Chapter 1037 Ain’t Telling You
“I am a nice boss.” Toby slightly raised his chin as he displayed a smug expression.
The corner of Sonia’s lips twitched. “Hey hey hey. I am being sarcastic. Can’t you tell?”
She knew he loved exploiting Tom, but she never expected him to go this far! It was as if Toby did not know what was wrong with doing so.
“I can.” He leaned against his chair and let out a light smile. He was not an idiot, so how could he not be able to read between the lines?
“So, what’s with that proud face?” She gave the man an eye-roll.
He smiled. “If he isn’t the one working overtime, then I will be the one. If so, I wouldn’t have the time to be with you. So, why not let him do the work? He’s single and has loads of time for it.”
His shameless yet reasonable words rendered Sonia speechless. Despite the frustration and funny feeling, her heart went out for Tom.
What’s wrong with being single? Is it a reason to be exploited?
Feeling helpless, she kneaded her forehead. “Think about it. If it weren’t for you, he would’ve the time to find himself a girlfriend.”
Toby fell into silence. That makes sense too.
However, he would not admit to it; if he did, he would be the main cause for Tom being single. Thus, he would never admit to it, so it was not his fault.
As an afterthought, he pursed his lips and coughed before replying nonchalantly, “Him being single is not on me. He is the one at fault. He doesn’t want a girlfriend. If he does, he will spare the time to get one no matter how busy he is.”
In short, it was none of Toby’s business.
How could Sonia not know that he was being stubborn and not admitting the truth? He was making up an excuse. She shook her head in helplessness. “Yeah, yeah. It’s none of your business. You care so much for your workers. How would his subordinates not have the time to find themselves a partner when they have such a nice boss, isn’t it?”
Hearing that, Toby shamelessly hummed in response. Yeah, that’s right.
The corner of Sonia’s lips twitched once again.
This brazen man.
She said that on purpose and yet, he accepted it without a tad of guilt. Just what should she do with him?
“Fine. Regardless, don’t exploit him too much. You guys are still young and have to work together for another few decades. If you put too much pressure on him, it’ll take a toll on his health and what will you do in ten years time? Are you sure you’ll be able to find someone who has a good rapport with you and knows you as well as he does?” She gave an eye-roll.
It took him a while before he reciprocated, “Little Leaf.”
“Hmm?” She cocked her head. “What’s wrong?”
“You…” Toby pursed his lips and his voice trailed off. A couple of seconds later, he finally continued, “I think you’re worse than I am. You push Tom more than I do.”
She was stunned. “What do you mean? How am I worse than you are?”
Don’t frame me!
“I admit that I have high expectations for Tom, but I never thought about keeping him with me for such a long run, whereas you’ve already planned his decades-long future for him. It seems like you wanna tie him to Fuller Group and serve the company forever,” he elaborated with a teasing glint in his eyes.
When Sonia heard that, she floundered for a moment before her face turned crimson. She even began to stammer on her words. “I-I am not! I didn’t mean it that way. I-I’m just advising you not to push him too hard. I’m not saying that I want him to work for Fuller Group forever.”
Her voice trailed away and her head sunk lower and lower as the guilt grew in her. She could not help the feeling since she did not mean it that way. However, the way she put it did call for some misunderstandings.
Hence, how could she not feel guilty? The way she said it was wrong at the beginning.
Looking at her embarrassed and awkward expression through the screen, he smiled. If she was there with him, he would’ve hugged and kissed her so badly. He could not help the urge; she was way too adorable.
She usually behaved maturely and her fashion sense was that of a career woman, hence the rare appearance of her demure side. It was a once in a blue moon chance to see her acting like that.
What’s the popular internet slang again? Ah, I’m simping for her.
After watching Sonia’s reaction, he could feel his heart pounding vigorously against his chest as there was a surge of sizzling sensation.
I guess this is how it feels like to be lovestruck.
“I know you don’t mean it that way. I was just joking.” He turned sideways and propped his chin, looking at the woman in the video call in a languid yet manly manner.
She glared at Toby. “You’re always like this.”
He chuckled softly and his low voice was engaging. “Alright. I’ll stop.”
She snorted and decided to let him off the hook. Then, she stared at him curiously. “You said that you’re not planning to keep Mr. Brown by your side? What do you mean by that? Are you going to fire him?”
He shook his head. “Of course not. He owns 0.2% of the initial public offering of our company. So, he’s not only my assistant, but also the shareholder of the company. He’s forever tied to Fuller Group. I’m not planning to have him by my side for eternity because once the time is right, I’ll let him handle a subsidiary. Tom is a capable man. It’ll be a waste of his talent if he works as an assistant forever.”
“I see.” Sonia nodded upon realizing the meaning behind his words. “I did hear that owners of big companies do let their confidants take over the subsidiaries. It is true.”
“Of course. The ones working close to me are basically trustworthy. To have them handle the subsidiaries is an acknowledgement of their capability. I won’t have to worry about traitors in the subsidiaries too.” He narrowed his eyes.
She caressed her chin. “I’ve learned something new again. All in all, you’ll do the same to Tom and the other secretaries and assistants. Am I right?”
Toby hummed. “That’s right. I can’t have them work for me as my assistants and secretaries forever. They have the potential. It’s condescending to have them stuck in that position. The reason why I’m still keeping them by my side is to train them.”
“I understand.” She tucked her hair behind her ear as she thought, I’ve learned something new again.
If only Paradigm had such conditions, she would have put her knowledge to use. However, it was because Paradigm had yet to burgeon.
Once the company flourished, she could assign whoever to wherever she wished like Toby.
She could not help but giggle at that notion. Looking at her smiling like a little squirrel with pine nuts, he became curious. “What are you smiling at?”
“Nothing.” She waved her hand, unwilling to tell him everything that was on her mind, for he was afraid that he would laugh at her pipe dream.
After all, the time for Paradigm to grow into a company as huge as his was imponderable. She was not even sure whether it was achievable in the least. Thus, she figured that it would be better not to tell him about it; it would be a secret of hers alone.
