The Substitute Bride

"Right." Autumn simply asked but wasn't expecting Charles' answer.

"Traditional annual meetings are mostly routine. However, this year the Shining Company is celebrating its 50th anniversary. In addition to that, our company has acquired several companies recently. I would rather spend the money on rewarding the employees than on arranging a wine party." Charles said.

Autumn nodded. She thought that though he wasn't a good husband, he was definitely a great boss.

"Have you finished your breakfast? I can drive you to work." Seeing Autumn put down her chopsticks and bowl, Charles questioned her.

'Drive you to work...' again.

No, thank you."

"Let's go." Autumn's refusal was immediately blocked by Charles. He pulled her hand and took her to the car.

But since she stayed up very late last night, she fell asleep in the car. After reaching her company, Charles woke her up.

Seeing Charles park the car at the place where she got off yesterday, she was relieved.

"See you soon." Charles said. Autumn didn't notice the implication of his words. As soon as she entered the office with a laptop in hands, she was stopped by Ryan Zhou, "Oh my god, how is your plan going? They will come to review the plan soon..."

"Mr. Zhou, Ye is the top planner of our company. You can trust her." Before Autumn opened her mouth, Paula Pan said with jealousy.

She had been working in this company for a long time, even longer than Autumn. But she still couldn't compete with Autumn. Her salary was lower than Autumn's now. She also hated Autumn very much.

"I have tried my best, but I can't guarantee the result." Ryan was happy to hear Paula's words but Autumn's response took away all the happiness.

"Ye is too humble." Paula Pan sneered.

"Enough! Stop here!" Ryan looked at Autumn and said, "Anyway, I'll leave this case to you. You should take it seriously."

"Okay." Autumn nodded.

Staff members of the Shining Company arrived at 9 o'clock, while Autumn was still checking her PPT. The newcome receptionist came to call her over, "Ye, please come out quickly. The company's staff members are here."

Autumn was confused. Now that they were here, why not directly get them to the meeting room? But the receptionist pulled her out of the office, "Come on, Autumn. Mr. Zhou is waiting."

There were two groups of people lined up at the gate. Ryan waved at her and grabbed his coat nervously. This was when Autumn noticed that Ryan who always dressed casually wore a suit today.

She looked around at the people on the scene. All of them looked serious. Even Paula Pan seemed to be different. She was more... coquettish.

Autumn thought, 'Isn't it just a representative? Is it possible that Charles is coming over here in person?'

Autumn usually didn't like following the crowd. But she was definitely curious about who the representative was.

When the lift doors opened, a man in a navy blue suit walked towards the gate of Cloud Advertising Company, followed by a couple of people.

It... it was the man who just drove her to work today.

Autumn knew that the case was for the Shining Company. But she never expected that Charles himself would come to her company for such a small annual meeting case. No wonder Ryan was so nervous.

"Mr. Lu, " Ryan immediately walked towards him, "Welcome to our company. This way, please."

Autumn felt Charles was staring at her. However, it meant nothing for her but Paula Pan standing besides her was excited.

"Oh my god, he just looked at me. He noticed me!"

"Miss Pan, you thin

k too much." Leila Zhang, the new receptionist, sneered at her. "Mr. Lu just got married. It was during the days when Ye was on a leave."

When Autumn heard this, her heart skipped a beat. If people got to know she was Charles' wife, she would be torn apart.

"What? He's married?" Paula Pan looked at Autumn with curiosity.

'To her? There is a huge disparity between them.

Unless Charles is blind, he wouldn't ever fall in love with Autumn.'

"Ye, come here." Autumn heard Ryan's calling. He was waving at her.

Before walking to Ryan, she couldn't help taunting them, "Well, on such an important occasion, please don't waste time on nonsense gossips. Leila, please go and prepare the tea."

"Do you think you are the boss' wife?" Paula Pan complained behind Autumn.

Autumn didn't care about her and quickly trailed behind Ryan. Ryan introduced her to Charles, "Mr. Lu, she is Ye, the planner of our company. She is responsible for the annual meeting for Shining Company."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Lu." Autumn gracefully reached out her hand to Charles. Charles extended his hand to shake hands with her, but then he gently scratched her palm.

Autumn felt lucky that her colleagues called her by her surname, Ye, which happened to be an abbreviation for Yvonne. Otherwise, her real identity would be exposed in front of Charles and he would throw her out.

"Well... Let's get started." Autumn organised her thoughts and began the work. She was definitely a professional at work.

Standing in front of the projector, she began to make a presentation, introducing her idea smoothly. She tried to restraint herself from looking at Charles' passionate eyes. When the screen of the PPT said "End", she heaved a huge sigh of relief.

"Mr. Lu, if I were a staff of the Shining Company, I would hope the company give us some substantial rewards on its 50th annual meeting instead of a simple wine party. Therefore, I designed the annual meeting as a press conference where you could spend the saved money on the employees. They are the foundation of your company." When Autumn finished her presentation, the men who accompanied Charles whispered to each other. Obviously, they were happy with Autumn's plan. Even Charles' eyes too were full of appreciation.

But Ryan's face turned sour.

He wanted to make money. When the rich Shining Company came to him, he knew he could make a lot of money from them.

Now, Autumn's revision would make him lose half of the profits.

"Ye, what's wrong with you?" Ryan didn't care about the representatives. He stood up to rebuke Autumn, "Do you know..."

"Mr. Zhou!" Since Autumn had been working with Ryan for many years, she knew that he sought nothing but profits. But in the presence of so many people, she couldn't help reminding him, "How about asking Mr. Lu for his opinion?"

"Not bad." Charles said, "But I have several details to discuss with Ye. It's time for lunch. Mr. Zhou, would you mind lending me your top planner for a while?"

"No, no." Ryan forced a smile, "I'll ask someone to arrange it for you."

"Please don't bother." Charles interrupted Ryan's words. His implication couldn't be more clear.

He wanted to have lunch with Autumn only.

"Okay." Ryan wasn't stupid. He completely understood what Charles meant. With a smile, he pulled Autumn aside and told her, "Ye, you should take good care of Mr. Lu at all cost today. Clear?"

"Mr. Zhou, this isn't my responsibility..." Ryan's words were too explicit and Autumn was a bit upset with him.

'What does he treat her as?'