CHAPTER 513: CHAPTER 523 SECURITY DEPARTMENT MANAGER

John Brown arrived at the company. It felt like a month had passed since he last visited. The security guard at the company entrance greeted him warmly as soon as he saw him. Even though John Brown was a manager at the company, he was quite down-to-earth, so he was well-liked.

On his way in, he greeted various people in the company and first went to Gina Lopez’s office. People in the company didn’t know that he and Gina were married, so upon his return, he had to go see Gina as a formality.

When Gina saw John Brown come in, she immediately put down what she was doing, sat with John Brown on the sofa, and smiled, asking, "Is the Melody Yoody matter resolved?"

John Brown awkwardly rubbed his nose and said, "It’s resolved, yes, but it has become complicated again."

Gina gave John Brown a sidelong glance and said, "Are they forcing you to marry Melody Yoody?"

John Brown quickly shook his head and said, "No, they accepted me and Melody Yoody’s relationship, but I don’t know what to do next."

Gina pinched John Brown lightly and said with mild annoyance, "Then what do you want to do?"

John Brown put his arm around Gina’s shoulder and said apologetically, "Honey, to be honest, I don’t know what to do now. I’ve always wanted to spend a good life with you, but I couldn’t just ignore this matter."

Gina gave John Brown another sidelong glance and said, "Alright, stop putting on that troubled face in front of me. I’m not going to hold it against you."

"That’s it?" John Brown looked at Gina in confusion. This was no small matter; shouldn’t Gina say something more?

"What else can I do? Should I go tell Melody Yoody to stay away from you?"

John Brown chuckled dryly, deeply grateful to Gina for her magnanimity, and said, "Honey, you’re so good to me. I promise, no matter what happens in this life, you’ll always be my wife, and I’ll never leave you."

"As long as you mean it, that’s enough. Now that you’re back at the company, work diligently. You’ve been away for a month, and the HR department has reassigned your position. You can’t go back to HR now."

"Oh, then I’ll leave the arrangements to you."

"I think you should go to the security department. I feel it suits you better. What do you think?"

"Sure, that’s my old line of work," John Brown easily agreed with a smile.

"Yes, then it will be more proper when you go out with me in the future. Otherwise, as an HR manager, walking with me all the time would cause some gossip in the company, which isn’t good."

John Brown quickly stood up, legs together, and saluted Gina, saying loudly, "I will definitely ensure the leader’s safety."

Gina couldn’t help but smile, stood up to adjust John Brown’s collar, and said, "Husband, don’t disappoint me."

John Brown nodded. Gina’s words were ambiguous, but regardless of what she meant, he didn’t want Gina to be disappointed. She was his wife, and they were family.

The security department was on the first floor and was responsible for the security work of the entire building. Previously, it was managed by the logistics department, under Sarah Utah’s management. Now John Brown was here, it became independent.

So John Brown naturally had to go to Sarah Utah for a handover. He knocked on the door of Sarah Utah’s logistics department office, and Sarah’s voice instantly called out from inside, "Come in."

John Brown pushed the door open and saw Sarah Utah looking at him with a face full of surprise. She immediately stood up and said excitedly, "Big Brother Brown, you’re back?"

John Brown closed the door behind him and smiled, "Yes, I just got back, and I’m taking over part of your logistics department."

Sarah was about to ask when the phone rang. She quickly answered it. It was Gina, explaining the handover of the security department.

After hanging up the phone, Sarah smiled sweetly at John Brown and said, "Big Brother Brown, that’s great. Those security guys are all men, and I find it hard to manage them. Now I can finally get rid of this headache."

John Brown laughed and said, "You’ll be losing quite a bit of authority, you know."

"Authority or not, I don’t care. I just like working here and following Mr. Lopez. Besides..." Sarah glanced at John Brown, a blush spreading across her cheeks.

Even without Sarah saying it, John Brown knew she meant being able to be with him. But he dared not acknowledge this sentiment. His emotional obligations were already overwhelming, and he dared not entangle with such a good girl like Sarah any further.

"Sarah, let’s get the handover done quickly. I’ve been away from the company for so long. If I don’t get serious, I’d feel guilty about drawing a salary."

Sarah Utah giggled and said, "Why feel embarrassed? Mr. Smith is your good friend, and Mr. Lopez is your wife. This company is practically yours."

John Brown awkwardly said, "Then I have to be more cautious. Otherwise, I’d let Mr. Smith down."

Sarah didn’t say more and handed John Brown all the security department materials. As she worked, she occasionally sneaked glances at John Brown, which he pretended not to notice.

Without a response from John Brown, Sarah was not disappointed at all. On the contrary, she liked John Brown even more. Most men she interacted with looked at her in a way that made her uncomfortable. However, with John Brown, she felt completely at ease. She didn’t fear him making a move on her, and oddly enough, she almost wished he would.

After collecting the materials, Sarah and John Brown went to the security department’s first-floor office to let everyone know that John Brown would become the department manager. The security guards didn’t react much since their main concern was the salary. It didn’t matter who was the manager, even though having Sarah as a manager meant more interaction with a beautiful lady. Yet, they liked John Brown’s humility.

John Brown spent an entire day sorting out all the responsibilities of the security department.

There were twelve security guards in the department; eight worked during the day, and four at night, all of them former military, which was Gina Lopez’s hiring preference.

John Brown mentioned his military background, which helped him get closer to the security guards, making his role as manager more relaxed.

That evening, John Brown treated the security team to drinks, bringing the eight who weren’t on duty.

"Manager Johnson, come on, let’s have another drink to you," said John Smith, 23, the youngest in the group, raising his glass to John Brown, his face flushed.

John Brown had lost track of how much he had drunk. Being with these guys was much more relaxed than with colleagues in the human resources department. So even though he knew these guys were trying to drink him under the table, he gladly downed another shot with John Smith. By now, he had been toasted by everyone and was quite tipsy from all the liquor.

"I must say, Manager Johnson, you’re quite the celebrity in our company. Everyone envies you," John Smith continued, looking at John Brown with admiration.

"What’s there to envy?" John Brown asked as he lit a cigarette, playfully.

"Isn’t it obvious? Sarah Utah is one of the prettiest girls in our company, yet she’s your girlfriend."

John Brown chuckled, "That’s nothing special."

"That’s nothing special?" David Johnson, in his thirties, slapped the table and said, "Manager Johnson, do you know how many of the guys in our company have a crush on Sarah Utah? And you’ve got her first, which makes us a bit resentful."

John Brown felt among brothers, like being back in the military, and playfully slapped the table, bragging, "Sarah Utah? If I wanted to win over any beauty in the company, it would be a piece of cake."

David Johnson, wide-eyed, said, "Come on, Manager Johnson, now you’re just exaggerating. You got Sarah Utah, fine. But the remaining two beauties in the company are Mr. Lopez and Sunny Nguyen. You can get them? Now that’s ridiculous."

John Smith giggled, "Exactly, Manager Johnson. I get that you, Mr. Lopez, and Director Green came here together. Director Green has been divorced, so a fling with her is believable. But Mr. Lopez is our company’s CEO. You, a manager, are far below her. One word from her, and you’re packing your bags. I don’t buy it."

"Boss, at least make the bragging plausible. How can you even lump Mr. Lopez in? She’s our goddess, completely out of our league."

Everyone was drunk, no longer seeing John Brown as a manager, and teasing him relentlessly.

John Brown lifted his glass, holding a cigarette between his lips, protesting, "You guys have no ambition, no vision! I tell you, one call from me, and Mr. Lopez will come get me. Do you believe me?"

"Haha... Manager Johnson, if you can call Mr. Lopez over, we’ll truly be impressed."

"Yes, if you can get Mr. Lopez here, this meal is on us."

John Brown squinted at everyone, asking, "Is that a promise?"

"Of course, but what if you can’t call her here?"

John Brown slapped the table, declaring, "If I can’t, I’ll treat you all for a week."

"Haha, then do it. Let’s see if you can get Mr. Lopez here."

John Brown immediately picked up the phone, pressing a couple of buttons, then turned to them, "Wait here, I’m going outside to make the call."

After he left, everyone burst into laughter, thinking John Brown was just joking. They didn’t believe he could get Gina Lopez to come at all.