woman wearing irish linen shirt

Kevin is dressed formally as in the company today, with a poplin blue shirt on top of dark trousers and a dark paisley pattern tie, giving him a heavy overall feel.

I secretly felt that I had lost one end. I thought it was a weekend meeting. I thought this occasion would not be very business. I only wore a pair of thin serge wide-leg pants, a silk shirt on the upper body and even a breast pocket, which was slightly smaller than his. Casual.

If you lose, you don't lose, but if you lose, it depends on the face.Kevin saw me, stood up, and I greeted him with a smile: "I didn't know there was a dress code today."

"Oh, no, I just came back from talking about things." Kevin pulled out a chair for me in a gentlemanly manner, sat down by himself, untied his tie slowly, and unbuttoned two shirt buttons.

Such a well-intentioned signal?

I thought to myself, with a normal face, I just said: "This may sound a little cold-blooded, but I'm always happy to hear that my superiors are busy with business all weekend. At least I'm not the only one working overtime."

He said mildly: "I'm not your superior—not anymore."

I raised my eyebrows and smiled, "It's hard to say."

Kevin asked me to order food.The waiter recommended us to choose their signature set meal, but I really didn't want to discuss with Kevin the worthless topic of who would drink which soup and who would use which appetizer. Ordered and asked for coffee to be served before main course.

"Need any dessert?"

I shook my head at the waiter: "Thank you."

That's all it takes to deal with smart people, and Kevin immediately picked up on my cues that I wanted to make a long story short.He held the lemonade in a goblet and pretended to shake it for a while, with a smile on his lips.

I said, "What makes you so happy?"

"I was just thinking," Kevin said, still laughing, "if you'd been working with me from the beginning, that scene would have been... brilliant."

I looked at him for a while: "I'm afraid this can't be realized. It was Rudra who invited me back then, and you're not in the crab shell yet."

Kevin straightened his sleeves: "What do you want to say?"

"Just chatting, thinking outside the box, and exploring the big and small possibilities in the universe." I smiled. "Of course it also includes the ones on Earth. After all, we live on Earth, don't we?"

He leaned back in his chair: "You don't want to work with me?"

"No no, of course not, that's not what I meant." I looked at him and thought, that's what I meant.

In all fairness, he is a very good partner; but if he is my boss...

I may be disobedient.

He was probably still waiting for me to deny my subsequent remarks, and he didn't speak for a long time.I didn't speak, Kevin seemed to realize something, and said: "Okay, okay, let's talk with an open heart. Yao, you will find that I am very sincere."

I looked around: "I can feel your sincerity."

With [-] new restaurants per capita, he also counted his capital.

Kevin obviously planned to give me face today. After hearing what I said, he just shook his head and smiled: "It's nothing. You see, I'm not the kind of guy who can only speak beautiful words. When I say something, I must Will try to be open and honest.”

It's true, Kevin likes Yang Mou.

I raised my eyebrows, expressed my attitude just right, and signaled him to continue.

"Today, I think, between the two of us, there is no need to act any more." Kevin held his tone and tilted his head slightly, "We all know that a new subsidiary will be established, but only with the current Given the circumstances, our company is clearly unable to mount any effective countermeasures."

He is bold.I pretended perfunctorily that I was thinking about his words, then nodded.

Kevin's hands circled in the air, like an old man about to bow: "Since this is already something that is bound to happen, let me say that smart people should learn to prepare for the fate that has yet to come. "

"I'm listening." I looked at him very intently, thinking of something messy.

The taste of the mushroom soup in this restaurant is very simple, and there is nothing new about it. Could it be canned food?

"I'd say I'm a pretty good ally. In a way, Yao, you know? I'm even your only ally..." Kevin began to rant, saying things I could even roughly predict.

Can Miss Pender tell the difference?She has always liked dishes with cheese, but vaguely, I feel that she is not that picky about food.Maybe it's the perennial diet management and intensive business dinners that made her lose the leeway for nuanced taste?

But she likes to cook so much... I really want her to try the fish soup stewed by my sister-in-law.

Did she message me back?

"I don't know what Sonia can promise you... maybe Lisong?" He looked up at me slightly.

When Kevin announced the name of the big boss, I pursed my lips uncontrollably, wondering if he noticed.

"Of course, he may have given you some promise. I don't intend to inquire about the details." Kevin continued, "But it's just a blank promise."

I raised my eyebrows.

Kevin is very confident: "I can give you my position."

I raised the corners of my mouth slightly.

He glanced at me: "Don't you believe it? Which part you can't believe, do I have this will, or do I have this ability?"

My fingers are intertwined, just above the tabletop that Kevin can see, you press me, I press you, and change repeatedly.I still smiled and said, "I don't understand why you would want to make this promise to me."

He didn't answer immediately, looked at me for a while, and folded his arms: "Does this need to be so clear? I want you to be my teammate."

"For what?" I asked curiously.

"To unscrew Lisong's neck." He gestured.

I stared blankly at him, noncommittal.How can he be so direct?

But his words are enough.

I asked, "Since it's 'must happen' - and I'm quoting you - why do you need me? Don't tell me you think I must be part of that fate."

Kevin showed great generosity to my not-so-open attitude: "This is what I call preparation. Besides, in my opinion, you are a very critical part of it. The sooner the new situation comes, the better. To this end, People have to learn to unite the forces...and then to dominate the forces."

"What can I do for you?" I asked timely.

Instead, his speech slowed down, and he tapped lightly on the water glass with his fingertips: "Don't worry."

I was silent and took a sip of water.

After going around in circles for about a quarter of an hour, the "open and honest" Kevin finally went to the topic.

"First of all, I have to say that you are very powerful." Kevin shrugged his shoulders, "At first I thought you, no offense intended, thought you had lost your mind, every step of yours was so inconsistent, and some were too bold , yes, and rigid to the point of inefficiency, unlike your style. But it's interesting that the table is clearly tilted the other way, and you haven't really lost a single time. Since then I Realize that you are organized.

"I'm afraid it's hard for me to say that I understand your style, even though I have sources of information to assist me in guessing the inside story...you can imagine the situation of other people. Then it's worth pondering: why Li Song still reuses you ?” Kevin’s tentative point came to an end, and the topic changed, “You know what? Sometimes I’m just surprised. In this chess game, there is a group behind BCG, and there are helpers inside the company; No. How did you rely on yourself and refuse to admit defeat until now?"

He is no longer superficially magnanimous as before, Kevin looked at me, trying to hide his emotions.

And what can't be avoided in his eyes is the unavoidable humanity.Because it's so complicated that even I can't see it clearly.

I said, "What makes you think I'm resisting?"

"Please!" Kevin interrupted me immediately, "Do you think I'm stupid? Whether a person is a defender or an attacker does not depend on his radical or conservative attitude, but on the purpose of all this. Who is benefiting, who is benefiting in silence, but can not be seen in front of others."

I lowered my eyes: "So you think I got several salaries."

"It's hard to say." He looked at me. "I'm inclined to think that you ended up taking sides."

I look over.

My heart almost reached my throat, but I didn't dare to show it on my face.

Kevin made a gesture to tidy up his meticulous care: "Otherwise we wouldn't meet today, would we?"

I made up my mind and blurted out, "Does Sonia work for you?"

His surprise was not feigned. After looking at me for a while, he squinted his eyes and shook his head: "No, of course not, it's more or less the other way around."

He shouldn't be acting.My heart is open.

Kevin is not "the prince".

I didn't dare to think about it, and said immediately, "I apologize for my abruptness."

He shook his head again.His attention was clearly elsewhere.

"I just didn't expect that she didn't mention anything to you." Kevin took a breath, "I don't intend to be mysterious, you have to know that there is a boss behind me."

"Okay." He seemed to be hinting for me, and I slightly restrained my posture and leaned forward slightly.

Why does Kevin feel that Miss Pender greeted me beforehand?Should she let me know about this?Why didn't she?I suppressed my confusion - how did Kevin make these judgments?What does he think of my position?

"Are you wondering who the boss is?" Kevin stroked his beard with a half-smile, "I thought you already had a guess."

I said, "Not enough information."

He was silent again, leaning on the back of the chair, looking as if he was pondering something, and said: "Sonia is...unpredictable. You should be careful of her—we should all be careful of her."

I am calm.Is this already the first person to give me a warning?

Kevin's pretended deepness made my hair stand on end.

He spread his hands: "Guess. The range is narrower than you thought."

I understand.He is equivalent to saying that the "Prince" will not be airborne, but will be born from within the company.The executives who are familiar with our business line are quite limited, except for the directors of the two departments, they are the boss and the COO.

We report directly to the big boss, and we don't have much contact with the COO in normal business work.Since it has long been rumored that Kevin was recruited by the COO, Kevin is loyal to the group, and the COO should naturally be sympathetic to him.

That does seem to be the only result.

I just didn't speculate in that direction.Perhaps at my height, it is still difficult to see their grievances and needs in that world; if it were me, I would rather Going out to do it alone would not choose to stick a knife in his back.

However, the lone figure of the big boss is undeniable, and the closer I get, the more clearly I can see it.

I whispered, "COO?"

Kevin laughed. "Look, that's why I'm into you. And I'm pretty sure Raj will be very, very happy with you, too."