The Supreme Soldier in the City-Chapter 180 Let’s Start

"Sandra, let’s not talk about that. What did you want to see me for?" James Brown quickly changed the subject. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Emily Lopez immediately complained, "Brother-in-law, am I really that bad? Won’t you even give me a chance?"

James Brown coughed dryly, avoiding Emily’s topic altogether. Emily was indeed not bad—pretty and lively. Being with her would surely never be dull. But since James had already promised Emma Campbell and felt that a girl like her seemed more suitable for him, he didn’t want to complicate matters further.

"You’re really not being fair, brother-in-law. You’ve hugged me, carried me on your back, and I’ve even slept with you! Now you just wipe your mouth clean after eating and deny it all."

James was left exasperated by Mary Johnson’s words, saying, "Sandra, there was a reason for that, isn’t it?"

"Alright, I won’t push you," she said. "But I won’t give up either. However..."

When Emily shifted the conversation, James was relieved and quickly said, "Just tell me what it is. As long as your brother-in-law can help, I definitely will."

"You promise?"

"If I said so, I’ll do so. But don’t make me do anything too difficult, okay?"

"I’m not like Amanda Davis, how could I make things difficult for you? I just need you to tell my sister later that you were out watching a movie with me tonight."

"Why? Won’t that just cause more conflict between you and your sister?"

"It’s not conflict. It’s to show her that our relationship is closer than hers with you, to make her back off sooner and spare our sisterly affection."

"That... I feel like it’s going to make the relationship between you two sisters worse?"

"You don’t understand my sister. She’s tough on the outside but soft on the inside. Can’t you see that? She doesn’t want you with me, so she says she wants to be with you. It’s not even true. When she knows we’re together, she will just get angry, not really hate me."

"Oh, now I get it. That’s why your sister suddenly said such things. Now I understand."

"Hehe, I knew you were the best, brother-in-law. That settles it, I can finally go home."

"Sweat, you’ve been outside all this time?"

"Well, weren’t you not answering your phone? I didn’t know when you’d finish watching the movie. Not knowing when you would come home, I just couldn’t go home either."

"Then you’d better hurry back."

"Got it, bye brother-in-law."

After hanging up the phone, Emily Lopez had a triumphant smile on her face. She said that Gina Lopez wanted to be with James Brown for her sister’s sake, which was true. She said that Gina was tough on the outside but soft on the inside, which was also true. But she left out one thing—that Gina was an extremely competitive person. The more difficult something was, the more Gina wanted to achieve it. The greater the challenge, the more she wanted to tackle it.

The next day, James Brown arrived at the company early, as it was the day of interviews, and he couldn’t afford to be late. In the company’s lobby, dozens of people were already waiting—more eager than they as interviewees.

After arriving and seeing the grand office building and luxury cars in the company parking lot, the candidates had a preliminary impression of the company’s strength. Even though it was a new company, one could imagine its promising future. Thus, those who had come just to try were now sincerely hoping to work here.

James first met up with Gina Lopez and Sunny Nguyen. Seeing James, Gina glared at him fiercely, but she didn’t mention anything about last night and directly discussed the recruitment matters. As the company’s boss, she made it a point to separate personal feelings from business.

Today’s recruitment involved several key figures in the company. James Brown, Gina Lopez, and Sunny Nguyen were the main examiners, while Sarah Utah took on the role of scribe.

They interviewed over a hundred people throughout the morning and briefly rested for half an hour before continuing.

Finally, by five in the afternoon, the interviews concluded, and they could all breathe a sigh of relief.

James had wanted to slip away, but Gina Lopez called him to her office. He knew Gina had held back all day and wouldn’t rest until she had clarified what had transpired the previous night. She would ask today, and if not, she would catch him and ask the same tomorrow.

It was just the two of them this time, Sunny hadn’t come over. James sat on the sofa, leisurely smoking, while Gina crossed her arms and stared at him with a stern face, demanding, "What did you and Sandra do yesterday?"

"We watched a movie," James flicked his cigarette ash, smiling in response.

Gina’s gaze turned colder, "You just watched a movie? Didn’t do anything else?"

"What else could we have done? We watched a movie, that’s all."

Gina Lopez leaned forward, increasing her presence as she spoke to James Brown, "Hmph, are you really telling me you didn’t do anything else?"

"Look, Mr. Lopez, I really didn’t do squat. You think I would sleep with Sandra? I’ve got a girlfriend now, how could I do such a thing?"

"You have a girlfriend, yet you’re still going to the movies with Sandra. Can’t you stop giving her opportunities?"

James shrugged and said, "There’s nothing going on between me and Sandra, and I don’t plan to pursue anything with her. Besides, even if I were married, that doesn’t mean I can’t interact with other women, right? According to you, having a girlfriend means I shouldn’t work here either, since Boss Lopez is a woman, Sunny is a woman, Sarah Utah is a woman—and all of them are beauties."

Gina glared at James and said, "You can’t compare the two situations. Sandra is clearly looking to date you."

"Well, that’s her business, but I’m not going to agree to it."

Gina stared into James’s eyes, and he didn’t look away. Seeing no guilt in his gaze, Gina had to believe him, but she knew her sister better. If that girl set her mind on something, not even ten bulls could pull her back—like the time she wanted to learn dancing. Everyone in the family opposed it, but she just went on and didn’t come home for days, forcing everyone to give in. Now, Gina didn’t dare to push Grace too hard; if she got desperate, she might just run off and move in with James.

"Alright, I believe you," Gina nodded, seemingly letting James off the hook.

But James rolled his eyes and said, "Mr. Lopez, this is personal business, not work. Could you please not talk to me with that attitude? I don’t need you to believe me."

Gina felt choked by his words and her expression soured, but what James said was true. On this matter, she had no right to meddle in his affairs.

However, this made Gina even more displeased. She glared at James and said, "Don’t forget, I will also be working with you, so I have to be concerned about your personal matters."

"Ha ha... well, suit yourself then," James laughed heartily as he stood up, turning to leave Gina’s office.

This made Gina’s face turn ashen with anger. What did he mean by that? She had just said she wanted to be with him, and he laughed it off. Was the idea of being with her, Gina Lopez, something to be ridiculed? Did she have to endure looking down from men she wanted to be with?

"James Brown, you jerk! How dare you treat me like this—I’ll see if you can fly out of Gina Lopez’s grasp."

James’s attitude only fueled Gina’s competitive spirit. Even if she didn’t really like James at that moment, she would not let him look down on her.

After two days of recruitment and meticulous sorting, they decided to hire over two hundred people as company employees. Among them, James ended up with only four subordinates, which was probably the smallest team in the entire company.

These four had decent work capabilities, two women in their thirties and two men in their twenties, but James didn’t have a secretary.

This irked James, so he specially went to negotiate with Gina about it.

"If you were the CEO, you wouldn’t just get one secretary—you could have three or five, no problem. I think Elizabeth Smith is quite nice; not only is she pretty and young, she also has dimples when she smiles," Gina said with a sweet smile on her face.

James immediately felt annoyed and said, "Are you doing this on purpose?"

Holding a pen in her hand and lightly tapping on the desk, Gina responded, "Yes, I am doing it on purpose. You want to find a young and beautiful woman to be your secretary? Absolutely not."

"Give me one reason," James stared at Gina, demanding an answer.

"You’re going to be my husband, Gina Lopez’s husband. Why would I arrange any pretty young secretaries for you?"

This statement left James wide-eyed and speechless, looking dumbfounded at Gina.

While saying this, Gina herself felt nervous, her boldness forced by Grace’s recent actions. If she didn’t take the initiative, Grace would only get closer to James, so she had blurted out this embarrassingly forward declaration.

But seeing James’s reaction, Gina suddenly felt a surge of satisfaction, her smile deepening as she said, "So just give it up."

"Are you actually Grace?" James stood up suddenly, leaning in so close their faces were barely two inches apart.

Gina reflexively leaned back, but then straightened up again, looking firmly into James’s eyes, "What Grace can do, Gina Lopez can do too. And I will be even more persistent. Once I’ve set my mind on something, no one can change it, and I will definitely succeed."

At that moment, James was sure he was talking to Gina, but her words made his scalp tingle and his back grow cold. He slumped into his chair with a forced smile, "Can’t you just leave me be?"

Gina’s temper flared up. After pouring out her heart, not only did James reject her, but he also looked like he had lost everything. Was she really that frightening?

Yet Gina didn’t show her emotions, speaking calmly, "No, I’ve already decided on this."

James abruptly stood up again, approaching Gina with a fierce glare, then jerked at his collar and proclaimed, "Fine, then let’s do it. I’ll be your husband right now!"