Lucy spent the next half hour quietly settling into the office.

She wiped down the desks lightly, arranged several loose cables more neatly, and opened the windows slightly to let fresh air circulate through the room.

Although the office itself lacked personality, the overall environment was still fairly comfortable once organized properly.

At the very least, it didn’t feel oppressive.

After organizing the main workspace, she chose the desk closest to the inner office area and began arranging her own materials.

Notebook, pens, laptop, schedule planner.

Everything was lined up neatly.

Just as she finished setting down her bag.

Click.

The office door opened.

Lucy immediately stood up instinctively.

Benny walked inside carrying several folders under one arm while holding a takeaway breakfast bag in the other.

The moment he saw her already present, his eyes brightened slightly.

"Oh. You’re here already."

Lucy gave a polite nod. "Good morning, Mr. Benny."

"Morning."

Benny glanced around the office briefly.

Seeing everything noticeably tidier than yesterday immediately improved his mood.

As expected. Hiring an assistant really was worth it.

Meanwhile, Lucy was secretly observing him as well.

Today’s Benny looked completely different compared to the image she’d subconsciously imagined before arriving.

Too young.

That was her first thought.

Not just young in appearance but genuinely college-aged.

Combined with his casual clothes, anyone seeing him would sooner mistake him for a student than the CEO of an investment company.

Still, Lucy maintained her professionalism perfectly.

Benny walked further inside before placing the breakfast bag onto one of the desks casually.

"I brought breakfast. You can eat if you haven’t yet."

Lucy blinked slightly.

"...Thank you."

Then Benny suddenly remembered something and quickly handed several folders toward her.

"Oh right. Here."

Lucy accepted them automatically, although...

The moment she lowered her gaze she froze slightly as she noticed they were all financing-related documents.

Meanwhile, Benny spoke casually,

"I’ve already talked with the person yesterday."

He pointed lightly at the folders.

"All you need to do now is take care of the deal."

Lucy slowly lifted her head.

"...The deal?"

"Mn."

Benny nodded calmly.

"Yes, it’s for a hundred thousand."

Lucy stared at him silently for two full seconds.

Then she lowered her gaze back toward the documents again.

Loan financing.

For Autumn Investment.

An investment company.

Getting a loan.

For the first time since arriving here, Lucy genuinely felt uncertain.

Normally, investment firms were the ones handling capital.

Not desperately seeking operational loans immediately after opening.

And judging by these documents...

This wasn’t long-term strategic financing either.

This looked far more like a company already experiencing cash flow pressure.

Lucy slowly processed everything she’d seen since arriving:

1. Strange office location

2. Irrational furniture allocation

3. Overpowered computer setups

4. An oversized meeting table

5. A newly established company

6. Operational financing on day one

7. And lastly but not the least, a young CEO

A conclusion quietly surfaced in her mind.

...This company might not survive longer than a month.

For a brief moment, Lucy suddenly felt complicated emotionally.

She had only just started working today.

Was she already about to lose this job?

Lucy lowered her gaze toward the financing documents again.

The more she read, the heavier the silence around her became.

Finally, she carefully closed the folder.

"Mr. Benny," she began cautiously, maintaining her professional tone, "before I proceed... may I ask something first?"

Benny nodded casually while opening his breakfast. "Go ahead."

Lucy hesitated for half a second.

Then she asked delicately, "Does the company currently possess the proper regulatory licenses for investment and financing operations?"

Benny paused mid-bite.

"...Regulatory what?"

Lucy stared at him and Benny stared back.

A terrifying silence descended upon the office.

And for the first time in many years, Lucy felt genuine dizziness.

Investment companies required registration approvals, operational classifications, financial compliance filings, and depending on business scope, sometimes additional certifications as well.

This wasn’t optional paperwork.

These were the kinds of things companies handled before operating.

Not after.

Yet the man in front of her...

Clearly had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

Benny slowly lowered his breakfast.

"...We need those?"

Lucy closed her eyes briefly.

At that exact moment, her final bit of hope quietly died. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

I see.

So this really is one of those companies.

A young founder who suddenly got a hold of a lot of money and wanted to immediately start his own company, an impulsive setup.

With no operational understanding whatsoever.

Lucy suddenly understood everything.

The weird office location, the irrational purchases, the immediate financing application.

All of it made sense now.

This company wasn’t aggressively expanding, it was barely functioning.

For a brief second, she seriously considered whether resigning immediately would be the wiser life decision.

But then...

Her gaze unconsciously swept across the office again.

At the very least...

The boss didn’t seem malicious.

Just dangerously inexperienced.

Lucy silently inhaled once before reorganizing her thoughts professionally.

"...I understand."

Benny blinked. "You do?"

"Mn."

Lucy nodded calmly as if she hadn’t just mentally attended the funeral of the company.

"I’ll handle the necessary matters step by step."

Honestly speaking, at this point, she had already resigned herself to fate.

One month.

Maybe two if luck was good.

She would simply treat this as temporary employment until the company inevitably collapsed.

Then Lucy reopened the folder again.

"Mr. Benny," she asked, "the person you spoke to yesterday... was his surname Zhang?"

Benny’s eyes lit up immediately. "Right! That’s him."

Lucy gave a small nod.

So there really was someone willing to lend money to this company...

That somehow made things even more worrying.

Still, she stood up professionally and gathered the documents neatly into her bag.

"I’ll head over immediately and discuss the financing details with Mr. Zhang."

Benny instantly smiled.

As expected.

Having an assistant was incredible.

He didn’t even need to handle troublesome paperwork personally anymore.

"Good," he said happily. "I’ll leave it to you."

Lucy looked at her cheerful boss silently for a moment and then she replied,"...Understood."

With that, she turned and walked toward the office exit carrying the financing documents.

Her heels clicked softly against the floor.

Meanwhile behind her, Benny happily continued eating breakfast, completely unaware that his assistant had already mentally categorized Autumn Investment as a doomed startup company simply awaiting it’s eventual collapse.