Prioritizing work was normal for most people.
But Jean a devoted orange cat lover, chose a different path.
"Go report to the boss first," she said. "Then meet with the tax officer this afternoon."
The secretary asked, "But is that advisable?"
Jean Gray waved a hand nonchalantly. "Just say I'm on another planet and won't be back until this afternoon."
Their boss was just that capricious. The secretaries couldn't say anything. They could only watch as she quickly changed her clothes, tidied herself up, and then happily ran out the door.
Why didn't she wear perfume?
Because Garfield, being a Flerken, had an incredible sense of smell. Certain scents were a disaster for him.
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Jean was back again.
Garfield was exasperated. What was this? Here to freeload again.
"Get lost!" he said. "Either eat and drink properly, or you'd better get out of here!"
Facing her somewhat agitated boss, Jean tried to display her charm.
"Boss," she said sweetly, "am I pretty?"
Garfield glanced at her dismissively. "Pretty my foot. I've seen plenty of beauties, even those with serial numbers."
"Someone like you might not even make it onto the scene."
Although she didn't know what "serial numbers" meant, Jean understood one thing, her boss had not complimented her.
*Hmph.*
She grabbed her chopsticks and started shoveling food into her mouth. Putting everything else aside, the boss's food was really delicious.
Sweet and sour pork ribs. Stewed chicken with potatoes. A bowl of rice. A bowl of milk.
She ate with gusto.
Then she claimed a good spot on the balcony and started sunbathing.
Garfield watched his subordinate come to eat and drink every day, neglect her duties, and now steal his sunbathing spot.
His forehead veins throbbed with rage.
He didn't want to say anything more.
Actually, Garfield also felt that eating alone wasn't as enjoyable. Having a shameless subordinate come to freeload wasn't the worst thing in the world.
But monopolizing his sunbathing spot? Unacceptable.
He used a levitation spell to lift her up. To Jean's astonishment, he tossed her onto the sofa.
Having reclaimed his place, Garfield flew into the sunlight, landed on his soft cushion, stretched his limbs, yawned, and closed his eyes contentedly.
Comfortable.
Jean Gray sat up, rubbing her slightly sore bottom.
She saw the limp orange cat basking in the sun and wiped the drool from her mouth.
"Boss," she said, "I was just warming your cushion!"
Garfield. "Hmph."
"Really!"
"I don't believe you. You little brat, you're so wicked." He cracked one eye open. "After you've eaten and rested for a while, go to the company."
"Handle some business. See what that new tax officer is up to. Remember to make a recording. If he makes any illegal demands, send the information to the Jedi Temple. Yoda and the others will handle it."
"Yes, boss."
Sure enough, her boss's influence was too strong.
Other people could only call the police. Her side directly dispatched high-level Jedi Knights.
Happy Jean Gray played at Garfield's place until three in the afternoon before reluctantly getting into her flying car and leaving.
If it weren't for the agreed time, she wouldn't have bothered going.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
After flying to her headquarters, the tax officer arrived as promised.
The new tax officer wasn't human.
He was a member of the Phindian species, large-headed, jokingly called the "Big Head Tribe."
They were similar to humans, except for their oversized craniums and powerful thinking abilities, especially in calculation. In the universe, besides robots, their computing power was second to none.
"Hello," Jean said.
"Hello."
"Have you eaten?"
"Not yet."
"Oh. Then go home and eat."
Jean Gray suddenly blurted this out, creating an awkward silence.
Luckily, the other party wasn't human. Different species sometimes didn't pay too much attention to certain remarks.
"Ms. Jean Gray," the tax officer said, "let me formally introduce myself. My name is Ronald Bray."
"I am the newly appointed tax officer specifically responsible for your company's taxes. I'm just here to meet and get acquainted. There is nothing else."
Jean smiled politely. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Inwardly, she thought. This interrupted my time with the boss. How annoying.
After a brief, business-like conversation, exchanging basic information and confirming future communication protocols, Ronald Bray left.
The meeting lasted less than half an hour.
Jean looked out the window at Ronald Bray's departing flying car and scratched her head.
What? Just like that? A simple phone call would have solved this. Why did I have to travel all the way here?
She gazed at the massive outline of the Jedi Temple in the distance and considered whether to go freeload dinner.
Then she thought better of it. She had several cats waiting for their meals at home.
Since she was already at the company, she decided to take a look around.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
She went to her office first, changed into work clothes, and began her inspection.
*Customer service* was mostly handled by robots.
They patiently answered every player's call according to standard procedures and could even provide on-the-spot translation without needing to transfer to professional personnel.
The need for human workers was minimal.
*The office* doubled as logistics, external liaison, and GG services.
It was busier, mostly with GG vendors seeking game collaborations. The interface and timing needed to be managed effectively.
Due to Garfield's strict prohibition against misconduct, they couldn't do much except post small GG pop-ups in small corners of the official website.
Even then, there were limits.
Each batch was only available for one month. The next month, it was auctioned off to the highest bidder.
Other companies weren't stupid.
High Claw Group's official website received ten billion visits every day, a massive business opportunity.
Investing some money and comparing the returns was worthwhile.
Even if it didn't make money, as long as you built brand awareness, getting rich was just a matter of time.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
Next came the server room.
Jean arrived there.
Her secretaries tried to intervene, but she waved them off. A thorough check ensured she wasn't carrying any chips or recording devices.
Then came the NDA verification. Pupil and voice checks. Password unlocking.
The entire process took half an hour.
After passing ten checkpoints, Jean Gray finally reached the server room entrance.
Two newly manufactured robot dogs and a robot bird crouched at the entrance, surrounded by a flock of new-model Destroyers.
Their shield systems and components had been optimized by the Wings, making them more agile and powerful.
Two Destroyers could easily suppress several Jedi Knights.
Having inspected this far, there was little left for Jean Gray to do besides checking the data logs.
She packed up, got into her flying vehicle, and prepared to go home.
The moment her vehicle entered the flight path, several other flying vehicles quickly surrounded her.
