On top was a set of lustrous, warm clay tea sets.
Next to the tea table, a set of comfortable leather sofas enclosed a small reception area, and a small temperature-controlled wine fridge was cleverly embedded beside the sofa.
On the office walls, several abstract oil paintings were carefully hung, with colors that perfectly complemented the spatial tone.
The highlight was a row of carefully maintained greenery by the floor-to-ceiling windows, including an elegant small fig tree and a thick-leafed monstera.
Their placement was clearly carefully considered, decorating the space without obstructing the magnificent cityscape outside the window. Each pot was full of vitality, with fine droplets of water still on the leaves.
This attention to detail clearly showed it hadn't been thrown together carelessly.
It was obvious the office layout was definitely Mia's doing.
Ethan's gaze swept around the room, finally settling on Mia's face. A sincere smile curled at the corner of his lips: "Thank you for the thoughtfulness! This setup is really comfortable."
He deliberately pointed to that row of greenery: "Especially these little guys, the spots you picked are really good."
Mia felt a bit embarrassed under his gaze, tilted her head slightly and said softly, "It just happened to line up with a couple days off, so I stopped by to check on the progress. Seeing that row of plants, I just adjusted things a bit on the spot. If you feel it's not to your taste, I'll have someone come rearrange it."
"No need, it's already perfect. I really like it." As Ethan spoke, he naturally reached out and gently wrapped his arm around Mia's slender waist, leading her to sit down on the comfortable sofa.
The sofa's soft leather offered an excellent wraparound feel.
Ethan turned to look at her, his eyes filled with seriousness and a hint of barely noticeable hope: "So... have you thought it over seriously?"
"Think... think about what?" Mia's heart skipped a beat as she felt the warmth from his arm, her body stiffening involuntarily, a hint of nervousness in her expression.
Ethan smiled and said, "Quitting the bank and coming to work as my secretary, obviously. What do you think? With someone as professional and attentive as you by my side, I'll be able to set the bar for secretaries impossibly high going forward. I know your abilities well. Here, you could definitely aim for something bigger and actually build something meaningful."
Upon hearing this, Mia was momentarily stunned, then rolled her eyes in annoyance, no longer caring about the hand at her waist: So you were waiting for me down here for this? Going through all these elaborate loops just to trick me into being your free executive labor!
She snorted lightly, pretending to push away his hand resting on her waist: "I'm not falling for a losing deal like that! You're not even that old, but you've already mastered a capitalist's scheming mind — you're rotten to the core... I'm not getting on your ship!"
Ethan's arm didn't move an inch; instead, he pulled her even closer, lowering his voice with a smile as he pushed back: "Who said you'd lose out? On paper, you'd be my secretary, but behind the scenes, you'd also be the boss's woman. Guaranteed win, right? The better the company runs, the more benefits come your way, doesn't it?"
Mia was left speechless by his blunt, somewhat baseless logic, and two spots of blush instantly spread across her cheeks.
Her face flushed slightly. She scoldingly brushed his hand away, stood up flustered, and hurried over to the desk: "I'm not playing games with you! Let's get down to business!"
She quickly opened the computer on Ethan's desk and entered her password to log into her email.
She clicked quickly with the mouse, then started up a brand-new laser printer nearby.
"Ethan, the search firm's already sent over the info on the shortlisted senior management candidates. Come take a look. If there's no issue, I'll send out interview invitations." Her voice returned to a sharp, businesslike tone, but the blush on her cheeks hadn't completely faded.
The printer emitted a faint, efficient hum, and neatly bound resumes started coming out.
Mia quickly organized everything and handed it all to Ethan: "Five candidates total, all high-end management talent selected by the search firm based on your criteria. Their resumes are very competitive."
Ethan took the thick stack of resumes, a bit surprised: "That fast? Five solid candidates in just a few days?"
Mia stood by the desk, looking at Ethan's surprised expression. She smiled with a hint of pride in her eyes: "Normally, finding top talent with this level of fit wouldn't move nearly this fast."
She changed the subject: "But the moment our company finished registration, we paid in a huge $3 million in registered capital. Word of that spread through the industry fast, and it turned into a magnet. A lot of elite talent who'd been sitting on the sidelines suddenly got a lot more interested, once they saw the company's strength and the seriousness behind it."
Ethan nodded knowingly without saying anything more. He lowered his head and opened the first resume in his hand, reading it with focused attention.
Ryan, 31 years old, holds a PhD in Business Administration from Stanford. His resume highlights his focus on portfolio management during his time at Sequoia Capital.
Marcus, 35 years old, holds a Master of Science in Financial Economics from Oxford. He boasts a dual background spanning finance giant Vanguard and entertainment giant Lionsgate. During his time at Vanguard, he led and participated in two growth-stage tech media deals valued at over a billion dollars, both with successful exits. After moving to Lionsgate, he handled financing and financial management for several major productions, gaining deep insight into how capital moves in the entertainment industry.
Derek, 27 years old, undergraduate in industrial management from Cornell, master's from Princeton. His career started in the strategic investments group at Amazon, where he worked on multiple acquisitions of internet content platforms. He later moved to Paramount, where he handled business partnerships and IP development for flagship reality shows, blending internet-native thinking with hands-on entertainment industry experience.
Tyler, 36 years old, holds a bachelor's in business administration from Georgetown and a master's in business management from Caltech. Previously served as Senior Strategy Manager at Microsoft, leading the formulation and rollout of enterprise cloud strategy for the North American market, with sharp instincts around tech trends and large-enterprise operations.
Jake, 26 years old, a Harvard grad. Currently at Walmart's corporate headquarters as an Emerging Business Development Manager, his resume highlights the process and early results of a same-day delivery pilot program he built from the ground up, demonstrating strong execution and a genuinely innovative mindset.
Ethan put down the resumes and let out a gentle sigh.
The weight of this list far exceeded expectations. All five candidates were top talents with impressive backgrounds and airtight resumes, each having sharpened their skills in core fields ranging from finance, tech, and internet media to entertainment and even retail giants.
There are 130 advance chapters ahead in my Patreon. If you are interested can check it out.
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