George listened with a hint of surprise to Oliver's unexpected request. "Mr. Oliver, I thought you weren't fond of having your picture taken?"

Oliver tilted his head back and quirked an eyebrow, "So, what if I've taken a liking to it now? Got a problem with that?"

George knew better than to voice any objections. Oliver's wishes were paramount. "No problem at all, Mr. Oliver. I'll get in touch with the photographer right away and make sure everything is set for your shoot."

After George stepped out, Oliver's eyes shone with an intense warmth. He picked up his phone and called Josefina. "Josie, what's tickling your fancy for lunch? I'll pick something up and bring it over." Josefina's voice came through, "I've got plans at noon, won't be at the office for lunch. Don't worry about bringing me anything."

A shadow crossed Oliver's face, and his tone filled with concern, "What's up? Anything I can help with?"

"No need, Oliver, I'm swamped with work. Gotta go, bye."

As the call ended, Oliver's good spirits soured. No one had ever been able to sway his mood before. Josefina was the first.

He summoned George back into his office. "Josie says she's swamped, George. Do you think she's really that busy, or is she just avoiding talking to me?"

Good grief. Mr. Oliver could actually let a woman's words and actions affect his judgment?

George replied, "Mr. Oliver, Ms. Josefina is now the CEO of her own company, and you've thrown a few collaborations her way. She's genuinely busy, not avoiding you on purpose."

Oliver frowned, his voice icy, "Make sure those teams wrap up their work without bothering Josie. If they want to collaborate with her, they need to pull their weight."

George's jaw dropped. Was this how Oliver ran a business? To ensure Josefina had more opportunities to earn, he'd go as far as to have his own employees finish the work, leaving just the final review for her. Oliver continued, "And bump their salaries. As long as they complete the work without troubling Josie, that's what matters."

George couldn't help but envy Josefina. "Right away, I'll see to it that they put in the extra hours."

When George relayed the orders, the team was stunned. "What's Mr. Oliver 's angle? Is he chasing Ms. Josefina?"

"My guess? She's Mr. Oliver 's lady. He's throwing money around for her amusement."

After a brief exchange, they buckled down to overtime work.

Josefina was taken aback when she found out the collaborators had finished their tasks. She picked up the phone and called the person in charge. He responded with a chuckle, "Ms. Josefina, the thing is, we're a fresh firm with a light workload at the moment. The staff was worried we were going under. Keeping them busy is also a way to ease their minds, you know?"

Josefina was skeptical. "Is that so?" she asked, unconvinced.

He assured her with a laugh, "Absolutely, Ms. Josefina. You might not be aware, but as a startup, everyone's fired up to work hard and grow the company. It's the only way they can ensure their jobs are secure."

Josefina was aware of the challenging employment landscape, with many companies downsizing. The team's willingness to work hard was also a bid to keep their jobs and help the company thrive. With that realization, Josefina replied, "In that case, we need to adjust our profit-sharing terms. You did more, and you should get more. We did less, so we'll take less."

"Ms. Josefina, please, there's no need for that. It was a simple effort on our part, nothing strenuous. The deal is done; let's not complicate things. I know you're busy, so I'll let you get back to it. Take care, Ms. Josefina, goodbye."

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