Chapter 375
On the eighth day of the New Year, manypanies began to resume work.
Except for a few executives who were not in ce, the employees of IP&G Group returned to the
especially energetic.
At the first morning meeting of thepany, the directors in charge of businesses in North America
and the Asia-Pacific regions took turns to make speeches on this year''s performance n. In the 100-
square-meter conference room, the managers, inspectors and directors of various projects kept
apuding for the lofty goals set in the new year.
"... We are confident that we will achieve this year''s high target and strive to exceedst year''s growth
rate at 32% by the end of this year!"
"Okay!"
There was thunderous apuse, and everyone present was very excited.
However, they also noticed that Patrick, who was sitting in the middle of the conference room, seemed
to be absent-minded all the time.
ording to the custom of previous years, Patrick would go on stage and briefly summarize at the end
of the meeting.
But he seemed not to have such a mood today.
"Proceed with your work as nned."
He stood up and looked around. His grim and serious expression met the expectant eyes of his
subordinates. After he said these words calmly, Patrick walked straight out of the conference room.
Several regional directors in the conference room looked at each other puzzled.
They had worked with Patrick for many years and knew very well that although Mr. Hopkins always had
a lukewarm attitude, he would not let personal feelings influence work, but he seemed to beden with
anxiety today.
Patrick returned to his office on the top floor. On the wall-mounted high-end TV, international news was
broadcast. He focused his eyes on the news and frowned, indicating he was really worried about
something.
All the secretaries had returned to work. The senior chief secretary knocked on the door as usual, then
walked in with a few documents in her hands, and was about to report to him.
The secretary cast a nce at the international news broadcast and found it was all about Switzend.
Before being qualified as a top secretary of IP&G Group, one needed to pass a lot of tests, which
naturally included EQ test. The secretary found that Patrick was so absorbed in the news that he didn''t
notice hering in.
The secretary stood aside and waited quietly for the CEO to finish reading the news without disturbing
him.
When the news reported that there might be a heavy snowstorm in Switzend recently, Patrick
couldn''t help but turn around and walk towards his desk. He grabbed his phone and was about to call
someone.
When he turned around, Patrick noticed with a little surprise that the secretary had been waiting here
for a while.
The beautiful secretary took the initiative to say, "Mr. Hopkins, here are two contracts from abroad
which you need to check and sign as soon as possible..."
"Put them down first."
He didn''t even look at the documents. The cold tone obviously intended to drive her away.
The secretary already knew Patrick''s cold temper very well. She did not dare to add anything more and
put down documents swiftly, simply nodding at him and helping close the door.
"Herees the first piece of news this year. Our boss may be nning to invest in the Swiss
market..."
As soon as the door was closed, the women began a heated discussion.
There were more than 20 people in the secretarial office and they were all world-famous university
graduates and elites in the sector. Nevertheless, they were all gossipy, especially about the news of the
head of IP&G Group, who was right next door to them. All news rted to Patrick would be the
object of their discussion for ten days and nights.
"That''s impossible. I hear that our boss was uninterested in the meeting this morning, and the
"It definitely has something to do with Switzend!"
The chief secretary was very confident. "Although I don''t know whichpany our boss is interested
in, we have to gain the upper hand first by buying the shares of Swiss corporations. After the
sessful acquisition of them, shares will definitely soar..."
Every white-cor elite knew the stock market very well. They were especially enthusiastic about
benefiting from the insider''s message.
Suddenly, a tall and slim figure approached and sneered.
The mocking voice was a little abrupt, urging the chief secretary and the others to restrain their gossipy
manners immediately and turn to look.
"Have you got the wrong ce? We never ept outsiders on the top floor..."
Hearing this arrogant and provocative tone, the neer, who was a short-haired beauty, shrugged
as if it didn''t matter. She smiled at these secretaries and reached out her hand. "Hello, my name is
Lucy."
"I am chosen by my leader to do odds and ends here."
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Lucy smiled brightly. She pointed at the blue folder on the chief secretary''s desk with her long, tapering
finger and said in a clear voice, "You can look through your personnel records. My profile is supposed
to be included there."
When the chief secretary heard this, she immediately turned serious. "Miss Parker of the personnel
department hasn''t resumed her work yet. It''s impossible for us to ept new people here..."
As she flipped through the documents, the chief secretary was very surprised that there was indeed a
record of Lucy, who was promoted directly by Patrick.
The secretaries on the top floor of IP&G were knowledgeable, and it wasmon for them to socialize
and chat with the big shots in the circle. However, Lucy, the new employee who suddenly dropped in,
left a strange impression on them.
To their surprise, Lucy actually called Patrick her leader.
She spoke in a calm manner,pletely free from the nervousness and restraints featured by new
employees. She even didn''t take the IP&G Group seriously.
"Lucy, right? We''ll be colleagues in the future. If you have any problems, you can turn to us."
The sudden arrival of a neer appointed by the boss made the secretaries on the alert. They were
no longer in the mood to gossip about their boss.
But Lucy seemed very interested in the boss. She knocked on the door of his office directly and
shouted mischievously, "My dear leader, I''m here to report the weather in Switzend to you."
When seeing this, the group of elite secretaries outside were astonished. Was this neer a familiar
friend of the boss?
Lucy was a little unsteady in character, but she was very efficient in fulfilling tasks. She had gathered
all-rounded information about the snowstorm in Switzend and the safety facilities of the Swiss ski
resort, which Patrick longed to know.
"This is from the meteorological bureau, so the uracy rate is very high. The snowstorm is most
concentrated in Sankt Moritz. It is expected that there will be a snowstorm starting from tomorrow and
the barriers of the Alps here, the temperature is estimated to drop to minus 20 degrees in the worst
case..."
Lucy pointed to an area on the map, which included the ski resort Christina had gone to.
"It''s really unfortunate to encounter this kind of weather when traveling. If they want to leave, set out
early, or the airport will definitely be closedter."
At the sight of Patrick''s sullen face, Lucy suddenly shut up, put the collected information on the desk,
and quickly left.
She did know Patrick well, but she didn''t dare to pester him. Lucy sneered in her heart. After all, she
wasn''t Christina, who Patrick was concerned about.
Patrick was the only one left in the spacious office. He looked at the documents of the collected
information on the desk for a long time.
After hesitating for a while, he took his cell phone and made a call.
"How long does it take for you to take her back?" Patrick was furious as soon as he started to talk.
Charles, who was on the other end of the phone, was so frightened by Patrick that he didn''t know how
to reply. He took Christina away without informing him in advance. Now he felt that he was doomed.
Charles replied in a panic, "Patrick, you couldn''te!"
"Christina has been having a good time these two days. She must be in a bad mood if youe over.
She doesn''t want to see you. So you should take care of your child at home. Never evere here!"
Charles spoke very quickly for fear that Patrick woulde in person to get even with him.
Then, before Patrick could speak again, Charles hung up the phone as he was afraid of Patrick''s
me.
Patrick clutched his phone tightly. He stood in front of the French windows on the top floor of the
<ppany, his eyes drifting away.