Our Love Story: Hard to Guard Against the Sudden Love Strike-Chapter 188 - 186: Face-to-Face Conversation

"What’s your salary expectation?" Simon Forrester poured tea into Sienna Thornton’s cup, speaking earnestly.

Sienna Thornton smiled, "Who sets the salary?"

"For a general manager level, the salary is typically drafted by the direct president and then sent to the board for approval."

"So, you’re saying my salary is decided by your father, and then ultimately confirmed by your grandfather?"

Simon Forrester smiled, raising an eyebrow at her, "Yes, so how much do you want? Tell me, and I’ll give my dad a heads-up later."

Sienna Thornton thought for a moment, considering, "Previously at Vantage, besides a fixed annual salary, I also had project commissions. These included two parts: an annual consultancy fee and a risk agency rebate for individual cases. My income over two years at Vantage was about five million RMB, averaging two and a half million per year. From the salary level of US lawyers, a Harvard JD with three years of experience earns between $300,000 to $400,000 annually, similar to what I made at Vantage."

Simon Forrester nodded, "I understand."

Sienna Thornton glanced outside, smiling, "That Secretary Quincy who opened the door earlier keeps looking this way."

Simon Forrester picked up his teacup, took a sip, and without looking outside, raised his eyebrow at her, curving his lips, "Shall I get up and draw the curtain?"

Sienna Thornton rolled her eyes at him. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Since their relationship was not publicly disclosed within The Forresters, both of them were very cautious in their behavior. At this moment, Sienna could only warn him with her gaze.

After sitting for a while, Sienna said, "I remember you said the highest salary for a full-time lawyer in the legal department is two and a half million RMB, so the one with the highest salary should be my future boss, the Legal Affairs Vice President Steven Chapman?"

"That should be correct."

"Generally speaking, my salary would be below his. As for the exact amount, your father and grandfather should have a standard. So, don’t fight for my salary on your father’s side; if a few of those secretaries in the president’s office find out and spread it, it wouldn’t be good for either of us."

Simon Forrester took these words to heart, pondered a while, then said, "I might propose at the board meeting that if you can resolve those cases with exorbitant anti-dumping duties, then you could get a certain percentage commission from the saved taxes. This money is unrelated to salary, and besides, contributing to corporate tax savings deserves a reward."

Sienna Thornton nodded, "That’s actually a good approach."

She was just about to ask if the usual affairs of the legal department would be handled by Steven Chapman when a hearty woman’s laughter came from outside.

She looked towards the source of the sound and saw Bianca Fordham, whom she’d met once before, walking over with a gray-haired elderly man whose eyes were sharp and lively, accompanied by Steven Chapman.

Sienna Thornton patted Simon Forrester’s arm and sat up straight.

Simon Forrester looked at the newcomers, retracted his smile, and stood up to greet them.

"Grandpa, you came?" After speaking, he glanced at Bianca Fordham and Steven Chapman, "Mr. Forrester, Mr. Chambers, good morning."

Bianca Fordham looked at him, smiled a little, but the smile seemed rather insincere.

Steven Chapman, looking like an amicable person, nodded, "Good morning, Young Mr. Ford."

Old Master Forrester’s voice boomed, "Jules, is that lawyer you mentioned here? Quickly take Grandpa to see."

Simon Forrester then helped Old Master Forrester into the office.

A group of people came in with great pomp.

Sienna Thornton had already stood up, her hands naturally folded in front of her, nodding to the three coming over, smiling, "Chairman Forrester, Mr. Forrester, Mr. Chambers, good morning."

Old Master Forrester looked at her, nodded with a smile, and said, "This young lady is very young, seems very clear-headed, very good, very good!"

Bianca Fordham held an ambiguous smile at the corner of her mouth.

Steven Chapman’s expression was quite complex. At first, he was surprised, then he seemed to understand something, and his previously tense face gradually relaxed.

He recognized Sienna Thornton but chose to pretend not to.

Sienna Thornton remained unperturbed.

Old Master Forrester invited everyone to sit down and asked Simon Forrester to connect with Zane Forrester, who was far away in the United States.

While waiting for the connection, Sienna Thornton handed over three resumes she had prepared in advance, one by one.

Old Master Forrester put on reading glasses and skimmed a few pages, showing increasing appreciation in his eyes. He nudged his glasses and asked Sienna Thornton with a smile, "Thornton, you have licenses from Hong Kong, the mainland, and the United States?"

Sienna Thornton smiled and nodded, "Yes, Chairman Forrester."

Old Master Forrester nodded frequently, wearing an appreciative smile, "I heard that the bar exam is not easy. My sister’s eldest grandson is also studying law..."

Speaking of this, he turned to look at Simon Forrester, who was sitting on his right, "That young lad at Z University, I heard he’s been unable to pass the bar exam even after two or three years since graduation. I wonder what he was doing during all those years in college!"

"Chasing girls, what else?" Simon Forrester snorted with a laugh.

"Ridiculous!" Old Master Forrester was also a bit angry, but after a while, he regained his smile, looked at Sienna Thornton a few more times, and then looked down again at her resume, "Thornton is excellent! Not only does she have three licenses, but she is also the top graduate from Harvard..."

Sienna Thornton continuously wore a graceful smile on her face.

Sitting on Old Master Forrester’s other side, Bianca Fordham suddenly sneered, "Isn’t Lawyer Thornton just a bookworm? Usually, only bookworms choose to keep taking exams."

Old Master Forrester glanced at his daughter with furrowed brows, and then shifted his gaze to Sienna Thornton, as if trying to judge with his own eyes whether Sienna was indeed a bookworm as Bianca claimed.

Simon Forrester simply watched Sienna Thornton quietly. He wanted to see how she would counter Bianca Fordham without losing her composure.

Sienna Thornton chuckled, looking at Bianca Fordham, "Taking exams is the result of phased learning, which cannot prove whether the learning process is just about absorbing knowledge without flexible application. Comparing the two itself is a logical fallacy."

Upon hearing this, Simon Forrester suddenly laughed.

Anyone could tell that Sienna Thornton was subtly suggesting that Bianca Fordham’s logic was flawed.

Bianca Fordham had always had logical issues.

She had ambition without brains. If not for being the eldest daughter of the Forrester Family, someone of her caliber would have been squeezed out of the group long ago.

Yet, Sienna Thornton’s words brought Old Master Forrester’s focus back to her.

Bianca Fordham’s face soured as she let out a snort, "You lawyers are all about talk; what else do you have besides that mouth?"

Sienna Thornton smiled, "Mr. Forrester, we also have brains."

The conversation had already become quite trivial.

Facing Bianca Fordham’s cold mockery, Sienna Thornton maintained her composure throughout, continuing to smile, and in doing so, managed to effectively showcase a gentle yet incisive retort.

In contrast, Bianca Fordham’s expression darkened.

And Steven Chapman remained silent the entire time, his calculations hidden.

Old Master Forrester, repeatedly looking at the resume in his hand, did not immediately express an opinion. He quietly examined it for a while before closing the resume, and then asked, "Thornton, how did you come to know our Jules?"