Chapter 8

The next morning, a tall, beautiful woman with a curvaceous figure showed up. It was Renee Halston, Clement's personal secretary.

After stepping into the living room, she greeted Clement respectfully, "Good morning, Mr. Lakeworth."

"Morning. Wait a while. I'm going to brush my teeth. I'll be ready in a minute," Clement said with a quick wave before heading into the bathroom.

The original Clement had been a typical rich playboy who rarely involved himself in Lakeworth Group's business affairs and didn't have any interest in doing so either. Nevertheless, he was still Michael's only son and set to inherit Lakeworth Group.

Therefore, Michael made Clement the general manager of Lakeworth Group. Renee was the secretary Michael had carefully chosen to assist Clement as well.

Naturally, having caught the eye of Michael himself, Renee was exceptionally capable. The old Clement never involved himself in company matters, so while he was the general manager in name, Renee was the one doing the actual work.

…

The moment Clement got into the car, Renee handed him two document folders and said, "Mr. Lakeworth, there's a department meeting at 10:00 am. You'll need to address a few issues within the company.

"At 3:00 pm, Phil Wilkins—one of our business partners—will be arriving from Gilton. The chairman wants you to meet with him to discuss our business collaboration.

"I've prepared the meeting brief and the outline of the business partnership for you. Please take a look."

"Oh. Got it."

Clement took the folders and began studying the documents.

While the old Clement was a sleazy playboy, Michael had specifically warned him not to get any ideas about Renee and treat her like a subordinate. Therefore, he and Renee maintained a strictly professional relationship without any flirting or sexual tension.

"How much can the company expect to earn if this partnership is a success?" Clement asked, his eyes still scanning the document.

"If things go smoothly, it could bring in around a hundred million dollars."

"A hundred million? That's not too shabby."

Clement was reminded of an old meme that circulated in his past life when a billionaire claimed that earning a hundred million dollars was a small, achievable goal. Well, he would be hitting that goal soon enough.

However, he wasn't all that focused on money or the growth of the Lakeworth family's fortunes. Armed with the system, he didn't care much about such materialistic things.

After all, he'd get all the money and business success he wanted at the drop of a hat if he could get rid of Ethan and steal his luck.

If he had such unthinkable luck, even having the slightest bit of business acumen would be enough for him to make a killing in the business world.

He could easily buy an abandoned construction project, only for the government to build a new school nearby, turning it into a prime school district and multiplying the value of property in the neighborhood.

Caught up in his thoughts, Clement didn't notice that Renee, who was sitting beside him, was staring strangely at him.

Honestly, she hadn't expected Clement to actually read through the information with such focus. In the past, whenever she brought this sort of thing up, he wouldn't even bother looking at the documents. He'd simply tell her to handle it however she wanted.

When it came to company meetings or business negotiations, he'd avoid as many of them as he could. Even when he was forced to attend, he was basically just there as a puppet to sign off on what he was told to.

Renee now knew why Michael had told her this morning that Clement had changed. She didn't believe him at the time, but from the looks of it now, there was indeed something different about him.

"What are you looking at?" Clement asked when he glanced over at Renee. "I think the proposed disciplinary action is far too lenient."

"N-Nothing," Renee replied, blushing as she lowered her head.

There was something attractive about a man taking his work seriously. Clement was already handsome and rich, to begin with. Now that he was showing his serious, work-oriented side, it was hard for a career woman like Renee not to be captivated by him.

"What are your thoughts, Mr. Lakeworth?" Renee asked as she looked at what Clement was pointing at on the document.

The section was about a mid-level managerial executive who abused his authority in the company and was found to have promoted his own brother-in-law.

Lakeworth Group's policies stated that those in managerial positions weren't allowed to recruit direct relatives into their own departments. The company emphasized hiring and promoting employees based on merit, regardless of family relationships. But even so, relatives had to be in separate departments.

"The department took into account the fact that the executive in question is a high performer who has made valuable contributions to the company. Moreover, his brother-in-law hasn't caused any harm to the company. That's why they decided to merely issue him a formal warning," Renee explained.

"They've gone too easy on him," Clement said with a flash of displeasure in his eyes.

He detested nepotism the most.

In his previous life, he nearly managed to land a job with the government. But alas, the nephew of a high-ranking government official had also applied. Therefore, even though he placed first in terms of merit, he lost the job to the nephew who placed seventh.

"If the cost of breaking the rules is that light, then everyone's going to do it. If they don't get caught, great. If they do, it's just a verbal warning—a slap on the wrist without any real consequences," Clement said sternly. "Take this down and announce it during the meeting later.

"The executive will be demoted a rank and put on probation. His bonus for this year is revoked, and he won't qualify for promotions for the next three years. Don't forget to issue a company-wide memo regarding this matter to make an example out of him."

"Yes, Mr. Lakeworth," Renee answered as she jotted down his instructions in her notebook.

…

"Mr. Lakeworth."

As soon as Clement stepped into the lobby of Lakeworth Group's office building, the receptionists all greeted him politely before giving him flirtatious looks.

They all dreamed of catching his eye and shooting up the ranks of society.

Humming in acknowledgment, Clement nodded at the receptionists before allowing Renee to lead him to the executives-only elevator.

"Mr. Lakeworth."

Once he got to the conference room, over 30 of the middle management executives from various departments under his supervision stood up and greeted him respectfully.

Renee swiftly went to the head of the table and pulled the chair out before saying to Clement, "Have a seat, Mr. Lakeworth."

"Mm-hmm." Clement walked over to his seat.

After pouring a cup of coffee for Clement, Renee took her seat beside him and sat up straight. The others in the room also straightened up in their seats as they looked at him respectfully.

Even though Clement didn't get involved with the business much, the executives knew he was the heir of the Lakeworth family and the future chairman of Lakeworth Group.

If they managed to get into his good graces, they might rise to the highest ranks in the company someday!

"At ease, everyone. There's no need to be this formal," Clement said with a wave of his hand.

Seeing them treat him with such respect made him feel great. He'd never been treated this way before in his past life. Even Jenny, who was just a manager, could make life a living hell for him.

Meanwhile, in this life, these middle management executives had to sit there nervously, awaiting his instructions.

The feeling of being the boss was incredible!