“Before you came, we had a fight with Rachel. We’re all bruised and battered,” I explained, with an automatic glance toward Ashton.
Nora’s eyes widened. “God! Why didn’t you include me for this?”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Linda chastised. “It’s already happened, and Rachel must be holding a grudge. It’s hard to tell how she would make things difficult for us in the future.”
I pursed my lips, deep in thought. Armond had a point.
Though I did not like Rachel, it was indisputable that she was a capable employee of the Corporation. If it weren’t so, Ashton wouldn’t have gone through the trouble himself of hiring her all the way from Ustrana.
Aside from the fact that Ashton had no romantic interest in her whatsoever, her skillset and professionalism were second to none, and Ashton valued her for it.
If Rachel left in a rage, the only one at a loss would be Fuller Corporation.
“Alright then. Do you still have work to do?” Nora asked. “If you don’t, we’ll head over to Grandpa’s for dinner. It’s harvest season for the fruits he had grown in his yard.”
“What a glutton!” Linda teased. “We still have a meeting to attend. There still isn’t a concrete plan to deal with the situation at the base, and we can’t afford to delay this any longer.”
I nodded in agreement. “There are some pear trees outside the base,” I informed Nora. “They’re ripe enough to be eaten. Go and amuse yourself. We’ll call you once the meeting ends.”
She nodded glumly. “What an awful life it is to have to amuse oneself.”
Linda and I laughed for the lack of anything else to say and headed to the meeting room.
Leedon saw us and, for some reason, smiled awkwardly to himself and went on his way.
Seeing that, Linda and I were startled. What was that about?
In the office, Linda heated up some water. While she searched for a paper cup, Leedon pushed some freshly harvested fruit to her. “Ms. Linda, could you help me peel these?”
She was busy, but I got up and volunteered on her behalf. “I’ll do it!”
Leedon was startled at my enthusiasm. “Oh, there’s no need. I’ll do it myself!”
I frowned as I tried to recollect our interactions over the past couple of days. I don’t think I had offended him. Why was he behaving like this?
Nonetheless, I did not spare much thought for the matter after he brought his fruits out of the conference room. Soon after, Ashton and Armond entered.
Then, Rachel entered after them. When everybody was seated, Joseph began. “I’m sure everybody has their own suspicions regarding the situation of the base and are keeping a close eye on it. We’re here today to discuss our progress.”
“This project was launched half a month ago. Right now, all of our tasks are bottlenecked, due to the mistakes of some people. We have been unable to get started even until today. How are we supposed to discuss progress?” Rachel cut across with an ugly look on the face.
Her words had truth to them, even if they were scathing. Linda did not retort, but she did not object either.
Ashton and Armond remained silent as well. As leaders, they were just here to listen.
After that, Joseph briefs a little regarding the status of the project and opened the floor for each of us to express our opinions.
“It’s my fault that the project is currently stagnated,” Linda voiced out. “I accept the blame fully. But the most important thing right now is to think of a way to catch back up.”
“What a load of rubbish!” Rachel scoffed coldly.
Linda frowned but did not say anything.
Everybody present was well aware of the source of Rachel’s discontent.
After a brief pause, I said, “The items stolen from the base are impossible to be recovered right now. I wonder if Fuller Corporation has any comparable technology that can substitute the stolen goods for the time being? For the project to continue, we need the equipment.”
Joseph nodded. “It has already been arranged. Don’t worry, Mrs. F-, I mean, Ms. Stovall!”
“Nice save, Mr. Campbell.” Linda laughed.
Joseph grinned apologetically.
Rubbing my nose thoughtfully, I said, “Besides, I’ve been curious about what’s been going on here at the base. It’s very unlikely for Linda to forget the operational steps. How was it so coincidental that the thief would have been able to pick that up?”
“Coincidence? Sounds to me like we have a traitor in our midst. How easy it must have been to have something worth billions at one’s disposal. They get the goods, and they get the man as well. Hah! What a breeze!” Rachel said bitterly, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
“Rachel, you should clarify who it is that your filthy mouth was accusing.” Linda was losing her temper by the second.
“Well, well… Who else could I be referring to? I mean, if the shoe fits.” Rachel laughed coldly.
“You…” Linda spluttered, her anger rising steadily.
I pulled her back into her seat. “We’ll deal with what we have to deal with,” I said hastily. “Ms. Zimmer, there’s no need to bring your personal issues to a professional setting, and there’s even less need for you to use that tone with all of us. We will bear the price of our mistakes, but we are here to discuss what we can do better moving forward, and we will do exactly that!”
