The Laughing Stock of the Company
Toby ignored him and rapped his knuckles against the top of the front desk.
The receptionist at the front desk was in her seat with her head low as she jotted something down into
her files, and she didn’t notice that there was someone at the counter at all until she heard the knock.
She put her pen aside and looked up, only to see that the person in front of her was none other than
the big man himself.
She jumped in her seat and stammered, “P-President Fuller!”
Toby frowned, but he didn’t look like he planned on giving her a hard time. He knew his presence was a
terrifying one to entry-level employees, so he wasn’t surprised to see how intimidated the receptionist
was. In fact, he was already used to being greeted with such fear and respect.
“Did anyone from Paradigm Co. come by?” he asked after withdrawing his hand from the countertop.
The receptionist blinked at him and repeated inquisitively, “Paradigm Co.?”
Toby hummed in response, and behind him, Tom immediately realized what was going on.
Oh, so that’s why he wanted me to park the car outside all of a sudden. He’s breaking old habits for
Sonia, Tom thought wryly. Then again, I should have known. Sonia is the only person who can make
Toby give up his old habits and principles.
“No, President Fuller,” the receptionist replied dutifully.
Toby pursed his lips. Looks like the person in charge of delivering the soup isn’t here yet.
Upon seeing Toby’s lowered gaze, Tom cleared his throat and took the initiative to ask, “President
Fuller, did Miss Reed ask someone to drop something off for you?”
Toby nodded slightly in affirmation.
Tom chuckled. He then adjusted his glasses and said, “In that case, why don’t you go up to your office
first and I’ll stay here to look out for the delivery guy? I’ll bring whatever it is up to you later.”
He cast a sidelong glance at Tom, and it looked as though he was telling him to stay out of his
business. “That won’t be necessary,” he said curtly. “I will personally sign off on anything she delivers to
me, so don’t be bothered by this.”
At the sight of this, the corner of Tom’s lips twitched with the urge to snap back at him. Excuse me?
Why do you think I’m offering my services? It’s all because of you, you jerk! After all, no assistant would
want to see their own boss waiting for a delivery at the front desk like some hapless fool. It was only
right for him to make the offer because it was well within his job scope as an assistant.
And yet, instead of complimenting me on being a good employee for offering to help, this guy decides
to take it the wrong way and implicitly accuse me of wanting to take his special stuff! The audacity of
him! Who cares if you’re in love, President Fuller? It’s not a big deal.
At that moment, Tom vowed to himself that he would and he must find a girlfriend soon. If he has to
deal with Toby and Sonia’s sickening lovey-dovey moments any longer, he might go insane.
Although he was cursing in his head, the poor assistant maintained a professional smile that perfectly
concealed his disgruntlement.
Meanwhile, Toby was not one to guess Tom’s thoughts. He sat down on the chair the receptionist had
pulled up for him and crossed his legs leisurely while waiting for the delivery guy to show up.
It took about an hour to get to Fuller Group from Paradigm Co., and he had taken the same amount of
time just to get back from the factory. If his estimation was correct, the delivery guy would arrive
anytime soon.
At the thought of this, Toby raised his arm and glanced at the time. Then, he tapped his fingers
absentmindedly against the tops of his knees. His eyes were fixed on the main entrance of the
company building, and there was no hiding the anticipation that glittered in his obsidian orbs.
Now that he was determined to stay and wait at the front desk, Tom couldn’t very well leave him alone.
As such, he pulled up a seat behind Toby and sat down to wait with him.
Behind them, the receptionist at the front desk stared helplessly at the two most important men in the
company sitting alongside her. The smile on her face was nearly frozen as she thought, What in the
world is going on here? Why are these two big shots sitting here still?
The pressure of having them sit so close to her was crazy. She couldn’t even focus on her work, and
she dared not breathe too loudly for fear that they might suddenly look at her or notice her presence.
She wanted to sigh. Her cheeks were already stiff from all the smiling, and she cursed at fate’s dark
humor.
In the receptionists’ group, the women would either brag about the number of times they had seen Toby
or discuss his breathtakingly handsome face. There were even times when this receptionist would
dream of Toby showing up in front of her and letting her stare at his unreal beauty to her heart’s
content. That way, she would become the most enviable and luckiest girl among her colleagues.
And now, her fantasy was realized; Toby had indeed shown up in front of her and sat down by her work
station. However, she did not dare to stare at him and take in his handsome face like a lovesick
schoolgirl as she had fantasized. She didn’t even dare to sneak a glance at him, fearing that if she did,
he would suddenly turn around, catch her staring at him, and fire her right away.
After all, there had been examples where female subordinates and employees in the group had stalked
Toby around the building and stared at him from afar. They were all dealt with by Toby and Tom, and
they never showed up again for work.
As such, every female employee in Fuller Group dared not act upon their fantasies of Toby. They didn’t
want to gamble away their careers before they could even bring their hopes to reality. More importantly,
if they were fired from the company, it would show on their record and affect their job-hunting
prospects.
Don’t look. You can’t look and you mustn’t! The receptionist gripped her pen tightly as she told herself
this over and over. Do not even think about peering at President Fuller!
While Toby’s presence was giving her immense pressure, the receptionist was determined to hold out
until after he left. However, the nerves she was feeling at the moment reflected the unease of the other
employees who walked through the lobby. As such, they were undoubtedly nervous as well.
None of them had expected the president to be sitting at the front desk instead of lounging in his cushy
office. If they didn’t know any better, they would have thought that Toby was here to be a receptionist
for a day or to ambush problematic employees.
Either way, the employees who brushed through the lobby immediately slowed in their steps and
lightened their footfalls when they caught sight of him. Moreover, they dared not so much as breathe as
they lowered their heads like nervous schoolchildren and pretended they had not seen him. All of them
were terrified that he would suddenly call their names and question them.
However, as afraid as they were of him, they couldn’t help finding this whole scene ridiculously funny.
That much was understandable. After all, Toby and Tom stood at the top of the pyramid in Fuller Group,
but each of them were sitting in a simple chair that did not, in any way, complement their fine clothes
and intimidating aura. Not to mention, they were staring at the door from where they sat at the front
desk. No matter how one looked at this, one had to appreciate the humor of it.
When these employees were safely out of Toby and Tom’s view, they sputtered and burst into laughter.
Some of them even took out their phones and spread the hilarious news to all their company group
texts.
It didn’t take long for the entire company to learn of their president’s return, but instead of being cooped
up in his office, the big man was seated at the front desk like some guardian deity. Not a single
employee who heard about this refrained from laughing out loud.
Presently, Tom was oblivious to the fact that he and Toby were now the biggest joke among their
subordinates, but he could feel the shift in their expressions when they walked past the lobby. They had
gone from looking shocked, to cautious, to wary, and eventually to amused. At some point, they looked
like they were shaking with the effort to keep themselves from laughing.
Oh, I know exactly what they want to laugh about! They probably think it’s hilarious to see me and
President Fuller sitting here!
In all fairness, it was quite the absurd sight for two important corporate figures to be manning the front
desk in the lobby when they should be in the expansive and opulent confines of the president’s office
and sitting in fine armchairs.
Here, they were warming up old plastic chairs that had been occupied by an indefinite number of
people before them, allowing themselves to be in full view of the employees who walked in and out of
the lobby.
In fact, they should be handling all kinds of documents for multi-million business deals right now
instead of sitting here and staring at the glass-door entrance like two mindless idiots.
Whatever the case might be, Tom and Toby had officially humiliated themselves today.
Tom had never been so embarrassed before. He decidedly kept his head down and clapped a hand
over his features, hoping that might save his last shred of dignity.
This is all President Fuller’s fault!
Toby, on the other hand, was solemn as he glanced at his watch from time to time, which was the only
other thing he did aside from staring at the entrance. He did not notice that he and Tom had become
the laughing stock of the entire company at all.
However, Tom knew better than to point this out to the man. It was bad enough that he had to endure
this shame, and he didn’t want to be snapped at in the process. My goodness… he found himself
musing. He sighed in frustration. Well, as things are, I can’t do anything about us becoming the butt of
the joke, so what else is there for me to do other than to keep this guy company while he continues to
wait?
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