Jia Li looked at the kind man in front of her and gave a grateful nod in return . She was relieved that he wasn't sulking, nor was he trying to pretend that all was hunky dory .

"Thank you, Mr . Ying," she said softly .

Shanghai

"Mr . w.a.n.g, my name is Samantha . I couldn't meet you the other day when I had visited the office," Sam bowed slightly to the elder gentleman who sat in front of her .

"It is nice to meet you, Ms . Li . I must admit that I was surprised when you requested to meet me privately before the shareholders' meet . Tell me how can I help you?" Mr . w.a.n.g said .

He was hesitant about being drawn into the family feud of the Li family . Given a choice, he would have preferred not going into a partners.h.i.+p with them . But the business needed stabilisation and funds ASAP . As a result, he found himself sitting across the young woman .

"Mr . w.a.n.g, I am sorry . I won't take much of your precious time . I have not had much time to prepare before tomorrow's meeting but here are few of the ideas and thoughts which I gathered and wanted to bring to you beforehand . I am sure you would be wondering as to why did I bring this here instead of going to my father . By now, I think you would have surmised that the relations aren't congenial in the Li household . But please don't worry . I will try my level best that the ripples of those do not spread beyond the boundaries of Li Mansion," she handed over a thick report to him .

"MR . w.a.n.g, I am not here to curry a special favour from you . My only request is for you to give it an impartial read . If there is any merit in the suggestions made by me, I believe that you would be fair enough to consider them, and maybe incorporate them . That's all . Thank you for your time today," with that she got up and bowed to him before walking out of his cabin .

Mr . w.a.n.g leaned back in his chair and stroked his chin thoughtfully . After a minute, he picked up the file left by her .

Next Morning, Li Mansion

"Where is Sam? Is she not ready yet? She is scheduled to attend the shareholders meet with me today," Li Yichen frowned at the breakfast table .

"Uh, the staff informed me that she went out early this morning," his wife informed him .

Muttering under his breath unhappily, Mr . Li gulped down a cup of coffee and got up from the table .

"Where are you going? You haven't eaten a single thing," she nagged him gently .

"I don't have the time . I don't want her to reach the place early and try to pull any other stunt," with that, he stormed out of the house .

"Dad showed me the report which you had left with him yesterday . Quite impressive . I liked the in-depth research which you have conducted on our company and the compet.i.tors . Though we may not agree with all the points, there are definitely some things which we would like you to propose in the meeting today . I have earmarked them in the report," Wei had invited Sam for an early breakfast meeting before the shareholders' conference .

Dressed in a conservative light grey pants and matching jacket, she hardly bore a resemblance to the wild girl from before . Wei was having a tough time trying to reconcile the two images .

"I am deeply grateful to you and your father for the giving the report its due . Having said that, I have another request to make," she started hesitatingly .

At his raised eyebrow, she smoothed the non-existing crease from her pants to bid for a moment to compose herself .

She drew a calming breath and said, "it would be better if the proposal was put up from your end rather than mine . If I was to, err, put up these suggestions, they may meet some resistance . "

At her cryptic reply, Wei seemed to ponder over it and didn't respond immediately .

Looking at him from under her lashes, she couldn't help but admire the way the dark blue suit fitted him . He looked every inch the business tyc.o.o.n that he was supposed to be . The vulnerable man from the other night had been replaced by the confident, s.e.xy man who sat in front of her .