I honestly didn’t know.
Thinking back, Michael lives alone in a big house despite his young age and stayed in an apartment during college, so his family must be extraordinary.
But I never connected him to being the CEO’s son of this company.
Just then, Michael called me to the office.
I snapped back and remembered I had important business to report.
Michael’s family’s company specializes in high-end antique trading. He later branched out into modern art.
Although the new business involving art and trendy jewelry doesn’t deal with massive transactions like the high-end line, it’s still doing quite well.
Coincidentally, several of Sophia Sunny’s paintings are being auctioned there, fetching prices around a hundred thousand.
And I’ve discovered an issue with her work.
Her paintings plagiarize multiple small artists’ works, something previously undetected but uncovered through my data analysis.
“Manager Wang, I believe if these works are discovered by other professionals, it could severely damage the company’s reputation and cause losses. They must be taken down immediately.”
Michael took it seriously and called for a thorough re-evaluation by the tech team.
“If what you say is true, merely taking them down isn’t enough. We’ll demand compensation for breach of contract. This deception has already violated the agreement!”
I nodded. The follow-up wasn’t my concern anymore.
After discussing business, Michael smiled again. “Didn’t I tell you to just call me by my name? Hearing ‘manager’ feels awkward.”
I said it’s the company environment, so I couldn’t be too casual, and joked, “If not ‘manager,’ should I call you ‘young master’?”
Michael froze, realizing I knew about his identity, and awkwardly touched his nose, saying he didn’t mean to hide it.
He mainly worried that telling me might make me avoid the company.
I chuckled, “I don’t have that pointless pride. Nothing’s more important than making money, right?”
Once I get this month’s salary and commission, I can cover his rent.
But a few days later, Sophia Sunny stormed into the company.
She likely entered under the guise of a collaborative artist and angrily approached my desk.
Tears started falling before she even spoke.
“Sunny, why are you targeting me? Throwing dirt on my work to get it removed is an abuse of power!”
I immediately went cold.
“Stop playing the victim. I don’t buy it.”
I knew she wasn’t performing for me, just trying to gain sympathy from those around.
Sure enough, although my colleagues didn’t know the details, they couldn’t help but soft-talk her seeing her pitiful look.
I wasn’t as kind.
“The plagiarism judgment was a professional decision by other departments. I don’t have the power to run rampant here.”
Sophia was unconvinced, claiming classic art elements are limited and similar works merely pay homage to earlier masters.
“That’s called a tribute. You’re not an art expert, so you wouldn’t understand! Don’t think I don’t know you reported me for plagiarism first! The company is just going along with you to keep the peace, bullying me!”
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face, and she placed her hand on her slightly protruding belly.
“Can a big company bully an artist with no background? The internet is powerful now. If you don’t apologize, compensate, and restore my paintings, I’ll air my grievances online, showing everyone how you treat a single pregnant woman!”
Her words changed the expressions around us.
Sophia’s eyes showed smugness as she secretly glanced at me.
The next second, someone fiercely grabbed her arm.
Ethan somehow entered and, furious, seized her, scolding, “Why are you causing trouble at Sunny’s company?”
