John yawned, looking up from a pile of documents. After a few more stretches, he felt considerably more alert. He stood by the window, gazing out at the view. "Need some coffee?"

John truly admired Angel. To sit still for so long and remain composed was beyond him. He felt thoroughly outclassed, concluding that the sustained focus of someone just out of school was certainly superior to his own.

Wang Qiqi removed her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Thanks."

While John was busy pouring the coffee, Wang Qiqi stood up, walked to the window to take in the distant scenery, and performed a few stretching exercises, circling her neck slowly. Staring down at documents for so long put considerable strain on the cervical spine.

John approached the office door with the mugs, finding Wang Qiqi's movements slightly odd, yet he had to admit the action looked excellent for loosening a tight body. "Here's the coffee. Oh, are Tao and the others actually bringing food from outside?" It was already eight o'clock; had they forgotten?

Wang Qiqi rubbed her stomach, which had protested countless times already, and let out a breath. She also desperately wanted to know when they would arrive with dinner. "Let's wait. I remember there are biscuits in the pantry." These were her standard snacks bought during supermarket runs, specifically for hunger pangs. She recalled none of the biscuits she bought this time had been touched, as few people in the office preferred them over cakes or bread.

"Give those to them," John said, realizing he had just searched the pantry himself. "Let's get back to work." He hadn't felt hungry while working, but the moment he stopped, the hunger became nearly unbearable.

When Han Tao and Fatty walked into John’s office carrying food containers, they saw the two of them intently studying the documents. However, it wasn't the focus that surprised them. "John, let's eat in my office." Han Tao looked at the mountains of scattered files covering the floor and desk; he genuinely wondered how these two managed to function there. Did they walk on tiptoes? Han Tao was deeply curious.

Hearing there was food, Wang Qiqi and John didn't have the patience for documents. Wang Qiqi initially considered suggesting they just eat in John’s office and discuss matters there, but one look at John’s desk—only slightly better organized than a pigsty—convinced her otherwise. "Fine, let's go to Han Tao's office."

Han Tao and Fatty stared at Wang Qiqi's feet and confirmed she really was walking on her toes. "Wait for the new office, we need two large spaces." This way, when everyone needed to handle tasks or discuss issues, they'd have room. Currently, apart from a small meeting room, the only other option was the pantry, which was incredibly inconvenient. Renting and renovating another office would be too costly; everyone was just enduring it.

"Definitely. I plan to lease two floors and create a simple exercise area." Although there was a gym near the office, and the company had already negotiated favorable rates, John rarely went. He always felt the clientele there was too complicated.

Once the four entered his office, Han Tao immediately stated, "We should also set up a cafeteria. Not necessary initially, but definitely later on." If Wang Qiqi hadn't brought it up several times, he wouldn't even have considered it.

John noticed Han Tao’s clearly displeased expression and found it strange. What was wrong with him? John shifted his gaze to Fatty, hoping for an explanation.

Fatty pouted. The bad cop role always fell to him, but this situation genuinely angered him too. "John, you have no idea. We got ripped off today eating at that Japanese restaurant—we got a whole package of annoyance." The thought alone made him nauseous.

Hearing such a cryptic remark, John's first reaction was, "Did someone give you guys a hard time?" Surely it was those Westerners? Even if racial discrimination was officially forbidden, it remained an underlying issue, whether concealed or overt.

"Yes, we took a huge dose of annoyance," Fatty grumbled, infuriated by the lost money. Earlier, Qiqi had used an excuse to check the ledgers and discovered there was no itemized list for the previous meal expenses—only a single invoice. That meant they had no way of knowing how much had been embezzled, but the amount wouldn't be small.

Wang Qiqi, seeing how upset Han Tao and Fatty were, realized her suspicions had been correct. "What exactly happened? Was I right?"

John grew more confused. How did everyone, even Angel, know about this? Did they investigate something while they were out eating? John’s first uncomfortable thought was: Are they investigating me?

"More than right, Qiqi. You wouldn't believe how shameless they are. The price they settled on with us was the restaurant's listed price plus a ten percent surcharge." Fatty could understand a delivery fee if they only ordered one meal, but since they aggregated large orders every time, there was no need for separate delivery runs, thus negating any travel charge. Moreover, they were long-term clients who should have been able to negotiate a discount, not pay more than the menu price.

Wang Qiqi thought they had been unethical before, but she hadn't expected this level of audacity. "That's ruthless."

Hearing this, John finally understood. They had gone specifically to eat at the Japanese restaurant today, and the information they uncovered had infuriated Tom. John, however, felt equally angry—weren't they skimming his money? "Have we paid them yet?"

"We did. Anna got you to sign off when I wasn't here. And I checked—the attached invoice details are gone too." Wang Qiqi was still wondering if extra items had been added to the bill, since Anna handled some lunch sign-offs. They could have easily produced two different invoices; if they weren't greedy, they'd bill for the correct amount. If they were rotten, they'd bill for both.

John realized this was premeditated. He recalled why he had signed off initially. "I was busy that day. Anna brought in the slip for my signature, and I did a quick check. I didn't expect this, sigh." He assumed monthly or weekly accounts were settled based on pre-agreed rates; who would scrutinize every detail?

What annoyed John more was that the finance department hadn't caught it—Qiqi had. "Finance didn't notice a problem either? What is her deal?" The Japanese restaurant only started delivering after Angel left. The problem she spotted immediately upon her return went unseen by the person who spent all day holed up in the office. How could John reconcile that? "Could she be colluding with Finance?"

Wang Qiqi admitted she couldn't confirm that assumption, as she had no proof. "Forget it, let bygones be bygones regarding the past. Did you bring back the menu?" That was crucial for tomorrow's negotiation.

"I got it." Fatty had initially thought Wang Qiqi’s instruction to bring the menu was trivial, but now he was grateful. Otherwise, they’d have no basis for argument when confronting the restaurant; they couldn't exactly march into the establishment mid-negotiation to check prices. "Oh, and I grabbed a few take-out flyers."

Fatty almost hadn't taken them, but Han Tao insisted one was necessary to preempt the other party claiming that delivery flyers always cost more than dine-in.

Wang Qiqi was impressed by Fatty’s quick thinking and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Han Tao told me to take them," Fatty clarified, not wanting to steal credit. "By the way, Qiqi, don't show the restaurant menu tomorrow, or they'll accuse us of being excessive." Menus could sometimes be considered proprietary business information.

Wang Qiqi certainly knew that. "I’m not that foolish. Han Tao, remember to take pictures of it for me. I’ll use the camera to talk to them tomorrow. Take the photos when we get back." That way, they wouldn't be able to trace where the photos were taken.

"It seems that after we move and have more staff, having our own dining facility will prevent all these hassles and improve employee benefits." Although this would mean a much higher outlay, John felt spending more money this way was better than letting certain people embezzle it. "She looked like such a nice person." John had personally hired Anna. Even though Angel and she had quarreled bitterly before, John hadn't said much, always believing Anna was somewhat innocent, merely having loved the wrong person. But he hadn't expected her to be so ruthless.

John understood this was part of Angel's reason for wanting Anna gone, but this motive couldn't excuse her actions in John’s eyes either. "Notify Anna tomorrow that we need that restaurant to settle their bill." Although the payment date hadn't arrived, no one would object to receiving payment early. John wanted to see if Anna would stop or continue her behavior. "If she stops, we let her go. If not, we’ll discuss the next steps."

John’s words struck Wang Qiqi and the others as odd. In their impression, John, though not inherently unkind, wasn't exactly a saint. Why would he be so lenient with Anna? Wang Qiqi suspected something deeper was going on. Anna was quite striking when dressed up, constantly exuding female pheromones. "Wait, you didn't... you aren't interested in Anna, are you?" The thought burst out before she could stop it, making Wang Qiqi want to slap herself. How could she speak such gossip?

Han Tao was about to try and smooth over Wang Qiqi’s inappropriate comment, which bordered on slander.

John hadn't intended to bring this up, but since Tao and Angel seemed to share similar opinions, he knew he had to explain himself. Although he appreciated beautiful women, it didn't mean he harbored any thoughts of betraying his family. "I used to have a girlfriend who was Anna’s older sister. She died in a car accident. Before she died, she asked me to look out for her sister."