Liam, seeing that it was Elsa who was causing a commotion, decided to interfere.
"Show mercy when it's due; there's no need to push someone when they're already down."
Just as Avery was drowning in despair, Liam finally spoke up. He walked over and pulled Avery to her feet, shielding her behind him.
"She didn't really do anything that serious, just spilled a bit of coffee. Besides, she's already apologized. Why not let it go, Miss Elsa?" Liam said, his voice calm but firm.
"Oh, and here I was wondering who it could be. Isn't this Mr. Liam? Long time no see," Elsa said, her arms crossed, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
To a bystander, it might seem like they were old friends meeting after a long separation. But Liam knew better—elsa was clearly mocking him.
What surprised Liam was that he remembered seeing Elsa impressed when he drove his Bugatti Veyron. So why was she treating him like this now?
"So, Mr. Liam, busy driving that old Mitsubishi to make a living with ridesharing these days? And now you're here playing the hero?" elsa sneered, her words biting.
Ever since she had figured out that Liam wasn't some secret millionaire but just a regular guy pretending to be rich, her impression of him had plummeted. Although she was slightly confused about how he managed to get past security, she didn't really care. After all, what future could a broke loser like him have? Could he really be the CEO of Century Group?
"You don't need to worry, Miss Elsa. I'm just here for a job interview," Liam responded calmly.
Indeed, he was here for the position of company director.
Lu Mengyue, however, burst into laughter when she heard that. She looked at Liam with undisguised contempt. "You? Here for a job interview? Do you even know where you are?"
"This is Century Group! One of the top companies in north bridge City! And you, just some uber driver... you probably didn't even finish your nine years of compulsory education, and you're here for an interview?"
Elsa wasn't exaggerating. A company like Century Group was filled with graduates from top-tier universities. Even the janitors probably had bachelor's degrees. The employment standards were extremely high. So, in her eyes, there was no way someone like Liam could get a job here.
"Well, just to clarify, I'm a university graduate," Liam responded seriously. "And I'm here for an executive position, not some janitor job."
Hearing this, Lu Mengyue laughed so hard she almost lost her breath. When she finally calmed down, she barely managed to speak. "Oh, Liam, Liam, I don't know whether to call you naïve or just plain ignorant!"
"Let's say you really are a university graduate. Even so, you'd still have to get past HR. Do you even know who that is?" she asked with a mocking smirk.
Liam shook his head, thinking to himself that he had only just taken over the company. How would he know the details yet?
"Avery, tell him!" Elsa commanded, her eyes glinting with cruelty.
Avery, trembling even though she was standing behind Liam, hesitated but finally stepped forward. With a voice full of fear, she tearfully said, "The HR manager is... Miss Elsa."
"I... I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to drag you into this. Now you've lost your chance at the interview because of me..." Avery whimpered, her voice choked with sobs.
Liam didn't pay much attention to what Avery said. Instead, he looked at her timid demeanor and felt a twinge of sympathy. Having a seriously ill brother at home and facing the pressure of daily life, she was forced to endure all this at work.
Liam saw a reflection of his past self in Avery. Wasn't this the way society worked? To break free from this cycle, one needed to rise above it all, to become someone who stood at the top of the world. Only then could one stop enduring such humiliation.
"It's okay, don't feel guilty. You haven't caused me any trouble," Liam said, smiling warmly, like the gentle sunlight brightening the earth.
"You heard that, right?" Elsa sneered triumphantly. "I'm the HR manager. No matter what position you're applying for, it all goes through me. And here, the answer is 'rejected'."
"Let's not waste any more time. My time is valuable, and I certainly don't want to spend it on some broke loser."
"So, are you going to leave voluntarily, or should I write up a rejection notice for you and hand it to security?" Elsa asked with a smug grin.
Liam simply smiled, a faint curve on his lips that carried an intriguing hint of amusement. "Oh? Are you sure you want to kick me out?"
"Of course! What, do you expect me to invite you to lunch?" Elsa scoffed, thinking that Liam must be out of his mind to act so arrogantly in this situation.
"Oh, I wouldn't want to have lunch with you either. That would just ruin my appetite," Liam said casually, his tone dripping with mockery. he was really tired of people trying to humiliate him evrywhere he went, so he decided to end it all here once and for all, and he wouldn't mind ine faceslapping event.
"You—!" Elsa was absolutely livid. How could someone be this arrogant?
"Fine! You want to play tough, huh? Just you wait!" Her face twisted with anger as she stormed over to the reception desk and grabbed the phone, shouting into it, "Security! We've got a troublemaker in the lobby. Send a few men to throw him out!"
The security team took her order seriously, knowing that if the HR manager was involved, they couldn't ignore it. Within minutes, a group of twelve security guards in uniform, armed with batons, gathered in the lobby, looking imposing and ready for action.
"Where's the troublemaker?" the security captain asked, looking around.
"There! Get him out of here immediately!" Elsa pointed at Liam, her face contorted in fury. In her anger, her once immaculate makeup had smudged, making her look more like a wicked witch from the woods.
The security captain nodded, ready to act. But the moment he caught sight of Liam's face, his expression changed dramatically. His aggressive demeanor vanished, replaced by sheer panic.
Oh dear, how bold must Miss Elsa be to try and kick this man out!
Thankfully, the captain had reacted quickly, or they all would've been in big trouble.
Didn't she know who this was?!
This was the director of Century Group's Jing City branch! The one who oversaw everything in the company!
There were stories of directors firing employees, but never of employees daring to kick out their director!