Chapter 1196: Arrogance

Chapter 1196: Arrogance

At the moment, Preston still had great confidence. He simply thought

that Eileen was deliberately playing games with Ayan or getting too

caught up in their complicated relationship. However, he believed that

Eileen could distinguish right from wrong. After all, if she didn't

cooperate, she wouldn't have a good outcome either. If Ayan wanted to

deal with him, he would undoubtedly involve Eileen.

But despite thinking this way, he couldn't help but feel some

uneasiness and anxiety. He spent the entire night without closing his

eyes, constantly waiting for a response from Eileen on his phone.

As the minutes and seconds passed, it was already the next day in an

instant.

Seeing that the sky outside was already bright, Preston picked up his

phone, but there was no movement or change. He squinted his eyes,

his face growing colder and more serious.

He tightly held his phone without saying a word, and his expression

became increasingly unpleasant. In the end, he couldn't even tell if it

was due to worry or anger.

Preston didn't idle around. After getting up and going through his usual

morning routine, he headed to the company. Since both projects had

nothing to do with him, he was quite free at Armstrong Corp.

Fortunately, no one paid him any attention and treated him as if he

were invisible.

Oh, today was a good day.

It was payday at Armstrong Corp.

So the employees arrived early, energized as if they were injected with

chicken blood. After all, it was a once-a-month good day, and naturally,

they wanted to show their efforts in front of Horace.

The company's finance department had also arrived early. Ever since

Horace took over, Armstrong Corp had undergone some changes.

Previously, under Brody's management, salaries were distributed

separately, with priority given to the higher-ups, while the lowest level

had to wait for about a week. This caused dissatisfaction among many

employees.

Now, Horace had changed it to the same time. The finance department

distributed the pay slips, and the salaries would be deposited into

everyone's accounts in the afternoon of the same day.

Around nine in the morning, everyone was already queuing up at the

finance department to collect their pay slips. Quintus was no exception.

He not only collected his own but also collected Preston's. Although

Preston was the project director appointed by Brody, his salary was still

issued by the headquarters. After all, Brody wouldn't secretly provide

money, as he wouldn't engage in unprofitable business.

But when it was Preston's turn, Quintus was denied. The finance

department said, "You were brought in by Mr. Walker, so he should be

the one to pay you. Your position has nothing to do with Armstrong

Corp, and you didn't go through the HR department or our finance

department. Therefore, you won't receive a salary from us.”

Quintus could hardly believe it. He had worked tirelessly for a month,

assisting Preston in every way, but he received no compensation. He

argued continuously, stating that although he was brought in by

Preston, he was working for Armstrong Corp, and thus, Armstrong Corp

should pay him his salary.

But the finance department countered with a question, "May I ask what

work you have done for Armstrong Corp? If you have finished with your

inquiries, please leave and don't disturb the people waiting in line

behind you."

People behind Quintus started discussing him since they had never

heard of such a person in the company, naturally assuming that he

wouldn't receive a salary. Quintus felt utterly embarrassed and could

only take Preston's pay slip and leave. He returned to Preston's office,

where Preston sat at his desk, waiting for Eileen’s call and message.

However, there had been no movement or news so far, leaving his

mood indescribable.

Quintus entered the office and placed the pay slip on the desk. After

hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke, "Mr. Walker, the finance

department didn't provide me with my pay slip. They said that since you

brought me in, it's your responsibility to pay me. I didn't go through the

HR department, so they won't give me a salary."

Quintus looked at Preston cautiously, noticing that his expression

hadn't changed much, and there was no indication of him responding to

Quintus’ words. This displeased Quintus a bit, and he said, "Mr. Walker,

what should I do now?"

Preston raised his gaze and looked at Quintus, his face particularly

grim, and his tone was extremely cold as he said, “If they won't give it

to you, what can I do? Do you expect me to go and ask for it on your

behalf? I'm busy right now. Deal with it yourself and don't bother me,

okay?"

"But Mr. Walker, I came here with you. Now Armstrong Corp refuses to

acknowledge my contributions to Armstrong Corp, which means they

are not acknowledging you as well!" Quintus made a final attempt to

argue, but deep down, he was already displeased with Preston's

response. He had been assisting Preston, not only keeping an eye on

Horace but also dealing with Ayan's matters and various trivial personal

tasks for Preston. He had practically dedicated all his personal time to

it. Sometimes, even the expenses for the car's fuel came out of his own

pocket. But now, Preston was being so cold and heartless, which made

Quintus, no matter how loyal he was, feel disappointed.

Preston looked at Quintus with a cold and displeased gaze and said,

"Can't you just bear with it? Can't you wait until I finish dealing with my

affairs? Do you really need that salary so badly?"

"Mr. Walker, I do need it. I have a life too!"

"Enough, stop talking about it. I'll transfer it to you later.”

"Okay, thank you, Mr. Walker."

"Now, leave.”

Preston waved his hand, clearly dismissing Quintus in a perfunctory

manner. As soon as Quintus left the office, Preston's phone received a

message.

It was from Eileen.

She said, "It's done. You can proceed now."

Reading those few words, a faint smile appeared on Preston's face. It

was the satisfaction of achieving his goal. But in the next moment, he

suddenly froze and dialed Eileen's number.

The call connected, but it was immediately hung up.

Following that, a message from Eileen arrived: "What are you doing? I

can't talk right now. Do you want to get me killed? You know he's here,

don't you?"

Accompanying the message was a photo of a man sitting on the edge

of a bed. From the back, it was clear that it was Ayan.

After confirming it multiple times, Preston decided not to disturb Eileen

any further. However, he needed to verify one thing, so he dialed a

number he had prepared in advance.

Once the call was answered, he calmly asked, "Has Mr. Simpson

arrived at the company? I can't reach him. We had an appointment to

discuss our collaboration today."

"Hello, may I ask your name? Mr. Simpson hasn't come to the company

yet. I can relay your message when he arrives.”

The person on the other end was Ayan's secretary, and getting through

to the secretary's office wasn't difficult, so Preston easily obtained the

number.

Preston didn't respond to the question and simply said, "Has Kian

arrived as well?"

"No."

"Alright, I understand. I'll come over in the afternoon.”

"Okay."

Preston ended the call, and a smile appeared on his face. It was

overflowing with satisfaction. He immediately saved the background

image of Ayan that Eileen had just sent and logged into the gossip

reporter's account. He posted the image.