Chapter 18 Black-bellied President

William Sandler was being reprimanded by someone. That man threw a file on the desk and said vehemently to William, “This is the report you prepared! You can’t even do such a simple thing! The company is not paying you a high salary to do nothing!” Cecelia Shayne could not bear to listen anymore. Her head erupted with rage, she rushed forward without thinking and shielded William behind her, like a mother hen guarding her chick, and shouted, “I’m the one sitting around doing nothing, not him! Yell at me if you want, not him!” Although Cecelia did not know what the position of the person standing in front of her held, she could not watch him lecturing William as if he was lecturing a child. She continued, “As a rookie, he has done more than enough. He was so busy every day that he didn’t even have time to eat. Even if he did something wrong, can’t you cut him some slack given he’s a rookie?” Although Cecelia was very angry, she was still rational. She stopped herself from being too harsh and to not offend this person. If both of them were fired, that would be awful. Cecelia did not see William, who was standing behind her, watching as she protected him wholeheartedly, his usually expressionless face had an obvious smile in his eyes. Even Philip Keaton, who had been working with him for almost eight years, had never seen William Sandler like this. Philip finally understood why his boss wanted him to come here so suddenly. Acting piteous in front of a woman, it was—absolutely despicable! Philip scorned William in his heart. Of course, he would only despise the boss in his heart, unless he did not wish to live. With William’s methods, he would be ground into dust in minutes! Clearing his throat, Philip looked at Cecelia and pretended to be stern, “Just because you’re the lucky person doesn’t give you the right to talk to me this way. You’re not in a position to give me a lecture. Get out!” If he was not going to be reasonable, then she would do the same. “Who do you think you are? A small potato acting all high and mighty. If you’re so capable, you can become the president before you speak to me.” Cecelia felt that this person with an only decent appearance standing in front of her would not be holding too high of a position, otherwise, he would not be here personally to give a dressing-down to a rookie like William. According to her years of working experience, he would be a low-level supervisor at the most. Even if his position were higher, it would not be more than a department manager or something like that. There were plenty of people like this in the workplace, throwing their weight around mindlessly. Yes, he definitely looked like the type. The more she thought about it, the more unafraid she became. With a glare, she pulled William with her and prepared to leave. Cecelia Shayne may look like a cute girl, but she had a bit of a temper. Philip was so taken aback by her words he almost forgot he had a role to play. Fortunately, William made eyes at him and he recovered in time. Philip said coldly, “Where are you going?” “It’s past working hours now, we’re going home of course!” Cecelia replied. “Hold it right there. I’ve not given you permission to leave. If you take another step, you won’t have to come back anymore.” Philip tried to imitate how William normally acted. But William’s domineering aura was inherent, even without a word, just with one look, others would not even dare to breathe aloud. His words had its effect on Cecelia, but only for a moment. She turned her head and gave him a contemptuous look, “I’m the lucky person chosen by the company. When I signed the contract, there was a clause that stated, I would have to leave on my own accord, making it such that no one can fire me. Of course, only one person could do so, but unfortunately, you’re not the president!” Cecelia was just spouting nonsense. Even the lucky person would not enjoy such a privilege. She was just trying to scare that horrible man. He would not be so free to investigate the truth of what she said, right? Regardless, she would first scare him if she could. Just when Cecelia was full of herself, William spoke, and he directed his words at Philip, “President, she’s just kidding.” “Who’s kidding, I’m not kidding. I—” Cecelia suddenly realized that something was not right. She stared at William dazedly, “What did you just call him?” Why, did she just hear the ominous word? Was it a delusion, or a delusion, or a delusion? All the gods must be busy at the same time, because Cecelia’s prayers went unanswered. William’s reply sent her into the depths of hell. “He’s the president.” Cecelia staggered. If not for William’s support, she would have made a fool out of herself. She stared at Philip in disbelief, “You—you’re really the president?” Philip folded his arms across his chest. “Why, don’t I look like it?” Of course not, not at all! Although she had never seen what a president looked like, she really did not feel as though the person in front of her looked like one. On the contrary, her husband William Sandler, with his taciturn and domineering attitude, was more of what a president should look like, okay?! Now, it was not the question whether he looked like one, but he was one, no matter what. Meanwhile, she had the audacity to offend him! Heavens above, Earth below, are you trying to kill me? What was she going to do now? Admit her mistake, beg for forgiveness? Cecelia’s insufferable look fell into William’s eyes, and a twinkle of mischief flashed across quickly. He winked at Philip once more. After receiving the hint, Philip suddenly felt sorry for Cecelia. Would this poor, innocent girl survive in his hands? Gaining the favor of their president may not be a good thing after all, just like now! Suppressing his internal sarcasm, Philip said to Cecelia in a pompous tone, “Now, can I say that you don’t have to come in tomorrow?” Cecelia was ready to cry. “Mr. President, I—” It was William’s turn to shield her behind his back. “It has nothing to do with her. If you are dissatisfied, come at me directly.” Cecelia, “—” She did not expect William to take everything on himself. Growing up, she never had someone like him, who stood in front of her, sheltering her from the wind and the rain. As a child who grew up in the orphanage, whenever other kids got into trouble, she would be made to take the blame. Even Hawick Leeds, whom she thought treated her sincerely, did that to her once. With someone protecting her, standing in front of her, Cecelia Shayne felt a sense of warmth dispersing throughout her heart. Sometimes, a woman could be easily moved, just like that. She had forgotten that she had shielded William too. At that moment, she did not think too much about it, but felt that since William was her husband, she would not allow others to bully him. Therefore, without thinking too much about it, she rushed forward and stood up for him, and she never considered whether William would be moved by the gesture. To top it all off, not only had she forgotten that this matter was caused by William in the first place, she was deeply moved by his actions. Once she was moved, Cecelia Shayne completely lost her sense of rationale, and she did something that shocked even William Sandler.