Chapter 300: Back Then, If Todd Had Been More Assertive...
The work that Wendy Stewart had been doing at HG Enterprise was just about done.
Today was her last day coming to the office to work after all this time.
When she went into the office, the sight before her shocked and touched her. On her desk, there were countless fresh flowers and little presents.
The moment she entered, many people surrounded her from behind. Hearing the footsteps, Wendy turned her head and looked, realizing that everyone was red-eyed.
It was obvious that the entire department was pretty reluctant for her to leave.
None of them spoke, and neither did Wendy. Her eyes were a little teary as she bowed to the adorable designers and expressed her gratitude.
There were all sorts of goodbye cards on her office desk. Wendy opened one of them and written on it in neat handwriting was: ’Wish you a smooth journey and all the best for your future endeavors.’ She opened a few more cards one after another and all of them were handwritten with kind wishes for her.
Wendy had already prepared herself emotionally during her last few days as she made the preparations to leave HG Enterprise. But with the kind gesture in front of her, it had inadvertently made Wendy feel miserable again. The designers could see it too and waved to Wendy before they then returned to their work cubicles.
Wendy cried and smiled as she faced them as they departed. This day was destined to be a day full of sadness.
After work, Todd and Timothy had come to meet her. They would naturally be the ones to send Wendy off. Wendy would be returning on tomorrow’s flight.
They went to the restaurant that they often went to and ordered Wendy’s favorite dishes.
Timothy and Todd normally drank very little when eating privately, because they had drank too much at work functions. Today was different as they ordered alcohol and said that they would drink a little.
Timothy personally poured Wendy’s drink. As he raised his glass, there was reluctance on his face as well as a bit of comfort. "Actually, I really didn’t think that in less than three months time, you’d be able to get this project on track. This toast is my cheers to you."
"I have to cheers to you instead," Wendy said well-manneredly.
"Not so fast." Timothy saw Wendy passing a glass over and hurriedly pulled back his arm that was outstretched to receive the glass. He spoke sternly, "I have to cheers to you with this toast first. It’s me who..." Timothy’s words stopped suddenly.
After which, he smiled as he said, "It’s me who is sorry to you. I knew that have a family, yet I made you come a long way to work. I know that you’re a good child and value relationships. You’re not concerned about monetary issues at all. You would come to HG Enterprise all because you hold onto our senior-junior ties. This is something that I am guilty for holding you to. You have to drink to this toast."
Timothy had already said it twice, so Wendy could not reject the drink.
She nodded and did not exchange the favor as she raised her glass and downed it all. Seeing that Wendy was enjoying it, Timothy laughed out loud, downing the glass in his hand as well.
"Then for this toast, senior has to allow us to drink to you." Wendy poured for Timothy then paid respect to Timothy with the glass. "Thank you for saving me and my two children. You even spent time and energy nurturing me. If it wasn’t for you, Wendy Stewart would not be who she is today."
"That’s good." Hearing Wendy say this, Timothy lowered his head and felt a little guilty inside.
On the surface, he was smiling as he raised his glass and downed it all.
"You two stop toasting to each other." Seeing that the two were drinking so much, Todd quickly filled their plates with food. "Eat something first."
"I’m happy." Timothy put down the glass and smiled as he spoke. "Todd, I’ll say something you might not like to hear. For this project, only Corrine could have finished it so quickly. Furthermore, it was done with such great quality. If it had been passed to your hands back then, it probably wouldn’t have been possible."
"Mr. Woods." Wendy did not expect Timothy to have spoken so straightforwardly.
"What are you saying? Todd’s ability is far above mine," she said with an awkward expression. "If he had taken it, it would have definitely been done better than I did it. You both are my seniors. The bit of ability I have is alright in comparison to others, but it can’t compare to both of your abilities."
"Ah, what are you so humble for?" Todd laughed out loud and smiled as he shook his head. "Mr. Woods, honestly speaking, your ability has really been increasing these past few years. I don’t remember how long it has been since I last took up a pencil and properly drew a design."
Todd recalled that the last time he had drawn a design was before Wendy’s birthday.
At that time, he had personally designed a bracelet for her. After remembering, Todd’s gaze went to Wendy’s wrist. It was bare, with nothing on it. Next, Todd looked to Wendy’s finger, which was also bare with no ring.
Todd furrowed his brows slightly. "Corrine, what about the bracelet I gave you?" He asked. "Why aren’t you wearing it?"
"It’s normally not very convenient to wear while working, so I took it off," Wendy said. "You know, as designers, that our our drawings could be more or less affected if there is something on our wrist."
Todd wanted to then ask about why she was not wearing her wedding ring either. A wedding ring was much less afflicting than a bracelet. Furthermore, Todd remembered that he had always seen Wendy wear it. But he knew it was not appropriate to ask about this, since it involved Wendy’s private matters anyway.
"It’s okay. I’m just asking casually." Todd took up the chopsticks and placed food on Wendy’s plate as he spoke.
Seeing that Todd was not angry, Wendy released a breath of relief.
"Corrine. I’d still like to ask you. Can you really not consider staying?" Timothy had already asked this question many times before.
He knew what Wendy’s answer would be even if he did not ask, but he still wanted to keep Wendy.
"You can take your children back and it’d be like how it was before. You could have childcare take care of them for you," he said. "You could find someone to take care of the home, and I can also help you take care of your children on normal days. Of course, you definitely won’t be as exhausted as before if you came back. I can guarantee that you would get off work punctually every day and rest for the full weekend. I assure you that you’ll have enough time with your children."
"Mr. Woods, I’m already married." Wendy smiled lightly, politely rejecting. This answer was not the least bit surprising to Timothy.
He could only heave a sigh, then take up the glass on the table and drink from it.
"Then, once you return to Lake City, you have to continue with this project." Timothy said, "If you don’t do this project personally, no one else could take it over."
"Don’t worry about that." Wendy nodded as she spoke. "I’ll do the follow-ups," she promised.
Timothy sighed once again, not knowing what else to say.
Suddenly, he sighed, "Back then, if Todd had been more assertive and won you over, then-" Timothy had not finished when Todd coughed and poured a glass for him, abruptly interrupting him. "Mr. Woods, let’s drink."
Timothy also realized that he had misspoken. He laughed out loud to ease the awkwardness and took up his glass to down it. "I’ll punish myself with a drink!"
After which, he grabbed some food for Wendy. "Let’s eat. Enough of all of this," he said. "Today is about sending you off. I won’t make it a meal where I keep trying to get you to stay."
"Mr. Woods, you eat too." Wendy grabbed Timothy’s favorite plates for him and dished them into his bowl.
What Timothy wanted to say was that if Wendy and Todd were together, she would not be leaving HG Enterprise. If that was the case, Wendy would be staying in Rheinsville City and would continue working for him at HG.
Wendy’s talents were all of true substance and value. As long as she stayed at HG, its value would multiply once again sooner or later. Any other person, including Timothy himself, would not dare to say they had this ability. But Wendy had it.
During these past few years, HG’s market value had increased strictly due to the few series of clothing that Wendy had designed. It was just a shame that she had to return to Lake City.
Timothy could not help but think of Jill. If only Jill had half the talent Wendy had. No.
Even one-tenth would be good.
He sighed to himself.
As they neared the end of the meal, everyone was a little tipsy from the drinking.
However, their minds were still clear.
Before leaving, Timothy thought of something.
He took out an invitation card from the briefcase behind him and passed it to Wendy. "I almost forgot the most important thing," he said.
Wendy looked at the invitation passed to her and slightly furrowed her her brow.
"What is this?" she asked.
"This is the invitation card sent by the Collins Group Organization over in Lake City," Timothy said. "I’m not sure why they bothered sending it to HG either. But since it’s sent, it’s better for one of us to go. Although it’s said that the Collins Group Organization is facing the threat of bankruptcy now, it was still once a powerful enterprise."
He continued, "I initially thought of sending one person over there to attend it. But your flight is tomorrow, isn’t it? I think it would be best for you to go and attend the banquet. Although you’re not working in Rheinsville City, you’re still a part of HG.
You’re also our important person in charge for this project. You should be the one to go. Consider it as giving the Collins Group Organization some face, so HG can get it over with."
Wendy accepted the invitation card and opened it to take a look. She had been following the matters concerning the Collins Group Organization. There would indeed be a banquet tomorrow night. But what she did not expect was for the Collins Group Organization to have invited HG.
HG and the Collins Group Organization have not been directly associated in any collaborative work. One was in Rheinsville City and the other was in Lake City. They were quite far from each other.
However, Timothy was not wrong. Since they were invited, it would still be better if they sent someone over to represent them. It would not matter much if the Collins Group Organization went bankrupt. If the tides turned, then they could even become another collaboration partner.
Matters in the business world were ever-changing. It would never be wrong to build good connections with as many people as possible.
Seeing that Wendy did not answer, Timothy said, "If you don’t want to go, it’s fine too. I’ll go to Lake City with you tomorrow and personally attend this banquet. It’s okay if the company’s matters aren’t settled in one or two days."
It was not that Wendy did not want to go, but Timothy had thought that was the case.Wendy wanted to return to Lake City in the first place, so it would not be appropriate if she refused to go.
"I’ll go. I’ll attend it on behalf of HG," Wendy said with a smile.
"Your mentor really did not adored you for nothing." Timothy reached out and patted Wendy on the shoulder, smiling as he spoke.
