Chapter 476 I Value Him Greatly
Mark was losing his cool. His gut reaction? Charles thought he was a screw-up and was looking to swap him out for some fresh blood.
Even though it was late, he snatched his phone and stormed out to find Charles.
When Charles saw him, he barely batted an eye and just motioned for him to sit.
"Mr. Lancelot..." Mark's heart was racing. He really wanted to stick around at the Lancelot Group. "If there's something wrong with my work, just tell me straight up. If you're not happy with anything, please let me know."
'Hiring a special assistant? Is he planning to ditch me?'
Charles looked a bit confused. "What are you talking about?"
"I saw the message you sent me," Mark said, biting his lip and deciding to cut to the chase.
"Yeah," Charles replied, not really fazed by the sudden shift in conversation. "What do you think?"
"I'm not looking for a partner right now," Mark laid it out. "I can still handle the special assistant gig like before."
"You're not getting any younger," Charles said, his lips barely moving.
Mark wasn't much younger than Charles.
At twenty-nine, they still felt young. But to their elders, this was the age to settle down and start a family.
"If you ever find a girl you like and need time to date, just let me know," Charles said, pretty chill about it. "I'll cut back on your workload."
Hearing this, Mark felt a mix of emotions.
Caught up in the moment, he blurted out, "Are you planning to fire me?"
"What?"
"Are you saying all this because you want to fire me and get someone new?"
Mark asked seriously, but his tone stayed the same. Even though he was anxious, his face behind the glasses was calm.
Charles's brows furrowed; he didn't get why Mark would think that.
That look made Mark realize he had jumped to conclusions.
"All these years, you've been by my side, always there when needed," Charles said sincerely. "Whether you get married and have kids or not, the special assistant spot is yours."
"Why..." Mark was puzzled.
Charles was always fair and generous in his management.
But he never meddled in his employees' personal lives, only asking for reasons when they needed time off.
"I asked HR to hire two special assistants. Over the next two years, you should train them well," Charles said, thinking Austin had a point. "So, when you're swamped, they can step in."
Mark hesitated but finally said, "Okay."
He didn't know why Charles was suddenly thinking about this stuff, but since it was his call, he'd help out.
After getting the lowdown, Mark went back to his room to crash, but Charles couldn't sleep.
Staring at the night sky, his mind drifted to what Daphne might be up to.
Lost in thought, he finally dozed off in the early hours.
On the twelfth, a Monday, Daphne didn't go to the office. Early in the morning, she went out to check on the proposal setup, and Benjamin was almost ready too.
In the afternoon, Daphne went all out with her makeup, picked out some fancier clothes than usual, and ditched her usual professional look for a more ladylike vibe.
When she met up with Emma and the crew, they were floored.
"Wow, Ms. Murphy, looking good!"
"Finally rocking that socialite look."
"I've known you forever, and I've never seen you like this."
They couldn't help but comment.
Daphne wasn't a fan of this style; high heels and dresses were a pain for her usual activities.
"But..." Emma gave her a once-over and raised a practical point. "With all that makeup and hair, won't it get messed up when you put on the mascot costume?"
The makeup might hold, but the hair was definitely gonna get wrecked.
"No biggie. I dressed up to show Benjamin I'm serious," Daphne said, adjusting her hair, feeling a bit awkward since it had been ages since she styled it this way.
Different occasions called for different outfits.
Since it was a proposal, Daphne wanted to show her utmost sincerity.
Emma looked a bit envious and then checked her watch. "According to our schedule with Benjamin, he should be at the spot in an hour and a half. Should we head over now?"
"Let's roll," Daphne decided quickly.
After tonight, Benjamin would be hers.
By 7:30 PM, the sky was already getting dark.
Benjamin, looking sharp in a suit, sat on a bench surrounded by a grassy field with some small flowers blooming.
He kept checking his watch, clearly waiting for someone.
Meanwhile, a person in a monkey mascot costume approached him and raised a hand.
Benjamin, not really interested, said, "What's up?"
"I want you to hold my hand," Daphne said, her voice altered so Benjamin couldn't tell it was her, or even if it was a guy or a girl.
Benjamin politely declined, "I'm busy right now. You can go play with someone else."
"Hold my hand."
Benjamin sat there, pursing his lips.
He glanced at the time, wondering if Emma and the others were stuck in traffic since they hadn't brought Daphne yet.
Daphne clumsily moved and handed over something she had been hiding behind her back. "Someone asked me to give this to you."
It was a white card with writing on it.
The writing was Emma's, saying, "Follow the monkey. Daphne is over here."
Benjamin thought, wasn't the plan to bring Daphne here? Why the sudden change in location?
Seeing Benjamin not moving, Daphne felt a bit nervous.
Ten minutes ago, Daphne had been wondering how to get Benjamin to the spot she had set up. Emma said she had a way, then she wrote something on a card, and handed it to her, saying Benjamin would follow her after seeing it.
But now it seemed it didn't work.
"Please show me the way." Benjamin took the card and decided to go with the flow.
Daphne extended her hand, indicating for him to hold it.
Benjamin glanced at the monkey paw, and while walking, he asked, perfectly avoiding the hand-holding. "Is it this way?"
Daphne thought she should have prepared a blindfold in advance.
After saying yes, she led Benjamin towards the spot. Seeing they were almost there, Daphne stopped him. "Please wait here for a moment and close your eyes, counting from one to ten."
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