Michael felt both embarrassed and speechless upon hearing this. The companyâs current situation reminded him of how things were when Plum Technology first startedâback when they were rejected by the entire Harper Family and everything was a chaotic mess.
While Michael visited the company to see how things were going, all the workers seemed more interested to see him, the bossâ âwifeâ. As usual, the workers from other departments on other floors quickly rushed up to see Michael once they heard that the bossâ âwifeâ had arrived. Itâs the award-winning actor in person! Itâs really the bossâ âwifeâ! Thatâs amazing! The legendary little princess is here as well!
Michael finally managed to find Sophia in her office. She was swamped with work, and his arrival caught her by surprise. âWhat are you guys doing here? Werenât you guys overseas?â she asked.
âWe came back yesterday,â Michael replied in a mildly annoyed tone as he placed the lunch box he had prepared on the table. Sophia simply scratched her messy hair. She was so busy that she had lost track of time and thought that Carmen wasnât back yet. Right as she reached forward to pull Carmen in for a kiss, the young girl flinched and moved away. âYucks! Youâre stinky, Mommy!â
Sophia sniffed herself to find that her daughter was right. They had meetings every day, and all the workers smoked and ate cup noodles in the meeting room, so the stench was extremely strong.
Although Sophia smelled bad, Carmen thoughtfully stepped forward to plant a large kiss on her motherâs cheek. Michael then lifted Carmen into his arms as he shoved the lunch box toward Sophia. âI purposely prepared this for you because Shae said that you hadnât had a chance to eat.â
It was then that Sophia realized how hungry she actually was, so she began to gobble up her meal.
Meanwhile, Carmen ran out of the office to put on a show for all of the workers. Everyone came from their respective floors and gathered around just to watch Carmen perform. This was the only public performance Carmen had, apart from the one she did at her kindergartenâs celebration. The young girl performed a fairy dance that she had learned while she was overseas, and the crowd erupted into applause after it ended. Carmen was indeed an angelâshe managed to put a smile on everyoneâs faces when they had been tense and anxious for days.
Sophia was eating in her office when she watched Michael pull a Serpent phone out of his bag; it was still wrapped in plastic. He then took one of the brand-new Dragon Eye phones before placing both of them next to each other.
âWhat are you doing?â Sophia asked as she munched on a drumstick made with Michaelâs special recipe. Michael flashed her a mysterious grin. âTheir spokesperson belittled our handphone, so I was wondering what I could do as Dragon Eyeâs spokesperson.â He then turned to Shae. âI want you to record me, Shae. I want a high-quality recording.â
Shae moved out from a corner and started recording Michael. Sophia watched as Michael calmly unboxed the brand new Serpent phone before moving on to the new, low-end Dragon Eye phone. He held both phones in his hands and turned them on at the same time. Both of the screens lit up at the same time; their systems and functions were equally efficient. The logo for both phones appeared on the screen at the same time, and Michael then turned around and howled at the office door. âHey, stupid dog!â
âWoof?â A husky pushed the door open and stuck its head into the office. With both the phones in his hands, Michael then threw them out at the same time. âGet it!â he yelled. The phones flew out with great speed before they both struck against the wall with loud clunks. They then fell into the indoor fountain in Sophiaâs office.
Sophia was completely speechless as she watched the entire scene play out in front of her eyes.
âWoof!â Judge charged into the fountain at the speed of light before picking both the phones up and returning them to its owner. One of the phones barely looked like a phoneâit fell apart after the impact it sustained upon being hurled against the wall, coupled with the water that seeped into its parts and the force of Judgeâs teeth against its surface. All that was left now was the back of the phone that had a logo printed on it. There were teeth marks that belonged to the dog right on top of Serpentâs logo, and the phone was utterly destroyed.
On the other hand, the Dragon Eye phone came back with just a few scratches on its screen, but it could still be turned on. The shining âDragon Eyeâ logo remained well-preserved at the back of the phone.
âYou can upload this video onto my Twitter whenever you think the timeâs right,â Michael said. Sophia was still speechless after what she just saw. Shae quickly tidied the mess and dried the dog before sending the video over to both Michael and Sophiaâs phones.
Sophia began to hesitate a little when she saw the notification by Shae. Isnât it a little too much since the logo there is so obvious? âIs this⦠really okay? Arenât we just blatantly criticizing their brand?â She felt a little guilty and a little worried that Serpent might confront them for their acts.
Michael simply sat himself down in front of her before staring into her eyes. He then reached out and pinched her cheeks, which had a lot less meat as she had lost weight. âIs this criticism, though? I just happen to enjoy using my phones to play fetch with my dog; whatâs wrong with that? Iâm rich, after all! I like using my phones as sticks for my dog, and I can use a new phone each day! Did Serpent ever restrict their customers from using their phones as dog toys?â
Thatâs true. Theyâve never said that⦠Sophia thought. âBut what if they cause you trouble after they see this video?â
âWhat can they do to me? Eat me up?â He didnât seem bothered by it at all. But Serpent is an international company after all; they have their own network and connections. What if they come up with a plot to harm Michael after seeing him in the video? Sophiaâs concerns were written all over her face, so Michael reached forward to pinch her cheeks once again. âThey were the ones who asked for it. They used the power of a celebrityâs fans and turned them against our brand, so why canât we respond with the same tactics? They were the ones that attacked us first, and we canât just sit around and do nothing, can we?â
Sophia quickly placed her hand over his before pressing it against her cheek, greedily taking in the warmth of his palm against her skin. It felt good to have someone fighting alongside her during her toughest periods. âYouâre the best, darling!â she uttered. He leaned forward to plant a kiss on her cheek before pulling her in for a hug. Her body felt even thinner than before, probably because she had been straining herself in the past few months.
After the two of them spent a little more time cuddling with one another, Sophia finally sat herself on Michaelâs legs before wrapping her arms around his neck. She told him about everything that had been going on. She told him about how Serpent and Lucyâs consecutive attacks overwhelmed them, leaving them with no time to clear their heads and think properly. It was evident that they were trying to infuriate Sophia, but their acts didnât change the fact that the Dragon Eye phones were a good financial opportunity. Throughout this period, there were a number of investors that had approached their company to offer them support to go against Lucyâs team. Those investors wanted some benefits in return, of course, but Sophia rejected all of them. Linus and Cooper also visited to check on the situation, but Sophia didnât want them to get too involved. After all, how could she have the nerve to return to the Michel Group in the future if she couldnât even handle the job of a cell phone agent by herself?
With his arms tight around Sophiaâs waist, Michael patiently listened to all her stories. He had never interfered with her work, but he always offered his opinions whenever necessary. âThe cheapest Dragon Eye phone costs about 6,000, which makes it a relatively expensive phone when compared to the average phone price. However, we canât underestimate the purchasing power of our consumers in Cethos. We shouldnât limit our users to those in the city; the larger townships, the countryside areas, villages, pastoral, and desert areas all have great potential as well. This phone is suited for extreme weather, so those in the field of research may prefer it. We should find ways to promote these features to all the special organizations. As for expanding our sales into rural areas and villages, I have a rather silly ideaâ¦â
The two of them continued talking in the office for a long time. Michael stayed around with Sophia until she finished work at 6.00PM. He then drove her home. Meanwhile, everyone else left work on time that day. âGoodbye, misters and misses!â Carmen waved to the workers before she slipped her hands into her parentsâ. All of the workers felt like they had been blessed by an angel to have Carmen visiting them, so they worked especially hard throughout the day.
Finally, all three of them returned to the Edwards Residence. Michael had already treated the place as his own house. He didnât just move in himselfâhe even shamelessly brought a bunch of others along with him. Nathan, Celine, Justin, and a bunch of cats, dogs and robots all lived in the Edwards Residence now.
They all received great news recently: Justin, the old but vigorous guy, just got Celine pregnant!