Ethan walked into the office, frowning slightly.
He'd never been a fan of senseless overtime culture, and he had no interest in becoming some kind of capitalist who exploited his employees.
"Thanks for all your hard work, everyone. There's really no need to stay up this late. If you need to rest, go ahead and rest," he said loudly.
But the team members were full of energy. "President Ethan, it's not hard at all! It's just these few days!"
"Yeah, once the software goes live, we promise to clock out on time!"
"If I leave now, I won't feel right about it!"
Seeing the fighting spirit and excitement burning in their eyes, Ethan smiled, helpless but glad, and didn't push the issue.
He walked over to Alex and the others' workstations and carefully went through the latest software updates and the various data.
The results surprised him—the product's completeness and attention to detail far exceeded his initial expectations, and Alex and the others had taken it even further than he'd imagined.
Ethan said he'd have President Laura give everyone a bonus as a reward for the overtime, which set off another wave of excitement through the whole team.
Ethan smiled as he left the excited crowd behind and knocked on the door of Laura's office.
"Come in." A cool, capable voice rang out.
He pushed the door open, and Laura came into view.
Unlike the soft, gentle look she'd favored back at school, she was now dressed in a sharply tailored light blue suit that showed off her sharp lines. Below her slender calves, a pair of simple white heels.
The Ms. Laura he'd once known had transformed into a sharp, capable professional.
Laura saw Ethan come in, stood up, and immediately switched into report mode. "The organizational restructuring for Nexus Social is basically done, and the key personnel coordinated and brought in by General Manager Sarah are also in place. Overall project progress is on schedule, maybe even a little ahead. Once you confirm the final launch date, we can start anytime."
She was clear and spoke at a steady pace.
"Yeah, very well done." Ethan nodded. He still had a lot of respect for Laura's professional ability.
After she'd taken over, she'd quickly pulled Nexus Social into something more comprehensive and unified than before, something that actually felt like a real company. Before, Alex had always led with energy and drive, but things had a rough edge to them. Now it fit the mold of a modern company, with clear structure and standardized operations.
He asked casually, "How's Sarah working out?"
Ethan actually knew Sarah's abilities better than anyone. In his past life, she'd been one of his top people. But today he asked anyway, just to see.
Laura said earnestly, "Honestly outstanding. Whether it's R&D talent or marketing people, she finds the right person for us, fast and accurate. She's humble too, communicates well, and fits right in with the team."
Ethan walked over to her desk, looked at her slightly tired but still lively face, and said sincerely, "Nexus Social's been the hardest thing on your plate lately. Thanks for putting in the extra work."
Laura crossed her arms, leaned back slightly, raised her eyebrows at him, and curled her red lips into a half-smile. "President Ethan, you're just gonna say 'thanks for your hard work' and call it a day?"
Ethan glanced around the office. Hm~ pretty spacious. All of a sudden, he stood up, walked around behind her, placed both hands on her slightly stiff shoulders, and started kneading with just the right pressure.
At the same time, he leaned in a little, close to her ear. His warm breath brushed against her ear, his voice low and laced with a teasing edge. "Of course not. I'll give it to you, Ms. Laura..."
"Knock it off!" Laura jumped like she'd been burned, smacking his hand away, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. "You still can't be serious around your teacher, can you!"
Her tone carried a hint of annoyance, but there was no real anger in her eyes.
Ethan shrugged, all innocence, and took a step back. "Ms. Laura, let me set a few things straight. First, I've graduated. Second, you're President Laura now, not Ms. Laura. Third, what I just said is exactly what I meant—I'm gonna cook you dinner. What... where'd your mind go with that?"
He dragged out the last few words on purpose, eyes glinting with mischief. "Don't tell me Ms. Laura thought I was gonna say...?"
"You little brat! Shut up!" Laura cut him off immediately, glaring at him with a mix of embarrassment and anger, her blush even more obvious now.
This shift in their roles seemed like something they'd both need time to get used to—this new, subtle distance between them.
After joining the company, Laura had been living in an apartment the company rented for her.
Ethan had set this up earlier through Diana, using the company's name, just to make things easier for core people like Sarah and Laura for the time being.
Diana had already wrapped up work for the day. That evening, she'd even messaged Ethan, saying that if they weren't having dinner together tonight, she was planning to take her daughter out to eat.
There was no helping it. Ever since she'd gotten to New York, she'd been busy every single day. Even with her daughter starting at NYU, they hadn't had a meal together in over a week, which had she complaining. So today, since she'd finished her work, she left early.
When Ethan got the message from Diana, he happened to be at the supermarket with Nora, picking up ingredients.
...
Ethan drove back to Laura's apartment with her.
He put on an apron, slipped into the kitchen, and before long brought out several homemade dishes, colorful and delicious.
At this hour, it could basically count as a late-night snack...
Looking at the steaming, tempting spread on the table, Laura was genuinely surprised. "You... you actually know how to cook?"
Laura was pretty taken aback. She hadn't expected Ethan to actually know how to cook. And it looked pretty good, too.
She'd figured he was just making stuff up to cover for his teasing earlier.
Eating Ethan's cooking, Laura felt a little dazed. She was genuinely happy with everything going on in her life right now.
This was the life she wanted. Sure, she was busy, sometimes not eating dinner until eight or nine at night, but this was who she was. She was doing work she was good at, and that made her happy.
...
Ethan left Laura's apartment.
He got into the driver's seat and had just buckled his seatbelt when his phone rang.
The screen lit up with the caller ID: Kevin.
"Huh?" Ethan raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.
Ever since he'd met Kevin at a bar in New York before school started, he hadn't thought much about it.
At the time, he'd figured the guy would reach out soon.
But after more than ten days with no word, Ethan figured he'd guessed wrong, or maybe the guy just hadn't taken it seriously at all.
He hadn't minded either way. But now, out of nowhere, the guy was calling.
Ethan shook his head, a playful smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, and slid his finger across the screen to answer.
"Bro, what's been keeping you busy lately?" Kevin's signature cheerful, overly familiar voice rang out right away, though it sounded kind of loud and crowded in the background. "Your kidneys still holding up?"
His tone was dripping with teasing.
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