Chapter 413: The Backup Plan
Timothy’s declaration made Wendy laugh.
"What’s so funny?" Timothy frowned in confusion.
"What’s so funny, you ask?" The smile disappeared from Wendy’s face and was replaced by anger instead when she stood up, "Timothy, tell me honestly, you don’t trust me, do you?"
"How does this have anything to do with whether or not I trust you?" Timothy also stood up, confusion etched across his face.
It almost seemed genuine. HG’s future was resting entirely on Wendy’s shoulders.
Timothy could not allow even the smallest mistake. It was no longer a question of trust. He wanted one of his people to accompany Wendy, that way he could guarantee that no errors would be made. Wendy’s influence on HG was too powerful.
"We don’t have to go in circles here." Wendy said, "If you really don’t trust me, then just send someone else to replace me. I’ve been so tired these past two days and would love to take a break."
"What are you getting at, Corrine? My secretary, whose been with me for many years, has experience handling complicated matters. I think that he may be useful to you." Timothy seemed serious.
"Really?" Wendy burst into laughter again, "You didn’t believe me when I came back yesterday. Now you’re sending people to follow me. How are you going to make me believe that you’re telling the truth."
"What’s going on here?" Rosa walked into the office. She was anxious after seeing Wendy and Timothy in the middle of an argument.
Rosa didn’t know much of what was happening, but she did know that she liked Wendy. She didn’t want Wendy and Timothy to have any conflicts.
Timothy felt sorry after seeing Wendy’s reaction. But he still deliberately goaded Wendy, "Corinne, I genuinely do not think that you are untrustworthy. I don’t understand why you think so poorly of me. Do you have something to hide?"
"Timothy, what you just said is simply inexcusable! I..." Wendy had become even more agitated.
After seeing the situation unfold, Rosa pulled the two of them apart. She interrupted Wendy to speak with Timothy, "What are you trying to do? Don’t you know about everything Corrine has done for HG? How can you doubt her? It’s not only you that we’re talking about. If you continue talking like this, it won’t be just Wendy; I’ll get sick of it too."
"How many times do I need to repeat myself. I don’t doubt Wendy. I simply think that the current situation is too serious. Wouldn’t the probability of success increase if I have her bring an assistant along? I don’t understand why you keep bringing that baseless accusation up."
Timothy was helpless, "It was inconsiderate of me to send Zen, seeing as she’s pregnant, but I think Mr. Shawn is a good choice. I’ve known him for many years. He has business experience and connections. How is it wrong for him to help Corinne?"
Rosa listened to Timothy’s explanation. Her tensed brows relaxed slightly. Next, she turned to speak with Wendy, "What Timothy said makes sense. It’s not the time to doubt your abilities. At this point in time, having an extra person means there’s twice the strength. Everyone has witnessed Mr. Shawn’s abilities. It’s an advantage to have him go along with you."
Wendy bowed her head slightly as she listened to them talk. She recognized that Timothy was adamant about sending another person to accompany her. But if she gave up the fight, it would seem as though she was backing down.
Rosa saw that Wendy wasn’t saying anything, so she said, "How about this, Mr.
Shawn can stay at HG to help Timothy. I can go with Corrine to the client meetings.
I’m HG’s head of secretaries. Even though my abilities aren’t as good as Mr.
Shawn’s, I still have a high position. If Corinne takes me on her business trip, we’ll still be respecting the clients. What do you think?"
...
Wendy didn’t know if Rosa had simply come forward as a mediator between her and Timothy, or if they had discussed and agreed on what to say beforehand.
Originally, Wendy had planned to take her assistant along for the business trip so that she could take matters into her own hands. Timothy must have guessed her intentions, hence the arrangement for someone to tag along as a precaution.
Regardless of whether it was arranged by Timothy, Rosa, as the head secretary of HG Enterprise, must be on their side. In other words, even if she was not planted by Timothy, Wendy could only work in the best interests of HG if Rosa was to tag along.
If Wendy blew things up by refusing mediation or threaten not to go on this work trip, she might lose Timothy’s trust completely. She shut her eyes and looked as if she was very agitated, but was trying to rein in her anger for the sake of the company.
Assessing the situation, Zen pitched in, "Ms. Swift, Mr. Woods probably just wanted more people to share your load because he feels that it’s been hard on you.
Otherwise, he would not have arranged for a pregnant woman like me to go on a business trip with you.
"I know you’re worried about my health, but everyone’s worried that the workload will be too much for you to handle on your own. How about letting the head secretary go with you instead?"
"Yeah, Corrine, don’t get Timothy wrong," Rosa didn’t want the relationship between Corrine and Timothy to be overly strained. "Let’s go on this trip together. You can bring an assistant or two, and we can all help to share the workload."
Wendy had no choice but to agree. This hiccup also made her realize that Timothy Woods no longer trusted her. To be precise, he did not trust her as much as before.
Now, Timothy only trusted those who were on his side. Although he was the one who personally nurtured and trained Wendy as his apprentice, she was no longer considered to be on his side.
It seemed that she needed to be extra cautious from now on. However, she had long prepared for this. That’s why she left a letter for Michael. Fortunately, she had planned for the worst and had come up with a backup plan.
"Sorry for the trouble, Mrs. Woods," Wendy took a deep breath and nodded to Rosa.
"We’re all doing this for HG. I just hope we can tide through this crisis safely," Rosa said as she reached out and patted Wendy on the shoulder.
"Now, you and your mentor should stop doubting each other. At times like this, we need to band together." Rosa then turned to Timothy and said, "As a mentor, you should apologize first. You didn’t make yourself clear, so don’t blame Corrine for getting angry."
Timothy’s main objective was for one of his own people to tag along with Corrine during the trip. It did not matter to him whether it was his secretary or Rosa who would go with Corrine. So he immediately said, "I apologize, Corrine. Let me clarify again that I really don’t mean what you assumed. Please don’t read too much into it."
"Alright," Wendy replied coldly, showing that she was still unhappy. It would be odd if she changed her attitude right away.
"Let’s tide through this crisis first. I hope you can be clear-headed about this. I was trained by HG, and will only want the best for HG. If something were to happen to this company, I’d not be any less concerned than you, Mr. Woods," Wendy said sincerely in a bid to express her loyalty.
"Yes, I know that," Timothy nodded in response.
Rosa sighed in relief. "Alright, now let’s get cracking."
She turned to look at Zen and said, "You can hand over your work to me. From now on, I’ll be Corrine’s secretary."
...
Zen nodded and said, "I will send you the work schedule as soon I as I get back in office."
"I’ll get ready for my meeting with the client," Wendy said as she took her leave.
After exiting the office, she took a deep breath. Judging by Timothy’s current attitude towards her, he probably would not place his trust in her anymore, even if HG could overcome this crisis.
Sighing inwardly, Wendy returned to her office. To her surprise, she found Leah, Jake and Zess still waiting in her office.
"Mommy..." Leah ran towards her again.
Wendy picked her up and asked, "Why are you guys still here?"
"Jake said to wait a little while more. It’s still too early for school anyway. We wanted to wait for another half an hour, and then head to school if Mommy doesn’t come back by then.
"We didn’t expect Mommy to come back so soon. Luckily, we didn’t leave earlier! We get to see Mommy again!" Leah said joyfully.
Wendy lowered her head to look at Jake, whose head reached her waist. She could not help but let out a smile.
"Give Mommy some time, I’ll pack up and head down with you two, okay?" Wendy said.
"Okay," Leah nodded obediently.
Wendy put Leah down and started packing for her trip. As she had already planned beforehand, she asked Zen to bring the suitcase that she had sent back the day before.
She was soon done with her packing. Her assistant entered the office at the same time, "Ms. Swift, the car is ready. The appointment with the first client has been set at half past ten. The journey will take about two hours. If we depart now, we should be able to arrive at our destination about ten to thirty minutes in advance."
Wendy nodded in acknowledgement. She held Leah in one hand and Jake in another while her assistant carried her suitcase.
In the elevator, Wendy lowered her head to look at her two children. She couldn’t help but sigh. It was inevitable that she would neglect Leah and Jake every time she got busy with work.
"After this is over, I must spend some quality time with Leah and Jake," Wendy thought to herself.
They exited the elevator and HG Enterprise. The time to say goodbye has come.
Wendy bent to kiss Leah and Jake on their foreheads. She caressed their cheeks wistfully.
"Mommy has to go now. I’ll be back in a few days. In the meantime, you guys go to school and tell me what you have learned when I’m back, okay?"
Leah and Jake nodded at the same time, and then reluctantly waved their little hands to bid Wendy goodbye. Wendy took a deep breath and tried to hold back her tears. Turning her back on them, she boarded the car.
Simultaneously, Todd’s voice came from behind, "Corrine..."
At times like this, it was only natural for Todd to show up since he was Wendy’s boyfriend, even if they were only pretending to be in a relationship. Now that the company she works at was in deep trouble, he had to show concern at the very least.
Todd pulled into the parking lot and hurried over. "So glad I managed to catch you. I was afraid you’d have left by the time I got here," he said while panting slightly.
"Uncle Todd," Leah and Jake greeted him politely. Todd nodded in return, but did not say anything more.
He turned to look at Wendy and said, "This is such a grave matter, why didn’t you tell me?"
...
Todd’s tone held more concern than blame, "I found out right after I went back yesterday. I called you several times last night but your line was always busy. How is it? Is the problem serious?"
"It is indeed quite serious," Wendy said. "But don’t worry, I can handle it."
"Look at you, you didn’t sleep a wink last night, did you?" Todd glanced into the car to see several other people, including Rosa. He looked more uptight than before.
"Even Mrs. Woods is going with you? Is the matter that serious?"
During times of crisis, Wendy definitely had to appear before the clients to assure them. Todd could easily anticipate what Wendy and Rosa were going to do.
Wendy got out of the car and stood before Todd with a solemn expression, "I don’t want to lie to you. It is true that I did not sleep at all last night. But it wasn’t just me.
Mr. and Mrs. Woods, and all the employees of HG had stayed up all night.
"But you don’t have to worry too much. We’re still able to salvage the situation. I have to go now, there isn’t much time to talk. I’ll tell you more when I get back."
Looking at how overworked Wendy was, Todd felt genuinely distressed. He reached out to hold Wendy in his arms and hugged her tightly. Taking a deep breath, he said, "If you need help, just tell me. I too, have connections with some clients of HG.
I should be able to put in a good word for you."
Todd’s move caught Wendy off guard. She did not really appreciate such intimate physical contact with Todd, but she could not express it outright either.
She patted Todd on the back and tried to push him away as naturally as possible.
Forcing a smile, she said, "Okay, I will trouble you if I need to."
"Although this is indeed a crisis for HG, you guys must find time to rest," Todd expressed his concern. "Try to catch some sleep during the journey to your appointment. If you need to go abroad, get some rest on the plane as well, okay?"
"I know, don’t worry." Wendy nodded.
Todd seemed like a caring and considerate boyfriend in every way. Rosa rolled down the car window and saw their apparent reluctance to part. She could not help but sigh.
"Mrs. Woods, you should take care of your health too," Todd said as he saw Rosa.
"I will." Rosa nodded. "Don’t worry. We can definitely get through this difficult time.
It’s getting late, you guys should all go back. We’re leaving soon."
"Mommy has to go," Wendy said to her two children before getting into the car again.
"Goodbye mommy." Leah and Jake waved their hands to bid their mother goodbye once again. Wendy waved while holding back her tears as the car moved off.
Before coming over, Leah had told herself that she must not cry. However, she could not help crying as the car moved further away.
"Mommy, mommy..." Leah wiped her tears while running after the car. As she was running too fast, she tripped and fell. Jake immediately rushed over to help her up and comforted her, "Leah, didn’t we agree that we must not cry? Mommy will be very upset if she sees you like this."
"I don’t want to cry either, but my tears just keep falling." Leah sniffed. She tried to hold back her tears, but to no avail.
Jake embraced Leah in his small arms. He stretched out his hands to block her sight so that she would not see the back of the car disappearing into the highway.
