie, noting how his palms were
profusely sweating.

He had also been in the business world for several years, but he had never seen such a formidable
businessman like Patrick.



Every word and every action of Patrick seemed to be profound but also seemed unintentional.

Samuel couldn't guess even a little.

Samuel put Sophia in charge of this because of the urgency of this report.

If Sophia screwed this up, he couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't lose his job.

But what could he do? Those professionals in the company who could be mobilized had a lot of work
on their hands.

Furthermore, the job in Evans Company was not something that ordinary people were willing to accept.

Definitely, he would not be able to find someone to handle this analysis report in such a short period if it
hadn't been for Sophia, who was timid and easy to bully.

He sighed.

"Let's go."

Samuel pondered for a bit but realized that he had no choice but to simply accept their current
dilemma.

Meanwhile, in the president's office of the Evans Group.

Assistant John put a few documents to be signed on the desk.

"Mr.Evans, this is a promotion plan that another company sent to us, and Sophia's detailed information
you asked for is here too"

"Hey, no wonder she seems familiar.Isn't she your ex-wife? She has no means of surviving in this harsh
world, so she used work as an excuse to get closed to you, her ex-husband?"



John playfully taunted him.

Patrick asked coldly, "You have a lot of work to do, but you also have the time to make fun of me? "

John felt sheepish.

Just now, he could feel the frigid air surrounding him.He tried to conceal it by chuckling.

"No, no, I'm just curious.."

After working for Patrick for so many years, John often wondered what pushed a clever guy like him to
marry a woman he didn't love and could still tolerate her for five years.

Furthermore, after five years of divorce, his ex-wife could still appear in front of him, so it was his
choice not to chase her away.

Considering the situation from two days earlier, Patrick definitely went to great lengths for her.

Usually, he would not allow such a person to be in the company.

It was totally out of his character to prioritize a woman over his business.

Thus, John was quite interested in what games Patrick was playing.

"Do you remember what you are here for? Have you brought the advertising plan of Hurricane Group?"

John regained his composure and serious expression as he passed the document to Patrick.

Patrick stretched out his hand to take it.

He was very careful when reviewing it.

He further asked, "Is there anything else?"



As he recalled an important matter, John couldn't help but to lightly smack his forehead and say, "Miss
Adriana called several times to ask if you could accompany her to pick up Quentin from school before
going to Golden Pavilion to celebrate her birthday..."

Quentin was Patrick's son.

John always admired that clever and aloof little guy.

Patrick paused and then lightly asked, "How long has it been since I last saw her?"

"It's been a week" John quietly replied.

"Well, reschedule any planned appointment for tomorrow and help me prepare a birthday present.Have
it delivered to my desk by five o'clock, are we clear?"

"Yes, President Evans” John said as he turned around and left quickly.

At five o'clock, Sophia grabbed her bag and decided to go.

Today was Friday.She hadn't picked up Emma for a week.

Last night, the little girl, Emma, had grumbled to Sophia for a long time about her grandma not allowing
her to eat whatever she wanted, and Emma felt aggrieved by this.

Emma was still young, and she enjoyed eating some snacks, but her mother usually couldn't buy them
to save money.

Her grandma rarely bought them for the little girl too.

Sighing deeply, in times like this, she sometimes thought that it might be a good idea to find aman that
she could rely on.



At the very least, the little girl didn't have to experience such hardships because of her shortcomings.

Sophia stood in front of the elevator, waiting for it to descend from the top floor.

Suddenly, the door of the conference room opened.

"President, the exclusive elevator malfunctioned today.Let's go this way"

John reminded Patrick, holding an exquisite pink paper bag.

Patrick, who had walked in another direction, stopped for a moment, and then his footsteps hastened
towards Sophia, who was walking to the opened elevator.

On the other hand, before Sophia could enter the elevator, she heard a familiar voice and decided to hit
the button to close it quickly.

Sadly, she was still stopped by John, who said loudly, "Please wait a moment"

Feeling helpless, Sophia could only accept that not everything would go her way.

She then walked to the side and respectfully said, "Mr.Evans..."

Patrick simply responded with, 'Hmm"

The enclosed space was extremely silent, so quiet that she could plainly feel his rhythmic breathing.

After some time, the elevator quickly arrived on the first floor.


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