Chapter 32: How Are You Planning to Reward Me?

Tiffany Rose didn't sense the coldness laced in his tone.

She excitedly pushed her laptop in front of Adrian Cross, demonstrating the product she had just purchased for him.

Pressing the enter key, the most critical part of the program began to execute.

Tiffany's voice carried an flavor of triumph that was impossible to conceal: "This is the latest code I wrote. Cross Group can launch and run this application first. Once we stabilize the stock price, we can talk about other matters."

When it came to technology, Adrian was somewhat of a layman.

He scanned it casually, and his sparse professional knowledge told him that this set of a program wasn't bad.

But he wanted more than just "not bad."

The man knit his brows and asked, "If this data is put on the market for sale, how much is it worth?"

Tiffany answered with absolute confidence: "Starting at twenty million, with no upper limit. I've already secured the patent, and there will be long-term patent fees to collect from this. If it's deployed into application, it can also draw in a massive amount of turnover, exactly like I guaranteed you before."

Hearing this, Adrian’s brows unfurled slightly.

As long as the company could return to normal right now, he was too lazy to argue over anything else.

Seeing that his expression had softened, Tiffany also knew exactly how to press her advantage.

She sat onto Adrian’s office desk, reaching up to hook her fingers around the man's tie, her tone alluring: "I've completed every task you handed down to me. Adrian, how are you planning to reward me?"

Having just resolved a major source of anxiety, Adrian was also willing to play along with her ambiguous advances.

The man raised his dark brows slightly, his voice dropping low: "What is it that you want?"

Tiffany’s eyes lit up abruptly.

She wasn't in a hurry; having just spent eight million, she had to claw some of it back.

Therefore, she acted spoiled toward Adrian once more.

"The project needs to procure a batch of new equipment and several technical supports. I've already paid for them out of pocket, you wouldn't have the heart to watch my allowance shrink, would you?"

This was far from difficult, and Adrian signed the approval slip without even thinking.

"Didn't you have your eyes on a Birkin bag from Hermès? I'll have my assistant remit another three million from my personal account to you later as a reward."

This unexpected bonus left Tiffany even more ecstatic.

Her entire being was already floating on air, yet she didn't forget to push further: "Aside from that, I also want the position of Chief Technology Officer for the company. Adrian, you promised me before, give it to me!"

This demand, however, caused Adrian to fall into a brief silence.

The current Chief Technology Officer, Darren Vance, was a veteran employee personally promoted by Vivian Hale.

His capability was beyond reproach, and he had made numerous contributions to the company.

After this recent crisis erupted, it was also he who adjusted the event timeline right on cue; otherwise, according to Tiffany’s previous set of gameplay, the game would have met its demise even faster.

Relatively speaking, this person was highly valuable.

For Tiffany, a fresh university graduate, to demand someone else step aside the moment she arrived truly didn't make sense.

Adrian pondered for a moment, just about to decline.

A glint flashed through Tiffany’s eyes. Reading his mind, she let out a sigh and raised her phone.

"I still have an even more complete patent under application. Adrian, if you don't agree, I'll have no choice but to halt it..."

Hearing this, Adrian’s eyes narrowed slightly.

A chilling sharpness manifested in the depths of his eyes as he countered, "Are you threatening me?"

Tiffany could currently be described as having absolutely nothing to fear.

But she didn't dare to clash head-on with Adrian either, keeping her attitude soft when it was supposed to be soft.

Hearing Adrian speak this way, she hurriedly slid down from the desk and sat into the man's lap.

She softened her voice, feigning grievance: "I'm doing this for the sake of the company too. Director Vance is someone left behind by Vivian Hale, and he always finds me displeased, delaying my work. In the past, I let it slide, but at a critical juncture like this, I don't have the time to squabble with him."

Adrian was no fool; he naturally heard that Tiffany was acting on purpose.

But for now, the bigger picture was what mattered most.

Furthermore, he also wanted to see exactly when Vivian would proactively come to find him.

He didn't know if it was merely his illusion, but ever since he found Silas Cross to act as his stand-in, Vivian had grown increasingly cold toward him.

This left him highly unsettled.

With the company facing a crisis this time, Vivian still refused to show her face. In that case, he could only target the employees she had left behind.

God’s Island was one of her most important possessions.

Right now, the game was plagued with terrible reviews, and the employees had scattered in all directions.

He simply didn't believe that Vivian could continue to endure, continuing to remain entirely indifferent to him.

Reining in his thoughts, Adrian simply wrapped his arms around Tiffany and spoke, "Let's run the program first and see. If it passes, I'll have the human resources department issue a notice later to establish a Second Technology Department for you. This project will follow your commands. If you perform well, I'll consider the matter of your promotion."

Tiffany was absolutely overjoyed.

Initially, she hadn't expected Adrian to truly agree; she merely wanted to gain the upper hand over the person Vivian had left behind.

Now that she had achieved her desire, how could it not feel satisfying?

Furthermore, she possessed absolute confidence in the patent she had purchased.

She delivered a heavy kiss to Adrian’s cheek, guaranteeing, "Rest assured, this time, I absolutely will not make another mistake."

Adrian remained silent, merely bringing her along as he rose to head down to the original technology department.

It was precisely three o'clock in the afternoon, the busiest time for everyone.

Relying on the fact that Adrian was backing her, Tiffany let out a cough.

She ordered people around with an arrogant air: "Everyone, pause the work in your hands for a moment. Run the program I provide first, I want the results by tonight."

The moment these words were spoken, the entire group was left utterly dumbfounded.

The personnel below stared at each other blankly; no one dared to make a move.

Ultimately, it was an employee who reminded Adrian behind her, "Mr. Cross, we are currently running the revised program for God’s Island, and there are still many users online. Pausing it right now will trigger bugs, and we'll receive even more negative user reviews when the time comes."

Hearing this, Tiffany gripped the opportunity even tighter.

She turned her head, speaking to Adrian with a face full of grievance, "Mr. Cross, I told you, they won't cooperate..."

This sentence drove the employees below into an absolute fit of rage.

Ever since Tiffany received Adrian's heavy prioritization, the company had grown more chaotic and foul by the day.

If it wasn't a bug popping up today, it was a personnel transfer happening tomorrow.

And Tiffany used his authority over everyone every single day, acting like a flaunting peacock within the company.

Naturally, there were plenty of people who refused to accept her.

Seeing her speak this way right now, the crowd below couldn't help but protest.

"The new event for God’s Island was orchestrated entirely by your own hand, and everyone has seen the results by now. The reason I'm working this hard right now is entirely to wipe your own ass!"

"The technology department is the heart of a company. If you don't understand it, don't meddle in it."

"I truly don't know where your degree came from. It was still better back when Director Hale was around..."

Even Darren Vance couldn't restrain himself from speaking up.

"Mr. Cross, our most critical task right now is to maintain stability..."

But before he could even finish his sentence, he was cut across by Adrian.

He lifted his hand: "No need to say more. Let Tiffany perform the test first."

Hearing this, Darren's face twisted with frustration.

He truly couldn't resist countering, "Cross Group only has today because we relied entirely on God’s Island. Mr. Cross, back when we first started this project, you promised us that no matter the time, you would always prioritize us. This constitutes the lifework of countless numbers of us for nearly six years!"

"If you terminate our program execution right now, this game will truly be finished!"