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Chapter 177: The Devious Arnold!
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Arnold was in his forties, but he was neither bald nor pot-bellied. He was bespectacled and rather decent-looking.
Victoria walked in with a smile on her face and took the initiative to reach out to Arnold. “It’s been a while, Mr. Decker.”
“Long time no see.”
Arnold also hurriedly extended his hand to give Victoria a handshake.
Feeling the beauty’s soft and slender right hand, Arnold refused to let go for a long time and even kept his eyes glued onto her.
“Victoria, you’ve become prettier again.”
The two had met before at a symposium in Toronto. At that time, Arnold just happened to have an asthma attack and didn’t have an inhaler with him.
Victoria, who was a stranger to him then, saved Arnold’s life by making him a cup of hot coffee immediately after seeing his condition.
Since then, Arnold had been in love with Victoria.
It was just a small matter for Victoria, and she was extremely nice to many men, especially C-suites.
After Victoria came to New York City, she finally came to him because she knew that Arnold harbored designs on her.
If she hadn’t been forced by Cayden, she wouldn’t want to see him at all. After all, she already has a boyfriend.
“Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Decker. You seem much healthier than before.”
Victoria ruffled her hair.
Arnold had been holding Victoria’s hand, and he had even placed his hand on hers.
Holding Victoria’s hand with both hands, he said, “I really missed the days of skiing with you in Canada three years ago, do you still remember them? You didn’t know how to ski back then. I was the one who taught you step by step by putting my arm around you from behind. It was just like teaching you to walk.”
Victoria blushed with embarrassment, and some beautiful images of the Lake Louise ski resort flashed in her mind.
There were forests, lakes, beautiful scenery of all colors, and snow.
Ever since Arnold taught her to ski, Victoria fell in love with this recreation and went skiing every winter.
Since Victoria had come to him for help this time, she didn’t have the cheek to retract her hand.
Instead, she said with a smile, “Mr. Decker, your skiing skills are at the level of professional athletes. How could I forget?”
“Now that I’m here in New York City, we can go skiing in Hokkaido during winter.”
Arnold exclaimed with a joyful grin, “Sure! Let’s go to Hokkaido together!”
“Well… uh, won’t you invite me to take a seat?” Victoria asked awkwardly.
“Oh, it’s all my fault,” Arnold said.
Knowing that Victoria would be visiting him, Arnold had long prepared some coffee and specially instructed his subordinates to buy a small red couch for Victoria.
He had also prepared plenty of comfortable cushions and flowers to express his love for her.
After Victoria sat down, Arnold asked, “How many days have you been in New York City?”
Victoria replied, “I just arrived a few days ago.”
“I heard that you have been to several companies for interviews, but why didn’t you come to me first?” Arnold asked.
Victoria knew that Arnold harbored designs on her, but he was different from other men.
Although the presidents of other companies also harbored designs on her, most of them would keep their feelings to themselves.
However, Arnold was different as he would openly show his feelings for Victoria, and anyone could tell that he liked her.
That made Victoria feel rather uncomfortable.
“Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?” Victoria said with a smile.
Arnold said, “Mr. Fray is not in New York now, so he can’t meet you, and I can’t give you the position of deputy president either. I have to be honest with you about these in advance.”
Perry Express was also a large enterprise with a market value of billions of dollars, so not anyone can become a deputy president.
Victoria smiled and said, “Mr. Decker, I never thought of being the deputy president. I just intend to apply for a department manager. I’ve never worked in this industry, so I need to gain more experience in different positions to learn more.”
“Department manager?” This time it was Arnold’s turn to laugh, “You used to be the president of Ace Corporation, and if I let you be just a mere department manager, that would be such a waste of your competency and talent.”
Victoria laughed and said, “I’ll take that as a yes then.”
At this moment, Arnold’s facial expression became serious!
Victoria noticed that Arnold’s expression seemed a little strange and thus knew that it would not be that easy for her to even become a manager.
Victoria said bluntly, “Do you already know about the matter between the Huxleys and me?”
Arnold nodded and said, “The Huxleys have informed me in advance to turn down your job application if you come to us.”
“Although Perry Express and Breezy Express belonging to the Huxleys are business rivals, we are actually quite close to the senior executives of Breezy Express. Besides, even Mr. Fray can’t compare to the Huxleys.
Victoria lowered her head in disappointment and said, “Okay, you don’t need to go on, I understand.”
After saying that, Victoria got up and said, “I’ve disturbed you, Mr. Decker. You are busy. I’ll take my leave first.”
Victoria had gone through the motions of standing up and leaving after saying those words more than ten times in the past 24 hours.
It was sad how used she was to those actions.
Just as Victoria was about to leave, Arnold pulled her hand and said, “Victoria, don’t go yet. I didn’t say I’m not going to hire you.”
“I’m not afraid of offending the Huxleys! I will let you join the management team of Perry Express and then help you replace Daniel to become the deputy president and secretary of the board!”
Surprised and touched, Victoria asked, “Really?”
In fact, Victoria also knew that Arnold had strong connections and, thus, should not be afraid of facing the revenge of the Huxleys.
Arnold nodded and said, “However, I have one condition.”
The smile on Victoria’s face immediately stiffened.
She had guessed what Arnold’s condition was.
Arnold said, “Victoria, as you know, ever since we met in Toronto three years ago, I have taken a liking to you, and we used to reside in different cities before this. Now that you’re in New York and we’ll be working in the same company, we can be together every day.”
“So, I hope that our relationship can be developed further.”
“I’ll agree to help you as long as you’re willing to be my woman. How does that sound?”
Victoria didn’t expect that Arnold would use this to blackmail her and force her to give in!
Victoria immediately refuted, “Mr. Decker, you have a wife and family, and I have a boyfriend too. We can’t do this.”
Arnold said excitedly, “As long as we don’t tell anyone and keep the secret well, who will find out?”
“I’m the deputy president, and you’ll become the deputy president in the future too. We’ll both have our own office each, and no one can barge in without permission. We can do whatever we want in the office.”
“The same goes for when we’re traveling for business trips. Your boyfriend isn’t going to tag along anyway. Besides, I’ll be going on the trip with you as your colleague. Even if your boyfriend or my wife tries to investigate, they won’t be able to find out anything!”
Arnold seemed to have planned this a long time ago. He had carefully devised this plan to get into a clandestine relationship with Victoria!