sinovels Chapter 197 Secretary Assistant
Chapter 197 Secretary Assistant
Chapter 197 Secretary Assistant
Los Angeles, MGM headquarters, conference room.
A series of crisp, rhythmic taps of high heels echoed from the corridor outside the conference room, approaching as the sound grew louder.
Upon entering the conference room, the first thing that catches the eye is a group of tall, young women walking slowly in.
Their attire was uniform, with black, fitted business suits outlining their well-proportioned figures. Each person's hair was meticulously combed, either in an elegant updo or a smooth low ponytail, and their faces wore light yet sophisticated makeup, with just the right amount of smiles on their lips.
Inside the meeting room, Robert Iger's brows furrowed slightly, and he wore an indescribable, strange expression.
She turned to the side, gently covered her mouth with her hand, leaned close to Ernst's ear, and whispered, "Are you sure you're choosing a secretary, not a concubine?"
His voice was very low, only the two of them could hear it, and his tone was somewhat teasing.
Looking around, Robert Iger thought he had entered a billiard hall, as it was full of balls.
A white shirt in a business suit is quite standard, but is it really necessary for the collars of all of them to be opened so low? The collars of the shirts should at least be opened to the middle, revealing half of the white skin.
Robert's gaze lingered on several of the women for a moment, strongly suspecting that their shirts were unbuttoned. If it weren't for the tightly buttoned business suit jackets, which acted as a safety net, their underwear would probably have spilled out of the pool table.
"Of course not a secretary." Ernst's voice was calm and even.
Upon hearing this answer, Robert Iger raised an eyebrow in surprise. He turned to look at Ernst, his eyes filled with doubt. "Are they so self-righteous now?"
"She's a secretary's assistant," Ernst added, his tone still flat.
Robert Iger couldn't help but roll his eyes, his gaze instinctively shifting to Anne Bellis Kennedy, who was sitting on the other side of Ernst, before realizing there was nothing wrong with it.
The Kennedy family heiress was watching the women entering the conference room with great interest, her eyes filled with curiosity and scrutiny.
Robert's thoughts drifted back to this morning, and the image of Chairman Ernst's office being renovated involuntarily appeared in his mind. The sounds of electric drills and hammering seemed to still echo clearly in his ears.
Early this morning, Robert arrived at the company on time as usual. As soon as he reached the top-floor corridor, he saw a group of workers in overalls gathered at the door of Ernst's office. They were carrying various tools in and out, busy as bees.
Robert thought he was hallucinating. When did American workers become so early and so hardworking?
He stopped a passing worker and asked him a question out of curiosity. He learned that with triple wages, no one would be willing to take a short nap.
As he walked into his office, he was even more surprised to find Ernst sitting inside. This was the first time he had ever seen Ernst arrive before him.
"I remember your office was recently renovated, wasn't it?" Robert looked at Ernst, his face full of doubt.
Faced with Robert's question, Ernst merely glanced at him, his eyes filled with speechlessness and a hint of undisguised despair, as if he had a bellyful of bitterness but didn't know how to express it.
Before the other party could answer, Robert Iger's personal secretary, whom he was meeting for the second time, spoke up first, "I need a break room, so it needs to be changed."
Robert was stunned by what he said. He opened his mouth, but didn't know how to respond.
This isn't some kind of personal secretary; this is clearly a patriarch who needs to be served with utmost care.
But when he thought about the other person's surname, he felt that there was nothing wrong with it.
That's why he came over to watch Ernst choose a secretary out of boredom; his office was right next to Ernst's, and it was so noisy that he couldn't concentrate on his work.
Just as Robert was lost in thought, a secretary in a gray suit walked in with a document and went straight to Robert.
"Boss, this is the list of renovation costs for the chairman's office. The finance department can only make the payment after you sign it to confirm."
Robert took the list, flipped through it casually, and only glanced at the total amount at the top. His eyes widened instantly, and he almost jumped out of his chair.
"$61.24? Does it really cost that much to modify a rest area?"
His voice involuntarily rose a few decibels, filled with shock and disbelief.
Even if the workers were paid three times their normal wages, and even if the best materials were used, modifying a break room shouldn't cost more than six hundred thousand dollars, right?
The secretary standing to the side seemed to have anticipated Robert's reaction. He maintained a respectful smile, stepped forward, and helped Robert turn back two pages of the list to find the specific expense details.
Robert's gaze fell on the list, and the more he looked at it, the more incredible it seemed.
A large bed was priced at $50,000, a custom wardrobe at $27,000, a built-in bathtub at $18,000, and what he couldn't understand the most was the toilet, which was priced at $38,500.
"A golden toilet?" Robert Iger could no longer contain himself. He looked up at his secretary, his tone carrying a hint of accusation.
In his opinion, even the most top-of-the-line bathroom products shouldn't be priced this high; it's simply outrageous.
The secretary looked somewhat unsure how to explain, then lowered her voice and whispered in Robert's ear, "The toilet she wanted was custom-made in Japan, using special aerospace-grade materials. The gold trim on the bottom of the toilet is the cheapest among all the materials used in the entire toilet."
"Aerospace materials? Phnom Penh?" Robert Iger's eyes widened; he felt his worldview being shaken.
His eyes widened as he turned to Ernst, his teeth practically grinding to powder. "Why didn't you have her build a diamond toilet?"
MGM will have to pay for all of this, and all expenses will be reimbursed under the name of company operating expenses. Ernst will not pay a single penny.
To Robert's surprise, Ernst's face darkened instantly upon hearing his words, his expression as unpleasant as if he had swallowed a bitter pill.
Seeing Ernst's reaction, Robert's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively leaned back and asked incredulously, "Really?"
Ernst nodded heavily, recalling the bills his family received a couple of days ago, which almost made him vomit blood; his chest was still aching.
He knew that the Heavenly Palace existed in this world, but he never imagined that life inside the Heavenly Palace was so extravagant and decadent.
The toilet, costing $241 million, was specially commissioned by Russia's largest diamond producer.
Ernst was so angry he laughed when he saw the bill, and the culprit even claimed that he had saved him money by ordering from a Russian manufacturer instead of those high-end luxury brands.
Russia is the world's largest producer of diamonds, but the quality of the diamonds is somewhat lacking, making them very cheap.
A $241 million toilet, what a golden butt! And the worst part is, it's not even for my own use.
Ernst retorted rather irritably, "Why don't you just have a toilet made of solid gold?"
To my surprise, the other person replied without even thinking, "I don't like it. The gold toilet in my house always feels a bit jarring."
A gold toilet is glaring, but a brick one isn't, right?
And the fact that someone actually used a gold toilet broadened his horizons once again, making him wonder just how much wealth these hidden old money people had.
Then Ernst thought of Forbes.
In April of this year, Forbes magazine released its latest North American wealth list, in which he ranked 136th with a net worth of $17 billion.
After the list was released, many readers began to question it, feeling that Ernst's assets were underestimated, and how much wealth did Google bring him?
However, Forbes' reasoning was that Google's market value was inflated, but in reality, Ernst spent $300,000 to lower his own net worth.
Don't assume that Forbes makes money by selling magazines. In fact, there are at least a thousand or two hundred people like Ernst who donate money to Forbes every year.
Some people, like Ernst, prefer to quietly amass wealth and accumulate assets, which is why Forbes lowered their net worth.
Others, on the other hand, want to enhance their fame and social status through the wealth rankings, so they are willing to pay Forbes to raise their rankings.
But those truly old-money families laugh at Ernst, a fool who lets his reputation dictate his actions.
In America's elite circles, there's an unwritten rule: you've truly reached the top of the pyramid when you're so rich that even Forbes doesn't dare report your assets.
Take this young lady next to me, for example. No one in the Kennedy family is on the Forbes list, but would you dare say they're poor? Just two toilets alone are worth a fortune.
This is why Ernst hired an assistant for the other party; in fact, it was to be their personal secretary.
Ernst was genuinely afraid that one day when he returned home, this young lady might bring the Statue of Liberty home with her—he couldn't afford it.
Looking at the women in front of him, Ernst didn't really care which one he chose, as long as they could keep this young lady from thinking about shopping all the time.
Just as he was about to ask Anne's opinion, Robert Iger leaned in again and whispered in his ear, "Epstein is here."
Ernst nodded. "Then let's go see him."
Sarah told Annie, who was having a lot of fun and was excited about being an interviewer for the first time, that Sarah should stay and help her choose.
The response I received was a wave of the hand, as if I were talking to a butler.
The girl opposite was clearly stunned by her actions, wondering who this pretty girl who didn't seem to care about Ernst was.
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