Chapter 133
Austin, what is going on? You should know how important this project is–there’s no need for me to explain it to you. The proposals have all been rejected. Do you know what that means? Ezekiel was absolutely livid.
Austin responded, “Mr. Jacobson, this isn’t my responsibility. It was Sheila’s work. You should ask her.”
“Isn’t this your project too!” Ezekiel shot back. “It’s only been a few days and you’ve already messed everything up!
“Just now, Neva called and said they’ll give us three more days. If we don’t present a new plan in that time, they’ll switch to another partner?
don’t fix this, you can start packing up and
You could practically hear the anger radiating from Ezekiel, even through the phone. “Austin, if you don’t i heading home.”
The call abruptly ended. That was when I finally understood what Holly meant–she was just watching the chaos unfold and handing me popcorn to enjoy.
As expected, no sooner had the phone call ended than Ezekiel contacted me. “Sylvia, get to the office ASAP. Let your family know you might be late getting home.”
Lasked. “What happened?”
“There’s been a problem with Rowland Group’s project. They’re saying one of your team members made a mistake. Come to the office, and we’ll explain it all when you get here.”
Ezekiel’s voice was unusually calm.
I agreed, but I wasn’t in a hurry. I spent a little more time playing with Juno, then packed my things and left.
When I arrived at the conference room, the atmosphere was thick with tension
As soon as Austin saw me, he exploded, “Sylvia, Mr. Jacobson called you an hour ago. Why are you just getting here now?”
“I took the day off to take my son to the hospital,”
al,” I answered slowly. Thad already informed HR and was using my personal leave.
“When Mr. Jacobson called, I was on my way here. Should I have come straight to the office and left my child alone at the hospital just to work overtime?”
I smiled faintly. “Mr. Huynh, we’re at the same level. Even though I’m technically your subordinate, you should speak to me with a little more respect
Austin’s lips pressed into a thin line, as he was clearly embarrassed by Ezekiel’s earlier scolding. He seemed intent on trying to recover some face by taking it out on me.
He bit back his anger and asked, “Fine, but what about Sheila? What’s going on with her?”
“What do you mean, what’s going on?” I responded coolly. “I’ve never interfered with your project. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sheila is your assistant, right? But the proposal she submitted got completely rejected. Some of the data was copied straight from someone else’s work.
“She just handed it over like it was her own. You’re her superior–who else should I talk
Austin wa
was clearly trying to shift the blame
I glanced over at Sheila, who was sitting in the corner, looking absolutely panicked, and smirked. “Sheila is my assistant, but don’t forget, Mr. Huynh, you borrowed her from me.
“Which means, during the course of this project, you–Austin–are technically her superior.”
“You-
“Also, I continued, “you said her proposal was completely shot down, right?”
“Yes” Austin snapped. “I had known that your people were this useless, I wouldn’t have borrowed anyone from you. Now look at the mess it’s
caused”
I laughed coldly. “If Sheila is useless, then your entire team must b
be, too.”
“What do you mean by that, Sylvia!” he barked.
“A proposal from an assistant, and your entire team didn’t notice anything wrong with it? You just handed it straight to the client like it was perfect! How are you even in charge of this project!”
