My CEO Keeps Wanting to Eat Me - Chapter 2

I suspected work stress had driven me into psychosis.

So for the next few days, I made a point of avoiding Shen Qinglan.

Then came the quarterly project presentations.

To look more professional, I put on the full corporate uniform that day.

My white shirt was buttoned meticulously all the way to the collar.

The pencil skirt was so tight I could only take tiny steps. One move too large and I feared the seams would burst.

Whoever invented these things must have hated women.

The atmosphere in the conference room was oppressive.

Director Wang from Marketing, usually arrogance personified, had barely reached the third slide of his PowerPoint when Shen Qinglan cut him off without mercy.

She leaned back in her chair, the clean line of her jaw looking particularly severe. Her expression was thunderous.

“Last month’s conversion rate was only 1.2 percent, and you’ve written 3.5? Do you think I’m blind? That you can fool me with numbers like these?”

Smack.

She flung the folder down in front of Director Wang. It skidded several yards and struck the corner of the table before stopping.

Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was cold enough to make teeth chatter. “Get out and redo it. If I catch you falsifying data one more time, you’re finished here.”

Silence swallowed the room. Everyone held their breath.

I sat in a back corner, my calves cramping with fear.

I’m done for. I’m next.

She’s definitely going to make me cry.

No joke, I had already begun drafting my resignation in my head.

“Next.”

Shen Qinglan’s voice was glacial.

I forced myself onto the stage. The hand gripping the laser pointer was slick with sweat.

From the seat of honor below, Shen Qinglan’s elegant face looked as cold as a ribbonfish fresh from the freezer.

I stammered through the slides. “R-regarding next quarter’s… um… advertising spend…”

I was so nervous my cheeks felt scorching hot. They had to be as red as a monkey’s backside.

Shen Qinglan’s gaze seemed to drift toward my collar.

Then the voice returned.

*Her shirt is buttoned so tightly… Doesn’t it choke her?*

My nerves must have damaged my brain, because I could have sworn her thoughts held a note of concern.

Before I could process that, their tone changed abruptly.

*Her face is so red. Is she that nervous?*

*I suppose this counts as the allure of a woman in uniform…*

*…Want to eat.*

My mind went blank.

Eat?

Eat what? The uniform? The buttons?

Boss, isn’t this supposed to be the solemn workplace-bullying portion of the meeting?

You’re hungry already?

Even if you are, you can’t eat absolutely anything!

I stared at Shen Qinglan, eyes wide with terror.

My hand jerked. The laser pointer hit the floor with a clack and rolled to her feet.

Useless hand. Always humiliating me.

I was about to crouch and retrieve it when a long, fair hand beat me to it.

Shen Qinglan picked up the pointer and offered it to me.

Her fingers were cool and smooth as jade. Her fingertip accidentally brushed the back of my trembling hand.

Then, as if it were the most casual thing in the world, she untangled a strand of my long hair from the microphone.

Her cool fingertips touched my warm collarbone, and a faint fragrance drifted past my nose.

I froze.

She withdrew at once, moving with the ease of someone who had rehearsed the gesture countless times.

Then she settled back in her chair, watched me, and said calmly, “Mind your appearance. Continue.”

But I distinctly heard the uneasy thought beneath her composure.

*That was taking advantage of my position for personal gain, wasn’t it? That was a little despicable.*

Oh no. The boss knew I’d charged this outfit to the department!

She even knew I planned to sneak it home and keep wearing it!

My hands shook harder.

Against all expectations, the rest of my presentation went quite smoothly.

Shen Qinglan offered a few harmless suggestions and soon let me return to my seat.

Heh. What luck.

I had barely sighed in relief when Shen Qinglan’s cold voice resumed, this time tearing into the head of Operations.

The conference room sank once more beneath its low-pressure system.