Ch. 1926..1930
Chapter 1926
Chapter 1926 After breakfast, Caprice and John arrived at the Stockton Corporation headquarters.
John personally walked her into the department in charge of the project. He made sure to leave behind a message with the supervisor before leaving.
Soon, a personal desk was assigned to Caprice. Seated to her left and right were two senior members of the team, and they were going to be her assistants going forward.
They were both in their thirties, one was a man named Logan, and the other a lady named Brianne. They seemed very friendly. It was only right that they would be very cordial with her. They were dealing with the future successor of the corporation after all.
Most of the preliminary details of the joint project with Carter Tech City had been worked out.
Brianne handed Caprice a stack of documents with the relevant information. Then, she went through everything along with Logan and made sure to highlight certain key phrases as well as some industry lingo that Caprice may be unfamiliar with.
After hearing their detailed presentation, Caprice briefly read through the documents again and caught up on the current status in no time. Logan and Brianne stared at her expectantly.
When they failed to enact a response from Caprice, Brianne asked cautiously, “Miss Stockton, is there anything you'd like us to clarify?”
“No need, | understand everything,” Caprice assured them before adding, “No need to be so formal with me. Just address me by my name.”
Brianne seemed to hesitate for a moment before nodding reluctantly. “Alright.”
Caprice could sense her apprehension immediately. She explained, “All of my friends call me Caprice, so you should call me Caprice from now on!”
She turned to Logan. “You too, Logan.”
Although her father reigned over the corporation, she was essentially a novice. Both Brianne and Logan were very much her seniors, and it was only right that she gave them the respect they deserved.
Brianne and Logan seemed taken aback.
They must not have been expecting Caprice to turn out to be so down-to-earth. There was not a hint of pompousness they expected from a pampered daughter of the CEO.
Caprice fiddled with the documents for a moment before asking, “Brianne, Logan, is this the contact information of the person in charge in Carter Tech City?”
The two nodded in unison.
Caprice took a deep breath to brace herself, then she picked up the phone on the table. She dialed the number and heard the mechanical ring.
Beep.
The call was connected very shortly after. It was an unfamiliar voice. “President Carter’s office, may | know who | am speaking to?”
It was Liam’s secretary..
Caprice spoke formally, “This is Caprice from Stockton Corporation. I’d like to discuss the upcoming collaboration project with Li- with President Carter. Is he available at the moment?”
Mitch promptly informed, “Please wait a moment. | will transfer the call for “Alright.”
She heard two beeps before the call was connected to Liam’s office.
A familiar, raspy voice came through, “Caprice?”
you.
Caprice’s eyes lit up. “Liam- | mean, President Carter, it's me. I’m here to talk to you about the joint project.”
Liam spoke somewhat stiffly, “Yeah, I’m aware of it.”
She coughed to clear her throat before continuing in a formal tone, “I’ve gone through the brief of the product and the project looks very promising. | think we can start working out the particulars now.”
Liam stayed silent for a few more seconds before responding, “I’m going to Glanchester tomorrow morning. We can talk about this in person.”
Caprice said politely, “Alright then, | won’t be taking up your time anymore.”
“Wait a minute,” he said suddenly.
She asked in a tone of confusion, “Is there anything else you need?”
Liam drew a breath. “Next time, just call me on my phone instead of my office number. Also, don’t call me President Carter.” Caprice made a look and asked perplexedly, “Aren’t business partners supposed to address each other formally?”
Liam quipped, “Only if they are strangers to each other.”
Her eyes sparkled. “I see.”
“Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, I'll be there at about ten tomorrow morning.”
Chapter 1927
“Alright, see you!”
Caprice smiled briskly before hanging up.
She then turned to Brianne. “Hey, Brianne, could you give me a rundown of the general procedures of a joint project?”
Although the joint project with Carter Tech City was in ways nothing more than a formality, she still wanted to make sure she took it seriously.
It turned out that things were more tedious than she expected, and many kinks needed to be worked out
Even before she got involved, the team had already gotten started on the preliminary stages in preparation for adopting Carter Tech City’s new gadget into the market. When Liam arrived tomorrow, she would have to meet him with Brianne and Logan and have him sign the letter of intent, then they had to perform a site survey.
Allin all, the preliminary process of the project would take at least a month. The day passed in the blink of an eye.
By the time she finished sorting out the work for the day, it was already dark outside. The office was eerily silent at this hour of the day.
The employees seated across from her did not make a sound the entire time because they were hard at work. Sitting adjacent to her, Logan and Brianne turned around and looked behind them at the same time, suddenly growing solemn. Caprice turned around and noticed that her father had shown up. He must have gotten here at some point
John had just wrapped up his tasks as well and came to visit her. He expected to see her lazing around but was pleasantly surprised to see that she was hard at work. He had been standing here for a while before she even noticed him at all.
He greeted her with a smile, “Finished with work yet?”
Caprice smiled. “Yeap.”
“Alright, let's go home together.”
“Okay”
She grabbed her bag and made sure to say goodbye to Brianne and Logan before following her father out of the office. They went to the parking lot. When she got into the car, she was greeted by her mother who was waiting inside the car. She was surprised to see her here. “Mom, why are you here?”
Sherry said with a tender smile, “I had nothing to do and figured I’d come to see you.”
Soon, the car jerked to motion.
Sherry asked inquiringly, “How was your first day at work?”
John sat on the other side of Caprice and regarded her with an eager expression.
Caprice smiled faintly and said, “It went pretty well.”
“Did you run into any problems?” Sherry asked in a voice fretted with concern.
Caprice shook her head. “No, at least, not yet.”
Sherry smiled gladly.
John seemed relieved to hear this as well.
Caprice made a face and expressed, “Mom, Dad, I’m not a kid anymore. Even if | run into any issues, | can deal with them myself. | don’t need to be coddled all the time.”
Sherry and John exchanged a look. Then, Sherry gently brushed Caprice’s cheeks. “Alright, we understand.” Caprice turned to John. “Dad, you don’t have to visit me at the office. If you want to talk to me you can just call me.”
Caprice understood that he was doing it because he was worried about her, but he drew too much attention with his presence because of his authority in the office. She did not want to come off as being ostentatious.
John smiled faintly and gave his word. “Alright.” So long as she was willing to commit herself to the company, he would do as she wished.
Caprice smiled jubilantly when she noted how agreeable her father was. She held took both her parent’s hands and began to doze off in no time.
The car coasted down the highway, and it was a smooth ride all the way.
The rest of the journey was spent in tranquil silence as she slept leaning against her father’s shoulder. John and Sherry looked at each other and smiled.
Chapter 1928
Chapter 1928 It was a dreamless night. Knowing that Liam would be coming, she woke up the next day before dawn even broke.
After she washed, she stayed inside the dressing area for a while and debated on what to wear. She ended up opting for a formal shirt paired with a fitted skirt with a coat thrown on top. She combed her hair neatly behind her ears.
With that, she walked out of the dressing area, ready for the day.
Brianne and Logan had already supplied the required documents to her. All she needed to do was to hand them over to Liam and brief him about the details.
At around ten, the receptionist informed her that Liam had arrived.
She rose immediately and went to the VIP room with Logan and Brianne.
The VIP room was on the second floor. They took the elevator, and it took five minutes for them to get there.
Upon opening the door, the bright, brilliant ceiling lights flashed in their face. They saw a man in a leather jacket seated on the couch.
Her eyes shone. Her first instinct was to call him by his name, but with Brianne, Logan, and Liam’s crew in the room with them, she decided against it. She put on a serious expression and greeted him with a professional, polite smile, “Good afternoon, President Carter.”
Liam had just taken a sip of water. Upon noticing Caprice dressed in her business attire coupled with the formal way in which she carried herself, he nearly spat out his drink.
He coughed dryly and tried to suppress a laugh, then he spoke, “Good to see you, Miss Stockton.”
Caprice frowned.
Miss Stockton?
What an awkward way of addressing her, she thought.
She swiped a look at him before taking her seat on the couch next to him. She began, “Let’s get started, President Carter.” Liam threw a look at her. “Sure.”
Caprice gave Brianne a signal.
Brianne promptly handed the documents to her. Caprice took the docket and handed a copy to Liam. President Carter, here is our initial proposal.”
Liam took the documents from her, and in the middle of doing so, scraped the tips of his fingers against the flesh of her hand. There was no telling if it was intentional.
Caprice suddenly felt herself heating up and had to still her breathing. She stole a look at him.
He was already reading the documents as if what happened had barely registered in his mind.
Was it merely accidental?
She quickly brushed it off and collected her thoughts.
Liam went through the documents rather quickly and was finished in no time. After that, he set the documents on the desk and turned to Caprice.
She smiled. “What do you think?”
She had come up with them herself and formulated them with the help of Brianne and Logan.
She looked at Liam expectantly.
Liam stayed silent for a while before remarking, “It’s fine, but there’s one thing that needs to be changed.” “What is it?” Caprice asked with a tint of worry in her voice.
Liam glanced at Brianne and Logan who were standing next to Caprice, then he remarked, “This joint project is different from the previous projects, so reusing the past methodology won't be suitable.” Both Brianne and Logan grimaced faintly.
Caprice seemed appalled. “How did you know...”
She had taken most of her ideas from the previous joint projects. Liam made a look and informed, “My suggestion is to scrap this and rewrite the entire thing.” Caprice was speechless.
Could this even be a suggestion?
It was more like a complete rejection of the original proposal!
She was feeling slightly upset and let it show.
Brianne and Logan quickly noticed that things were not turning out as well as they hoped. They exchanged a look, then Brianne stepped in, “President Carter, do you have any ideas?”
Liam peered at Caprice, then at her assistants. “We will come up with the general scheme. You can assist Miss Stockton and work out the specifics after we finish the site visit later this noon. No need for
anything complicated. Just cover the basics and flesh things out.”
Brianne nodded. “Alright, understood.”
Chapter 1929
Chapter 1929 Liam turned to Caprice with a faint smile. "Miss Stockton, do you have anything you'd like to add?" "No, that's all for now.”
The proposal had been essentially rejected, and he had already laid out what to do next, thus there was nothing left for her to add.
She sighed and got up, ready to leave.
"One second.” Liam stopped her.
She turned to him. "Is there anything else you need, President Carter?"
"There is something else | need to speak to you about in private," he remarked.
Caprice did not think much of it and promptly turned to Brianne and Logan. "I'll talk to you two later."
With a firm nod, the two went outside.
Liam gave Mitch a look as well.
Mitch escorted the other two assistants out and excused themselves.
Now that they were all gone, Caprice turned to face Liam again. She wondered what it was that he needed to tell her.
He was already standing by the time she turned to face him. He posed himself right in front of her, so he only needed to take a half step before he would press himself to her body.
The sudden shrinking of the distance between them caught her off guard. She felt she was still slightly upset about what happened back there and snapped grumpily, "President Carter, why are you getting so close to me?” Liam gently cupped one side of her face and said softly, "You look very nice today."
Caprice felt her cheeks growing hot, and her dark mood was thrown out the window in an instant. She smiled gladly and asked as if hoping that he would repeat his compliment, "Really?"
Liam returned a gentle smile and said, "Yes." He was very handsome whenever he put on that rare charming smile on his.
Caprice had not seen him for several days and had to stifle the urge to throw herself at him the moment she entered the room and met him. She could no longer hold herself back, so she plunged into his chest.
She pressed her face close to her chest and muttered affectionally, "| missed you so much, Liam."
Liam ruffled the back of her head. "Why did you call me President Carter back there? It doesn’t feel like you miss me when you don't even say my name.”
Caprice made a start, then she turned up to look at him. "You were also calling me Miss Stockton." Liam expressed, "Why wouldn't | address you as Miss Stockton when you started with addressing me as President Carter?" Caprice stuttered. She shamelessly buried her face in his chest again and yelped, "I don't care. It's your fault!"
He had rejected her initial proposal. She was aware that it was partially attributed to her lack of experience, but it still did not sit well with her.
Liam gently caressed her and smoothed her hair. "Sorry, it's my fault."
Just like that, she felt much better. She turned up to face him, smiling so brightly that her eyes had turned crescent-shaped.
Her expression was adorable enough to melt Liam's heart.
Something flashed in his eyes. He moved his hands and caressed the side of her cheeks, then he began tickling her lips with the tips of his fingers.
"Close your eyes," he said suddenly.
Caprice was still internally celebrating about getting him to admit that he was the one at fault. She barely noticed what he was doing and blurted out, "Close my eyes? Why?"
His voice had a magical effect. "You will know after you close your eyes." She did as she was told.
Immediately after that, she felt the steamy sensation of his lips against hers. She opened her eyes in shock.
Liam pressed his palm against the back of her head to make sure that there was no escape for her. His domineering breath poured into her.
Caprice whimpered. Then, his closed eyes suddenly parted open, revealing an ominously dark glow beneath them like the eyes of an underground deity that had risen and come to the world of the living.
She felt a jolt of terror and quickly shut her eyes.
Chapter 1930
Fortunately, his movements were very gentle.
Caprice quickly moved past the shock.
She hugged him tightly and craned her head up. She responded to his passionate kisses with her own inexperienced kisses. At one point, he suddenly removed his lips from hers and pressed her head into his chest.
Caprice clung to him like she was going to melt into him. She could not pry herself free and asked softly, "What's wrong?" Why did he suddenly stop kissing her?
She was just getting in the mood.
Liam took a few deep breaths. He took his time getting the tempo of his breathing back to normal before he answered, "Nothing, I'm fine."
After a pause, he suddenly proposed, "Caprice, let's get engaged.” Caprice made a start, then she turned up to look at him.
He had removed his palm from the back of her head at one point. The moment she looked up, she stared into the glow in his eyes.
On the outside, he may look cool and imposing, but what was on the inside was a complete contrast-there was softness and tenderness.
That was enough to melt Caprice. She had feelings for him ever since she was a child. He felt the same for her as well.
Since their feelings were mutual, there was no reason for them to not be together.
She smiled tenderly and answered, "Of course."
Liam stayed silent for a moment as if he had to process the information. Then, he passionately took her into his arms and kissed her.
It took more than half an hour before Caprice came out of the VIP room.
Her hair cascaded messily over her shoulders. She made a beeline for the washroom with her face covered in red. She splashed cold water on her face several times until she felt her inner temperature go down.
The restless feeling had not dissipated yet.
She stood up straight and observed her swollen lips in the mirror. Her mind immediately replayed the scenes in the VIP room just now.
It was just a brief kiss at first, then she ended up shoving Liam into the couch before falling onto him! At one point, he almost took off her shirt...
How embarrassing!
She covered her face.
She stayed in the washroom for a long time before finally emerging. She had to start preparing for the site visit with Liam later this afternoon.
Fortunately, she managed to regain her usual self after she got back to the office because there was a lot of work waiting to be done.
She worked until noon. She took Brianne and Logan to a well-known restaurant in Glanchester. They only waited for a while before Liam showed up, followed by his assistant Mitch and two other members of his team.
When Caprice saw him, their interaction in the VIP room earlier today immediately began to play in her mind, and she could feel her cheeks reddening gradually.
Meanwhile, Liam wore a completely calm expression. It was as if he was a completely different person from the one smothering her with passionate kisses on the couch just now. His composure slightly bothered Caprice.
He did not seem to notice the look on her face. He smiled faintly and made a point of greeting her with an exaggerated formality, "Sorry for the long wait, Miss Stockton."
She responded perfunctorily, "We didn't have to wait long. Please, sit, President Carter." He sat on the chair next to her. Brianne, Logan, as well as his companions, chose their seats. With that, everyone was gathered.
Something stirred in Caprice's eyes when she looked at Liam seated next to her. She suddenly thought of certain scenes she saw in romance dramas. She lifted one of her feet and gently, sneakily rubbed it against his thigh.
Liam suddenly took a deep breath. He turned completely stiff. He turned to her briefly.
Caprice already regarded him with a smile. She carried herself like the benevolent host, ever so ready to please her guests. "President Carter, | have already ordered all the signature dishes. Is there anything else you’d like to eat?"
She spoke with her feet still ceaselessly rubbing against his thigh. Liam strained a smile. "No need, you've ordered everything that | like.” Caprice snorted to herself.
That's a smart man.
With that, she removed her feet from his thighs.