There were many people that Ah Lam greeted along the way. She would stop to chat with someone else every five seconds, and introduce Shi Xiao Xi whenever someone asked.
It was easy for her to see that Ah Lam was a very popular and sociable person.
By the time they bought their coffee at a shop next to the company building, they were gone for almost two hours.
"Aren't we going to be scolded for this?" Shi Xiao Xi asked nervously, considering that it was her first day.
"You worry too much. Besides, I bought Miss Wen a cup of coffee too. It should be fine."
But when they finally went back to their floor, they saw several people running hurriedly with a stack of papers, while the executive secretary Wen Yu was scolding a few of them with a stern voice.
When she caught sight of Ah Lam and Shi Xiao Xi, her expression became ugly.
"Where have the two of you been?" she snapped.
Ah Lam quickly said, "Sorry, I was busy orienting Shi Xiao Xi and arranging her papers below. Here, have a cup of coffee first. What happened?"
Wen Yu's face slightly softened at her words.
She gulped a mouthful of coffee and said, "There's been an emergency meeting with the board members and the CFO wants a copy of all the financial documents for the past year. However, there's a mistake in the accounting report and the credits aren't equal to the debits in the trial balance. Someone probably forgot to record a transaction in the books and now we're trying to find its receipt."
Ah Lam paled. "Do you know who did it?"
Wen Yu shook her head. "We're still trying to find out. Once I find that bastard who dared to do an error of omission...in any case, Ah Lam, you should go and help Dongmei and Guang. Miss Shi, come with me."
Ah Lam flashed a reassuring smile at Shi Xiao Xi and immediately left. Having no choice but to follow, Shi Xiao Xi tried to keep up with Wen Yu's quick strides.
"Ah Lam has already oriented you of how everything works at the company, right? Miss Shi, I'll only say this once. Don't expect that because you're new, you're allowed to make mistakes in your first month here. Our company is big, and what we don't lack the most are capable people. Do you understand?"
Her words were fast and stern, leaving no room for Shi Xiao Xi to interrupt.
"The board members will be here soon, and the presentation isn't finished yet. I'm going to help the CEO with it, while you go and get the shareholder agreements from Chung. Review the date, the cap table, and the restrictions, that's usually where mistakes are made. Make him re-type it if you see any grammatical errors, and go ask Ah Lam for help if you don't understand it."
Wen Yu pushed a frosted glass door and Shi Xiao Xi was about to follow her when Wen Yu glared at her.
"What are you following me for? Didn't I tell you to find Chung? Go!"
Wen Yu turned in the doorway and slammed the door in Shi Xiao Xi's face. Shi Xiao Xi closed her mouth that was about to ask her a question. In the end, she could only slump her shoulders and leave.
Who the heck was Chung?
Shi Xiao Xi felt like she had gotten a split headache from the quick turn of events and threw the coffee cup that she was holding into the trash can. A woman carrying another stack of papers passed by her, and Shi Xiao Xi quickly blocked her path.
"Excuse me—"
"I don't have the time!"
The woman forcefully pushed her aside and left. Shi Xiao Xi could only bite her lip and search for the phone number that the human resources department had given her. But after calling for six times without anyone answering her, Shi Xiao Xi could only give up.
She tried to search for Ah Lam, but she was nowhere to be seen. Everyone seemed to be hurrying to go from one place to another, carrying documents and presentation materials. Except for her, all the people she saw were busy doing something else.
Shi Xiao Xi saw a woman drop sheets of paper on the floor and quickly grabbed the opportunity. Picking up one of the sheets, she quickly asked, "Do you know Chung who holds the shareholder agreements?"
The woman blinked. "Sorry, do I know you?"
"I'm new here, Executive Secretary Wen told me to find Chung for the shareholder agreements. My name is Shi Xiao Xi."
"Chung? Chung...oh!" The woman's confusion cleared up. "You must mean Huang Chung. He's the financial transcriptionist. You can find him in the Accounting and Finance department, fifth floor."
Shi Xiao Xi handed back the sheet to her. "Thank you very much!"
Shi Xiao Xi didn't delay any longer. She dashed towards the elevators, but most of them were already going downwards. Shi Xiao Xi quickly decided to take the stairs.
The CEO's office was located on the top floor of the company building, which was the twelfth floor. As soon as Shi Xiao Xi arrived on the tenth floor, she pushed the down button and rushed onto the next elevator going down. But it was already packed with people, with no space for Shi Xiao Xi to squeeze in.
Shi Xiao Xi could only take the stairs again, her legs cramping from the unexpected exercise. Darting down the stairs, her phone vibrated and Shi Xiao Xi quickly answered the call.
"Hello?"
"Miss Shi, are you free tonight? It's about the meal that I owe you—"
"CEO Lin, I'm sorry but I'm very busy right now, I'll talk to you some other time," Shi Xiao Xi interrupted, her breath coming in heavy pants. After talking to him, she quickly hung up.
She thought it was the human resources department calling back to her. Shi Xiao Xi sprinted towards the elevators on the ninth floor, and finally managed to enter into one of them.
"Fifth floor, please. And thank you," she gasped, in response to the questioning look the person nearest to the elevator buttons gave her.
YOU ARE READING
CEO, I'm Not The Girl You Once Knew (Hiatus)
Romance"You haven't been drunk like this since high school," Shi Xiao Xi mused, looking down at the slumped form of Lin Zhicheng on her battered old couch. She was about to turn away, to get him some water to drink, when a hand grabbed her wrist, his hold...
