Chapter 71 McNeil stormed out into the night.
Victoria heard the car door slam with a force that spoke of pent-up anger.
Xenia stood there, lost and uncertain, still clutching the suit jacket.
"Ma'am" Victoria glanced at her. "Take the jacket and get it cleaned." She had exchanged contact information with Marcus yesterday; she needed to return his jacket eventually. Victoria hadn't slept a wink all night. The next morning, as soon as she got up, Gwyneth clooking for her. "Mommy, did you find that gyet?" Rubbing her eyes sleepily, Gwyneth watched as Victoria made her breakfast herself.
"Almost." Quantum Core Technologies also developed gaming software, so Victoria figured she could use scompany resources to get thelaunched. It would just take a little time.
Gwyneth, brimming with excitement, could barely sit still.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe next tVictoria saw Violet was during the weekly staff meeting.
To her surprise, Violet's seat had been placed right next to Curtis, while Victoria— despite being his assistant- wasn't even given a chair.
Curtis entered the conference room last. When he noticed Victoria standing off to the side, it was too late to ask anyone to fetch her a seat.
Violet looked every bit the part in her tailored business suit, her makeup flawless, exuding confidence and poise. Victoria, on the other hand, had been up all night and only caught a couple hours of sleep at dawn. With barely any makeup and her hair hastily tied back, she looked drained.
She was worlds apart from Violet, who seemed to glow under the fluorescent lights.
"Wantto find you a chair?" Curtis asked, scanning the room.
Ailie hadn't expected anyone would deliberately try to embarrass Victoria either, and her expression soured. "That's all right, Mr. Garcia. I'll stand," Victoria replied calmly.
Curtis didn't press the issue. Victoria was a married woman, after all; even if he had any personal feelings, showing too much concern would only fuel office gossip.
He simply nodded. "Thank you for your hard work." The meeting began. Victoria stood at the back, notebook in hand, diligently recording every point.
As the department heads delivered their reports, Violet remained silent. Nearly two hours in, just as the meeting was about to wrap up, she suddenly raised her hand.
"Mr. Garcia, I think the liquid hydrogen drone project we discussed last tdeserves another look. This seems like the perfect tto revisit it." Victoria shot Violet a glance. She and Ailie had already rejected that proposal.
Cutting-edge products like this often end up getting bought out and shelved, never making it to market or generating any real profit for the company. The prospects looked good on paper, but in reality, it was the military that would be most interested.
Still, this was something Ailie and Victoria had only discussed privately-Curtis hadn't been fully briefed.
With the meeting already over, Violet's suggestion couldn't possibly be resolved on the spot. The executives and board members all had their own opinions, but there were no supporting documents or data on hand for a real discussion.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmVictoria immediately realized Violet had two motives: to show off her own initiative, and-more likely to keep Victoria standing for another hour or two.
Company policy required female staff to wear heels at work. After two hours on her feet taking minutes, Victoria's legs were already numb.
Ailie's eyes flashed coldly. "Ms.
Marchand, do you have any idea how many promising investment proposals our department reviews every day? Have you actually taken the tto read through them?" If anyone could sniff out Violet's ulterior motives, it was Ailie-she'd seen plenty of office politics before.
Violet, however, wasn't ruffled by the rebuke.
"Ms. Ailie, I may be new here, but them everyone's eager to get in on this project. And if there's a risk the military will snap it up, why not partner with someone who already has those connections?
Liquid hydrogen drones could solve the problem of limited flight timen They'd revolutionize logistics, precision agriculture, and, of course, have defense applications. Most importantly, they'd drive the adoption of clean energy and help pave the way for a green, low-carbon future..."