Chapter 292
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Sean grinned checkily, “Quite a few major companies are reaching out to our software developers to collaborate. Even Lopez Group came knocking.”
Shakira’s curiosity was piqued. “Lopez Group?”
“Yeah, they’re impressed with the core automation technology of our software and want to invite the lead designer to join their biggest project of the year.”
At this point, Sean, who was all about the drama, winked at Shakira. “What do you say, Shakira? Want to earn big with Lopez Group? I hear they offer the core creative team an amazing eight–figure salary.”
Gideon disapprovingly suggested, “If Shakira cared about money, Virmo wouldn’t be free.”
“That’s true. Shakira isn’t worried about small changes,” Sean added playfully. “If Shakira came back to lead Yonder Digital, who knows how much our profits would grow. An eight–figure salary would be just pocket money.”
Shakira coughed a couple of times. This was a topic she didn’t dare continue, or else Sean’s irritation would flood the entire conversation.
“I’ve got to do my internship. Yonder Digital can wait… We’ll talk later.” She quickly found an excuse and logged off.
Seeing her unease, Sean was puzzled. “Gideon, with Yonder Digital behind her, why does Shakira even care about this internship? She could just explain the situation to Mr. Jensen. As the founder of Yonder Digital, does she really need to bother with an internship?”
Gideon stared at the now–darkened avatar, his eyes flickering with a mix of light and shadow, his face deeply pensive. After a while, he finally replied to Sean, “Maybe… she just doesn’t want to see you.”
Sean couldn’t believe his ears. “What do you mean by that, Gideon? Why are you running? You’d better explain yourself to me!”
***
These past few days, Shakira had adjusted her jetlag and was now waking up naturally right at eight. After getting washed up. she went downstairs and discovered Walter leisurely sipping coffee and reading the news, though he was supposed to be in the study.
“Good morning,” said Shakira.
Shakira sat down and took a big bite of her sandwich, which contained her homemade mayonnaise, creamy and rich. With a satisfied squint, she found a moment to ask Walter, “Why don’t you have an early meeting today?”
“I’ll drop you off at the company first, and then I’ll attend the meeting,” replied Walter.
“Oh, okay.” Shakira nodded automatically. But once the information sank in, she was shocked, nearly choking, and suddenly wide awake. “You’re taking me to the company?”
Walter handed her some milk, raising an eyebrow at her exaggerated reaction. “Can’t I?”
Shakira shook her head. “Of course not.”
Worried that he’d get upset, Shakira quickly explained, “I’m just an intern. How can I have the CEO of the company drive me to work? If someone sees that, how am I supposed to have a good internship experience?”
She actually objected to announcing their relationship. Most people would jump at the chance to be associated with him and enjoy some perks. But she was the other way around. She just wanted to keep a low profile. Within seconds, Walter was
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looking displeased.
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Shakira naturally knew what he was thinking. Trying to calm him, she softened her voice and said, “I’m not trying to hide our relationship. I just think there’s no need to be too flashy.”
She blinked and added, “Imagine if someone interrupted you at work to chat about unrelated stuff. How would you feel?”
Walter didn’t hesitate. “Kick them out.”
Words failed Shakira.
She thought, ‘Wow, Walter is really straightforward and ruthless
Shakira’s mouth slightly twitched. “Yeah, you can throw someone out, but I can’t. If they’re scared to ask you, they’ll definitely come and bother me.
“You don’t like being interrupted while you’re focused on work, so how could you bear to see countless people coming to disturb me?”
Hearing this, Walter frowned.
Shakira paused and added softly, “Internships are tasks given by the school to check if we can achieve results in the real world. Are you sure that once everyone knows about our relationship, they won’t have any personal agendas
“I also hope to achieve success with my own abilities.”
These words eased Walter’s displeasure quite a bit. “Alright, you’re the boss.” He naturally thought he should cherish their time together and hadn’t really considered much else.
After thinking it over, Walter took a step back. “Let Levi choose a low–key car from the garage to drive you to work. As for after work…”
Shakira, being thoughtful, chimed in, “If time permits, I’ll wait for you to have dinner together after work.”
Walter nodded with satisfaction. “Sure.”
In the end, Levi found a small electric car in the garage that Benji barely used before forgetting about it. Shakira was amazed and said, “Mr. Benji Lopez actually took a liking to this kind of car?”
Levi thought for a moment and said, “It must have been bought when Mr. Benji Lopez tried to woo a socialite from Torrania who was visiting Crescentville last time and got himself an Uber driver gig for the occasion.”
Shakira was stunned and asked, “Such a small car could be used for Uber?”
Levi smiled and replied, “Exactly because it was small, the socialite’s bodyguards couldn’t stay close, making it easier for Mr. Benji Lopez to make his moves.”
Shakira was lost for words.
Shakira gave a thumbs up. Benji really had a lot of tricks. No wonder he could lead Walter astray.
Shakira arrived ten minutes early at Lopez Group Tower. After she reached the HR department, she was led to a conference room to wait. The room was filled with new employees starting today, and Shakira guessed there were at least thirty of them.
After a short while, Xanthe hurried in just in time, grabbed a form, and sat next to Shakira. She was out of breath. “Oh my gosh, I gverslept and almost showed up late…”
Shakira chuckled as she noticed the dark circles under Xanthe’s eyes, “Did you stay up late last night?”
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Xanthe frowned and sighed, “Just thinking about starting work a nine o’clock every day kept me awake.”
Shakira couldn’t help but chuckle, “Didn’t you have morning classes before?”
Xanthe argued, “We only had two or three carly classes a week. And I could even doze off during class, but going to work is the last thing I want to do!”
Shakira was at a loss for words. While Xanthe filled out her information form, she chatted with Shakira, “I didn’t expect so many people to join the Lopez Group in one day. There must be about thirty or so, right?
“I heard outside that there are three onboarding days each week, so that’s nearly a hundred people a week, four to five hundred a month. That’s huge…”
Shakira wasn’t surprised. “Having many new hires means that many are also leaving or being transitioned out. It’s how HR maintains balance.”
Xanthe said, “Oh, that’s how it works.”
Xanthe’s eyes spun around, and she suddenly mentioned, “Shakira, did you hear? There are some people among the new hires who got in through connections.”