The man's clothes were plain and he was wearing a face mask. He was patiently wiping the leaves of a plant on the desk, making sure each leaf was spotless clean.
Hearing Joanna's voice, he gently raised his eyes and looked over curiously. "The new boss of Morans & Co. Law Firm, I presume? The poor woman about to be abandoned by Ace Moran?"
Joanna felt a little awkward. She cleared her throat softly and said, "The second part was unnecessary."
The man put down the spray bottle and took off his mask. His middle-age face looked kind and gentle, exactly as the information said.
From the information Liam sent her, Joanna knew that the Morans & Co. Law Firm had three employees.
two men and a woman partners and this John Bruce was one of them.
Among the three partners, Bruce was the oldest and the most experienced. He looked like he would be easy to get along with, but he was actually the most cunning one.
Bruce said, "I'm curious. We haven't met before and I'm dressed like this, so how did you recognize me?"
"It's simple."
Joanna told him honestly, "Being your new boss, I've looked into all of you. I know that Bruce is a plant lover. An ordinary cleaner wouldn't have made sure every leaf was spotless clean."
"Hah. Interesting."
Bruce stared at Joanna, the interest in his eyes growing stronger. He smiled and said, "Lass, if you've really looked into us, you would know that we're a difficult bunch to deal with. If you're smart, you should stay away from us."
"What can I say? I've always loved a challenge."
Joanna's voice was passionate and her eyes sparkled with excitement. She looked bright and tenacious, like a determined young leopard who would not give in.
After all, in her veins flowed the blood of General Pierce. Her indomitable personality was engraved into her genes!
Ace Moran couldn't do it in three years. You really think you can change us?"
"I don't need three years. I'll do it in three days!" Joanna proclaimed with confidence.
"I commend your courage, young woman. Good luck," Bruce said meaningfully and left.
The Morans & Co. Law Firm was indeed like a hot potato.
The three partners being absent more often than not was not the only problem. The lawyers working under them were all tough nuts to crack too. None of them took their new boss seriously.
The only one who was respectful to her was a trainee lawyer called Finn.
It was time for the morning meeting but there was still not a lawyer to be seen in the spaciousoffice.
Finn cautiously told Joanna, who was sitting at the conference table, "Boss, Mr.Zack said there's a match today, so he gathered everyone in preparation for the live stream this evening, so… so he said he wouldn't be coming to the office today."
"A match?"
Joanna raised her eyebrows and asked, "Are you talking about the LCL Season 7 Spring Split Grand Finals?"
"Finn's eyes widened in surprise, "How do you know, boss? Do you follow e-sports too?""
After all, LCL was a niche game that had a steep learning curve. Only true game enthusiasts pay attention to it.
How could a wealthy housewife like his new boss know about it?
Joanna's lips curled into a faint smile. She only said, "Okay, tell Mr. Zack and the others to enjoy the match. I'll treat them to some snacks to this evening."
At 9:00 pm, the LCL Spring Split Grand Finals reached its climax, with Team Raging Storm from Aeos trailing Team Victory from Varangia 1:2.
The club was crowded. At the last second, Team Raging Storm managed to turn the tables and wipe out Team Victory, winning the championship. The place erupted in cheers.
"World Champion! Well done, Team Raging Storm!"
Joanna suddenly arrived with champagne and sashimi.
Zack Wayne was cheering fanatically.
Among the three partners of the law firm, he was the youngest, but his professional skills were very highly-regarded in the industry, and that gave rise to his arrogance.
How arrogant was he? He would not even give Ace the time of day, let alone Joanna.
"Team Raging Storm won the championship! We have to celebrate. I brought champagne and sashimi for everyone."
Joanna stood in the center of the club and addressed everyone there enthusiastically,
Zack sneered. "As if you know anything about Team Raging Storm. Have you even played the game before?"
Joanna smiled. "Not only do I know about Team Raging Storm, we're actually old friends."
"Yeah, right. Why don't you try coming up with a more convincing lie?"
"If I manage to invite Team Raging Storm to the club, can you promise me one thing?" Joanna's lips curled into a mysterious smile.
Three days passed.
The Sporadic Star Bar was a relatively famous bar in Beach City. It was an elegant and artistic- looking two-story establishment.
Ethan and Christopher were currently sitting in the VIP area on the second floor. Not only did it have a great view, it also provided a certain level of privacy.
The two already had a few drinks, but Ace, who had agreed to meet them here, was still nowhere to be found.
"What's up with Ace? This is the first time in three years us Silver Trio are meeting up with just the three of us. He wouldn't stand us up, would he?"
Ethan was holding a glass of wine with a slightly anxious expression. He kept looking towards the entrance.
"I asked to see him today because I have something important to talk to him about. If I don't take care of this, my father will surely break my leg when I go home tonight!"
Christopher, being the oldest in the Silver Trio, was as calm as ever. He said unhurriedly," Bro, calm down. You know how Fan is. If he doesn't feel like it, he simply won't come. It's not the first time he's stood us up."
Ethan could not calm down. Only Ace could take care of his problem for him.
"This won't do. I'm gonna give him a call!"
He took out his phone and called Ace.
At the other end of the phone, Ace was busy with work. His words were cold and a bit rushed. He told them to drink by themselves first, and if he could not get there in time, they did not have to wait for him.
"Man, are you really gonna stand us up?!"
Ethan was racking his brains trying to think of a way to get his workaholic friend to come when he saw about five or six people walking in from the bar entrance, all of them bright and youthful.
What surprised Ethan was the sight of the black-haired woman in white dress among them. It was actually Joanna!
The moment, Joanna had a bright smile on her face as she whispered something to a man around her age. They seemed very intimate.
Ace was about to hang up, so Ethan quickly added with some excitement, "Bro, you've gotta come, or you're gonna lose your woman! Your dear little wife is going around hugging different men right now! She's having a great time!"
At the other end of the phone, there was a moment of silence, followed by the sound of a laptop closing. "Sporadic Stars Bar, right? I'll be right there."
Christopher had also seen Joanna by now, and a smile appeared on his gentle face. "Fan's wife seems to be a little different since the last time we saw her. What an interesting young woman."
Downstairs, Joanna and Zack chose a booth for eight people.
It had only been three days since Joanna met the lawyers. Three days ago, they looked down on her, but now, she had become the life of the party. She was the one everyone revolved around.
The arrogant Zack was now behaving like her lackey. He was constantly trying to please her.
"Boss, everything's taken care of. I've handled the matter exactly as you instructed. Can you invite Team Raging Storm over for another game sometime so that us mortals can feast our eyes upon your godly skills?"
Three days ago, Joanna managed to invite Team Raging Storm over with just a phone call. Team. Raging Storm, who had just won the world championship! Not only that, Team Raging Storm's captain even respectfully referred to Joanna as "Master"
When the young lawyers saw that, they almost bowed down to Joanna. From then on, they saw Joanna as a "forefather of e-sports" and their admiration for her shot through the roof.
Joanna picked up a glass of juice and touched Zack's glass with it. With a smile, she said, "That will depend on your performance."
Before taking over the law firm, Joanna had conducted a comprehensive research of every member in the firm.
The members of the law firm were all young people in their twenties except for Bruce and Leila, who were slightly older.
Zack was the youngest among the three major partners of the law firm. He was undefeated in court, but he was a noob in video games.
Although he was a noob, he loved playing video games. He would lead the group of young lawyers to play video games all day.
From the beginning, Joanna knew that as long as she could make Zack obey her, the group of young lawyers would naturally obey her too.
What better way to convince Zack to listen to her than to insta-kill his idol in front of him in the game?
Therefore, she was not surprised at all that she was able to make these rebellious lawyers submit to her in just three days.
Joanna and the lawyers were having a good time when a certain figure walked into the bar.
Ace stood there, tall and handsome. He immediately saw Joanna sitting in the middle of the group, surrounded by the others like the moon being surrounded by stars.