Chapter 416: Chapter 416

The executives seemed to want to intimidate the newly appointed Rayna, as they spoke very fast when reporting without having any consideration for her and even used abbreviations for some professional terminology.

However, Rayna maintained a neutral expression the entire time, scanning through the documents on the table while listening to the reports from the various departments.

She sat there with her legs crossed, radiating a powerful aura.

By the time the executives finished reporting their work, Rayna had also finished reading all those documents.

She praised herself inwardly as she swept her gaze over the two thick stacks of documents on the table. After remaining beside Curtis for so long, I have even picked up his multitasking skills.

The image of the man’s calm and composed demeanor that suddenly popped into her head made her heart twinge.

What’s the point of thinking about him? That man has long found a new love. How could he possibly remember me?

Seeing that Rayna had not spoken a word, the assistant beside her carefully inquired, “Do you have anything to say, Ms.

Garland?”

“Yes.” Rayna took a deep breath to suppress the irritation in her heart before taking out one of the documents and hurling it to the center of the conference table, making everyone jump and look at her.

She then instructed the assistant flatly, “Open this year’s first quarterly report.”

“Right away.” The assistant did as she was told, and the pie chart of the quarterly report soon appeared on the projector screen.

“Is this the first quarterly report?” Rayna pointed at the projector, her gaze piercing. “At the beginning of this year, the company launched three new products with an A-list celebrity as spokesperson, and the promotion expenses were higher than last year.

But why is the revenue for this first quarterly report not as good as last year’s? Not only was the spokesperson for the few new products launched at the same time last year a D-list celebrity, but the expenses were also lower.”

Someone from the marketing department spoke up. “Ms. Garland, those few products last year sold well because they rode on the popularity of a movie. There’s no such thing this year, so—”

“So it’s understandable that the first quarterly report isn’t as good as last year’s even if we hire an A-list celebrity and spend so much on promotion?” Rayna smiled as she completed his words. “Is that right?”

Her stare sent chills down the marketing department executive’s spine, leaving him at a loss for words.

Rayna continued flatly, “You’re working in the core department of the company. The success of the product depends on you. If you invest so much and the results aren’t as good as they were the previous year, then it’s your fault. The headquarters only read the first quarterly report. They don’t care and aren’t interested in the process. If they discover that the branch company’s expenses haven’t kept up with its revenues, they’ll hold a meeting to discuss replacing employees or making layoffs. Following that, if the figures in the annual report don’t exceed their expectation, the entire company will undergo a complete overhaul.”

She tapped her slender fingers on the table. “I don’t think any of you would want to witness a terrible outcome like that.”

After saying that, she lowered her gaze and scrutinized everyone, observing that all the executives were silent and looked worried.

It was apparent that she had succeeded in frightening them.

Rayna softened her tone slightly, “I’ve discussed with the headquarters about setting up benefits for everyone when I came here.

After the quarterly report is released, everyone in the department who performs well can receive a double amount of the quarterly bonus. The same goes for the year-end bonus.”

She could see the eyes of many executives lighting up and blazing with excitement as soon as those words left her mouth.

Motivating people with money is the most practical approach.

Rayna took in all their various emotions. “I’ll deliver the first quarterly report on schedule to the headquarters and take the flak for you all, but I’m hoping that the figures on the semi-annual report would please everyone. If that report is still unsatisfactory, I’ll talk to every department and consider hiring replacements. Is that clear?”

She raised her voice, grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Yes!”

“Okay, then that’s it for today’s meeting.” Rayna pushed back her chair and got up. “I’m going back to my office.”

There was silence until she left, after which the tense atmosphere in the conference room instantly turned lively.

The many executives exchanged looks, and they all saw a trace of fear in each other’s eyes. After the meeting that day, they learned that the newly appointed vice CEO appeared friendly but was not one to be trifled with.

Soon, the contents of the meeting spread throughout the company, including the benefits set by Rayna.

Only after some people bragged about it to their social circles did other companies learn that Glory’s CEO had changed. The new vice CEO previously worked for Hatchair Group and Faymon Group and used to be the CEO of Faymon Group’s secret girlfriend.

It did not take long for the news to spread among social circles and become the talk of the town.

Curtis never paid attention to those gossip forums, so he did not know which company Rayna went to. As for the latter, she was too preoccupied with paperwork at her new workplace to take notice of the gossip.

Despite being busy, Rayna still cared a lot about the babies, so she would take a break and eat whenever she felt hungry.

She would regularly work for four or five hours straight in her office.

At three in the afternoon, Ella, her assistant, knocked on the door and entered the office with a file in one hand and a beautiful cake in the other. “Ms. Garland, this is the fruit cake you requested. I told the shop owner to add only oranges and kiwis. It doesn’t contain any other fruits.”

Rayna raised her head from the document and smiled at the other woman. “Okay. I’m sorry for troubling you today by making you run around outside. The snacks I ordered online will be delivered tomorrow.”

“I’m just doing my job as your assistant.” Ella placed the file on the table before continuing, “The company will launch a new fragrance next month. Here is the relevant information. Please take a look.”

Rayna took the file and flipped it open while Ella swiftly opened the cake box, sliced the cake, and handed a slice over.

“Thank you,” Rayna said as she accepted the plate.

The cream was not overly sweet and melted in her mouth. On the other hand, the orange was overflowing with sweetness when she bit into it, and she found it a little hard to swallow.

She hurriedly spat it out on the paper.

“What’s the matter, Ms. Garland?” Ella asked nervously when she saw that. “I watched the shop owner make the cake. He whipped the cream with the oranges on the spot. I even tasted the oranges. Does it not suit your taste?”

Rayna nodded and replied helplessly, “Yes. I want to eat oranges, but this orange doesn’t taste right.”

As soon as I tasted it, my stomach started churning.

“I heard from the shop owner that they are premium oranges imported from Hallsbay, and they aren’t cheap.”

“I’m pickier with my food,” Rayna replied while massaging her temples.

I’m pregnant, but I can’t let anyone find out about it, so I can only take the blame for the babies.

“I’ll buy you another one then.”

“That won’t be necessary. You must be exhausted after running around all day today.” Rayna stopped her and continued after some thought, “I recalled that Faymon Group previously purchased an orchard, and the fruits there are good. If you have time, find out the phone number of the orchard and order some fruits for me.”

Ella nodded. “Okay. I’ll look into it later. If there isn’t anything else, I’ll go out now.”

“Mm. Go ahead.”

The orange cake was tossed to the side by Rayna as she simply could not eat it. Instead, she took the leftover biscuits from morning and munched on them while looking through the documents.

Glory specialized in cosmetics and perfumes. Naturally, they could not compete with luxury brands in the cosmetics market, but their global sales were quite good. Every new fragrance they had previously launched would swiftly become the most popular in Aploth.

Glory’s profits had, however, plunged ever since their chief perfumer was poached by a big brand five years ago, and in that period of time, they had gone through three different perfumers. Ultimately, it was not until the headquarters poached a great perfumer from a big brand that their revenue gradually stabilized. It was short-lived, though, as it worsened once more over the past two years.

The new fragrance was not their perfumer’s final product, but rather, it was purchased for a handsome price by the headquarters from someone else. The company executives even signed a bet-on agreement with other companies.