My Clingy CEO Husband

###Chapter 17: Please Address Me as Director Rhodes From Now On

A few minutes later, the burly Mr. Vaughn burst through the door with two of his men, his booming voice practically rattling the windows. "Who’s Director Rhodes? How dare you make me come find you? If you keep delaying that payment, we’ll see you in court!"

Mr. Vaughn stormed into the office, only to find a young woman sitting behind the desk, calmly touching up her makeup.

He scoffed. "Are the Sterlings so desperate for people they’d send a pretty face to negotiate with me?"

Maxine Rhodes deliberately capped her lipstick, and when she lifted her gaze, her eyes held a biting chill.

She slid the contract across the desk toward him, her fingertip tapping lightly on a key clause. "Mr. Vaughn, according to supplementary clause 32 of the contract, due to certain batches of materials provided by your company failing to meet the agreed-upon standards, our project schedule has been delayed. We are therefore entitled to suspend partial payment until the issue is resolved."

Mr. Vaughn’s aggressive demeanor faltered. He snatched the contract and leaned in, scrutinizing the spot her finger had indicated.

The clause was rather inconspicuous. When he had dealt with Benjamin Sterling before, it was clear Benjamin had never noticed it, let alone mentioned it.

’How did she spot a detail that even Benjamin Sterling missed?’ he wondered, shocked and suspicious.

Before he could argue, Maxine Rhodes continued, "I’ve already had the technical department issue a detailed quality inspection report. Now, we have two options. One, your company compensates for the damages and replaces all substandard materials as stipulated in the contract, after which we will pay as agreed. Two, we initiate formal arbitration proceedings."

She stood up, her gaze calm yet incredibly pressuring. "Mr. Vaughn is a smart man. You should know which to choose. I’ll give you one day to consider."

Boss Vaughn looked at the woman with a powerful presence before him, then glanced at the flawless quality inspection report. The fiery arrogance he’d arrived with was completely extinguished. In the end, he left dejectedly with his men.

After seeing Mr. Vaughn out, Coco trailed closely behind Maxine Rhodes, praising her repeatedly. "Sis, you were so awesome just now!"

Maxine Rhodes gave a faint smile. "All in a day’s work. Notify the project team—meeting in ten minutes."

"You got it!"

Coco immediately pulled out her phone and sent three consecutive notifications to the work group chat.

「Ten o’clock. The conference room.」

A few employees, who looked down on Maxine Rhodes and were banking on their seniority, started to cause trouble.

Engineer Langdon, who was in charge of technology, was the first to speak, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Max, I hear you were mainly in charge of administrative affairs before? This technical proposal involves a lot of professional parameters. How about I give you a brief rundown of the basic concepts first?"

Manager Warren from the finance department quickly chimed in, casually tossing a report onto the table. "That’s right, Director Rhodes. President Sterling personally approved all our previous procedures. Now you suddenly want to change the report format. If any of the data is wrong, who’s going to take responsibility for it?"

A few snickers rippled through the room. Everyone was clearly waiting to see Maxine Rhodes make a fool of herself.

Coco, with her fiery temper, was about to slam the table and argue, but Maxine Rhodes stopped her with a single look.

Unflustered, Maxine Rhodes turned on the projector and displayed Engineer Langdon’s proposal on the big screen. "Engineer Langdon, when you mentioned professional parameters, were you referring to these three glaringly incorrect data points?"

She used a laser pointer to circle several key areas. "You’re still citing technical standards from five years ago, and the data model has obvious flaws. I’ve already rejected it and sent it back to your email."

She paused briefly, her gaze sweeping over the varied expressions in the room before finally landing on Engineer Langdon’s frozen face. She added clearly, "Also, please address me as Director Rhodes from now on."

The color drained from Engineer Langdon’s face.

She then turned to Manager Warren and brought up another file. "As for the issue with the report format, this is the latest standard published by the industry association last month. Manager Warren, you don’t even keep up with industry updates, yet you presume to speak of responsibility?"

The conference room fell completely silent.

Her voice was clear and firm. "If any of you feel you can’t adapt to my work pace and standards, you can submit a transfer request now."

The veteran employees who had been so arrogant moments before now had their heads bowed. No one dared to speak.

Under the table, Coco secretly gave Maxine Rhodes a thumbs-up.

After cleaning up the morning’s mess, Maxine Rhodes returned to her desk and gently stretched her stiff neck and shoulders.

Her gaze fell on an unopened gift box on her desk.

She carefully opened the wrapping. Inside was a pot with a plump, adorable succulent. Lying next to it was a handwritten card: "Wishing you great success in your new office, Sis! You’ll always be my idol! —Coco"

A warmth filled her eyes. She placed the pot of succulents in the most prominent spot on her desk.

"Director Rhodes, satisfied with your new office?"

Benjamin Sterling walked in, making himself at home on the visitors’ sofa. He crossed his legs, his posture as relaxed as if he were in his own living room.

Maxine Rhodes’s fingers didn’t stop typing on her keyboard. She didn’t even bother to lift her eyes. "As expected of the president, showing up for work so late in the morning."

To Benjamin Sterling’s ears, that familiar sarcastic tone automatically translated into proof that she cared about his schedule.

A secret flicker of pride welled up inside him. He softened his tone and explained, "Don’t be mad. I know you’re upset I’m late, but you know Rose. She’s so frail. She felt dizzy when she woke up this morning and just wouldn’t let me go..."

He paused deliberately, expecting her to get angry and question him like she used to.

But Maxine Rhodes just kept typing, not even twitching an eyebrow.

"Don’t get the wrong idea," he couldn’t help but add. "There’s really nothing between us. She wanted me to take her to the hospital, but I rushed over because I was thinking of you. I heard about what happened this morning. You handled it well."

Maxine Rhodes finally stopped typing. She slowly raised her eyes, her gaze completely flat.

"President Sterling," she began, her red lips parting slightly, her voice cold. "It’s working hours. If you don’t have any specific instructions regarding the project, please leave. Don’t waste your precious time, and don’t disturb my work."

Benjamin Sterling was completely taken aback by her imperviousness, by how she utterly ignored his affectionate act. A surge of anger flared within him.

Just as he was about to pull rank and say something more, his phone rang at the most inopportune moment.

Seeing "Rose" on the caller ID, he deliberately answered it in front of Maxine Rhodes. "Hello? Rose? Why are you crying again? Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’m coming right now..."

Listening to the footsteps fade away outside the door, Maxine Rhodes’s lips curved into a mocking smile. ’That man actually thinks I’d care about such a clumsy performance.’

"Your Directorship, it’s time for lunch!"

Bubbles bounced in with a light step, followed by a visibly elated Coco.

He was wearing a flashy pink short-sleeved shirt today, which made his skin look even paler.

"Oh my god! This succulent is so cute!" Bubbles’s eyes immediately locked onto the small plant on the desk. "These plump leaves, this delicate pink color... it’s totally my aesthetic!"

"A gift from Coco," Maxine Rhodes said, a smile in her eyes.

Bubbles immediately spun around. "Coco, you little sneak! Sucking up to the Director behind my back! I want one too! I want one that’s even pinker!"

Coco immediately refused. "No way! This is exclusively for my idol!"

Bubbles pouted and looked at Maxine Rhodes. "Max Darling, I heard the new guy serving food in the cafeteria today is super hot."

"You guys go ahead," Maxine Rhodes said, her gaze returning to the computer screen. "I’ll be over after I finish this file."

Bubbles leaned in to glance at the screen and pouted. "Is that another trash proposal from those chauvinists in the marketing department? If you ask me, their sense of aesthetics is as hopeless as their hairlines."

With that, he pulled Coco toward the door, throwing a flirtatious wink over his shoulder. "Hurry up, okay? I’ll go probe the new cafeteria guy’s sexual orientation for you~"

Listening to their bickering footsteps fade into the distance, Maxine Rhodes shook her head with a light laugh. *****