Chapter 35: Get your ducks in a row

Raven looked at him puzzled for a second, and then, as if a lightbulb went on in her head she started laughing. Her laugh was genuine, like she had heard the best joke in the world. Not exactly sure why he caused that reaction, Li Naihe paused to look at her bewildered.

He liked the sound of her laugh, but he also knew it was not the same as the real her.

"Mr. Li, your ability to make me laugh is uncanny. +100 points for humour and disarming the situation." She smiled at him, a dazzling smile and continued "I'll be on my way now, I have a few things to settle, and I believe so do you. I'll call you once I have a plan of action on how to deal with…your little issue. Good bye."

She got up and strode away like she had no care in the world.

'100 points, was she scoring him?'

"Raven, wait…" he wanted to say more, he wanted her to stay so they could talk more.

She waved her hand up in the air without looking back "Let's get your ducks in a row first and then we can talk some more." She walked out the office door and headed for the stairs.

Raven had no intention of running into the crazy woman downstairs. Whether she was actually his fiancé or not, she knew it was a part of the story, and she needed to encounter the female lead of this book for a few similarly catty scenes like she had in the coffee shop.

Her plan was simple. She would help Li Naihe with the plots set up for him, while exploring this world. Before she could do her research however, she needed capital and it seemed like this world had plenty of opportunities.

She thought she'd start small. Build a bit of an underground network and get some contacts, after which she could slowly build pats of her lab. She needed capital for that. 'Nothing better than starting fresh' she thought. Running her empire in the real world was getting a bit boring and predictable. She had never dabbled in the underworld before, at least not in a non-sanctioned way, so now she would give it a go.

First order of business, get to Liehen's home and get some lucrative deals on the go. Things seemed very similar to her world in this city, so she wouldn't need too much money at once. She could start slow. Ten million would be enough to get her started.

Raven was busy contemplating the best plan of action to grow a fat bank account, when she reached the first-floor landing and heard a ruckus in the lobby. 'Oh, what now?!' she sighed, slowly opening the emergency fire door that separated the staircase from the lobby.

The sight that greeted her was unexpected.

The woman, Lianhua, was throwing a fit at one of the receptionists for being kept waiting.

'She's absolutely delusional' Raven thought, having no sympathy for the woman. 'I thought this book was all about maintaining appearances and high society and saving face, this woman has no concept of any of those things.'

She slowly walked through the door, hoping to avoid all of this and get home. To her annoyance, it did not seem like that was going to be the case.

Just as she was about to walk out the door, Shengua Lianhua clocked on to her and headed straight for her, like a bulldozer.

Raven didn't want to hurt the woman, but if she kept coming for her, there was very little she could do.

The woman was pointing a finger at her, menacingly "Yooou! You slut! I told you to stay away from him!" she shouted from across the lobby.

Everyone was looking at the scene in shock, not entirely sure how they should react.

On one side, they all knew Liehen was the president's assistant, and there was no gossip about them in any way. No one even thought that the tough, cruel, and cold president would take an interest in his assistant, or anyone for that matter. On the other hand, however, they had this woman claiming to be his fiancée, pointing her finger at Liehen and accusing her of being the other woman.

Some of the staff at reception didn't want to intervene. This was such a good show, how could they pass on the opportunity to watch. If someone handed them a bowl of popcorn right now, it would be perfect.

The security staff was confused. They should intervene on behalf of an employee of the corporation, it was their job, but this woman claimed to be the president and owner's fiancée, surely they'd get fired if they acted against her.

Everyone was in a general state of confusion, until a booming voice echoed through the lobby. The president himself had come down. The staff thought Liehen was doomed. Surely the president would fire her, in favour of his fiancée. Suddenly they started feeling sorry for her. They were sure the rumours were unfounded, and now she would suffer the wrath of the president because of a misunderstanding. Life was so tough, and little people like them had no chance in the world of power figures and rich families.

Raven was unfazed. She had no reason to react, she had quit. The probability of running into this woman again after today were slim, close to zero. She didn't want to say zero because this world was too unpredictable, but still, if she removed herself from the situation now, she could avoid anything else bad happening.

Without another word, before the woman could reach her, she turned on her heels and walked out of the company, straight into a taxi that was parked by the side. Raven knew there would be taxi's around a company as big as this one. Business always needed to be conducted outside the office, so taxi's were bound to get good clients here, who would always be in a rush.

She didn't spare another glance in the direction of the company and gave the raxi driver the address of her home. It wasn't too far away from the office, but still at least a twenty-minute ride. When the car started moving, Raven relaxed and sunk into the back seat. She wanted a shower, and food and some peace and quiet.

She pulled out Liehen's phone and started typing an email to President Li. She needed to make it official.

Subject: Resignation

"President Li,

Please consider this email my letter of resignation.

I will be in touch.

-R-"

Pleased with herself she put the phone back in her bag and relaxed taking in the sights of her journey home. Let the exploring begin!