The CEO Gets What He Wants

The meeting officially began.

Cayden, who was seated at the front, stood out among everyone with his upright, tall stature and black suit.

His eyes were as deep as the ocean, and his lips were faintly pursed into an arc, which made him appear sterner

and more powerful. Cayden gave a brief speech at the beginning of the meeting before patiently listening to the

reports of the previous month's performance by the directors of the design departments.

The discussion during the meeting then focused on design productivity.

The architects discussed the direction and trend of the design industry and provided valuable insight into creative

design. Even though they were involved in different sectors, designing was, after all, universal.

The architects engaged in a passionate debate over the two recent shows that had swept the world by storm,

“Insightful Workshop” and “Magnificent,” while exchanging information about the design industry and expressing

their own thoughts.

The amount of creative inspiration and expertise those two workshops had amassed could not be underestimated,

even though they had only started up a few years ago.

Trident Group had a strong domestic and international reputation, and its architects were naturally of the highest

caliber. Their design concepts were also all at the forefront of the industry. The architects at Trident Group were not

simply perceptive to emerging trends but also humble learners.

The meeting lasted for a little over an hour.

Then, it was time for the monthly summary of each design department.

This segment was for the department head of each design department to highlight the accomplishments of

particular architects or criticize them for their shortcomings.

Every employee who received a personal commendation had an apparent smile on their face. After all, receiving a

commendation in front of the CEO would result in a pay increase and more opportunities for promotion in the

future.

On the other hand, the employees who had received criticism appeared dispirited and despondent for fear of being

fired. Since Trident Group offered its employees the best pay in the industry, they did not want to lose this excellent

job.

When it was the architectural design department's turn for the summary report, Yulissa glanced at Avery before

starting her speech. “The two employees that performed particularly well for our architectural design department

last month are Trevor Lane and Cecelia Zuckerberg. Trevor received the most design orders in our department,

which is commendable and very beneficial for the company. Cecelia's designs are also exceptional and have

received widespread client appreciation. I only have a few words to say to a certain underwhelming employee.”

Yulissa turned her sharp gaze on Avery.

Avery suddenly had a bad feeling when she noticed Yulissa's cold and calculating gaze.

As expected, Yulissa's following words were meant to humiliate her. “Ms. Avery, you should strive to be more

efficient now that you're an assistant architect. In fact, you should aim to become an architect as soon as possible.

That should be your goal rather than taking it easy. You've been working for the company for a little over a month

now, but you've barely made any designs and also take leave regularly. Shouldn't you put in more effort than the

other employees and produce more designs? I think you also know that, although our company is successful, it isn't

a charity, and it doesn't need lazy people.”

As soon as Yulissa finished giving her comments, there was a commotion within the meeting room.

In unison, all the architects' eyes followed Yulissa's line of sight and fell on Avery.

The nearby people began to whisper among themselves, not noticing Cayden's gloomy and icy gaze.

The company's policy clearly stated that the attendees of architect seminars had to be at least an official architect

in Trident Group. If she's just an assistant architect, why is she here at this meeting? She could not have come here

if no one had informed her. Thus, it is unlikely that she entered accidentally. So, does this imply that she and Mr.

Moore have an unlawful relationship of some sort? Except for the JK Media article about the twins' birth mother, the

president has always been an honest and reserved man, and there has never been a problem. Could the woman in

the newspaper refer to this young employee in the design department?

Such were the thoughts running through everyone's mind.

Avery received multiple ambiguous looks as well as countless glances from those who were harboring various

speculations.

Avery appeared fairly youthful and beautiful, with skin as fair as snow. She looked exceptionally gorgeous with her

bright, clear eyes and softly arched brows. But at that moment, she had just been publicly criticized by Yulissa of

the architectural design department and appeared to be extremely embarrassed.

Avery could no longer stand it after being specifically targeted. She awkwardly avoided the eyes of the curious

crowd.

Yulissa was feeling a little smug of herself.

She's just riding on Mr. Moore's coattails. I want to see if Mr. Moore will defend her in front of everyone.

Yulissa honestly thought that what she said was the truth, which was why she dared to condemn Avery in front of

others. Moreover, Yulissa knew that Cayden had always drawn a clear distinction between his private and public

lives. Hence, she was confident that he would not speak up for a woman with no official title and who was

essentially his secret lover.

Cayden twirled a pen in his hand, a terrifyingly icy glare flashing in his dark, twinkling eyes.

Yulissa inadvertently met Cayden's frigid, hostile gaze. Her body shook with fear, and she frantically avoided his

gaze.

Will he deal with me now that I specifically criticized his lover, Avery?

In that instant, Yulissa lost all her confidence and felt her heart racing wildly. However, Mr. Moore won't be able to

defend Avery openly when everyone is watching in the conference room. I want to see how she'll get out of this

predicament after being humiliated.

Yulissa, however, did not take into account Cayden's intense protective instinct.

His unfathomable dark eyes seemed as deep as the universe. One simply did not know what he was thinking.

Cayden's gaze fell on Avery, who was keeping her head lowered like an ostrich.

Although she has exceptional talent when it comes to design, she has no mental fortitude due to a lack of work

experience. However, my openly defending her this time won't do her any favors as she will become the center of

attention. Avery has to learn to grow professionally in the workplace, as I can only support her temporarily and not

forever.

Cayden did not say anything, but his observant and competent secretary understood when Cayden raised his right

hand slightly at him.

The secretary swiftly opened his laptop and pressed a few keys. Immediately, a spectacular architectural design

drawing appeared on the large LCD mosaic wall of the conference room.

All the architects in the room stared blankly at the architectural design slide, eyes wide in confusion. They did not

understand what their unpredictable CEO was doing.