Free Web NovelChapter 375: Don’t Tell Her
In the days that followed, Wendy spent all her time meeting with the manufacturer.
And she made it a point to inform Timothy of every confirmation made with the manufacturer.
As usual, she went to Timothy’s office with the final products from the manufacturer and said, "Mr. Woods, the final products have been confirmed and the manufacturer is putting in overtime and doing their best to meet the deadline. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
"At this rate, they should be able to fulfil your requirement to get the first batch produced within ten days."
Timothy nodded in delight when he heard what Wendy had said, saying, "That’s great! Thank you for your hard work."
"However...," Wendy paused, lips pursed and looking serious.
"What is it?" Timothy asked, becoming serious also when he noticed the concern on her face.
Wendy replied, "I was going to ask if we should send someone there to assess the materials used for this batch of clothes and then, as is our usual process, dispatch a few people there to conduct quality checks on the finished products over 24 hours?"
"I just feel that the turnaround time, from design through to go to market, for this batch of clothes has been too fast. So fast that it’s making me uneasy," she continued.
"You worry too much," Timothy replied.
Patting her on the shoulder, he smiled, "This is not the first time we’ve worked with this manufacturer. All through the many years that we’ve collaborated, they have never given us any trouble. So, there’s really no need to fret over the quality of the product."
Frowning, Wendy nodded and chuckled, "Perhaps I’ve really been worrying over nothing."
"Yep. When the clothes have been launched, I’ll give you a few days off for you to rest and recharge. You seem a little stressed lately..." said Timothy.
"Then can you please look through this batch of finished products? If you feel that they’re good enough, let’s head out to the manufacturer’s together for an onsite inspection before signing the contract for the final volume to be manufactured," Wendy suggested.
Taking the finished products from her, Timothy did a cursory review and nodded his satisfaction, "This is good. Let’s just proceed with the production based on this batch."
In fact, Timothy did not care one bit about the quality of the finished product. All he wanted was the fastest turnaround to go to market.
Because Christian had been nagging him on a daily basis.
Also, since Wendy had personally designed this collection, he was not at all worried about the quality of the end products.
Of course, Wendy had her reasons for intentionally going to Timothy for confirmation.
Under normal circumstances, she could have signed the contract for the final volume with the manufacturer herself. This time, she had deliberately dragged Timothy along with her.
That way, if something went amiss, she would make him the scapegoat.
She could rightfully claim that Timothy had been the one who wanted to fast track the production; that he had been the one who had done away with the quality assurance process.
Shortly after, Wendy went to the manufacturer’s factory with Timothy for an onsite inspection.
Since it had been confirmed that there would be no issue with the first batch, they proceeded to sign the final contract.
"Here’s to a happy collaboration!" the manufacturer stood up from his chair and, smiling, extended his hand to Timothy for a handshake.
Timothy smiled also, "Happy collaboration!"
Having shaken Timothy’s hand, the manufacturer then extended his hand to Wendy.
Wendy shook hands with him politely.
The manufacturer then issued them an invitation, "Let’s go out tonight and celebrate. My treat!"
Timothy was just about to speak up when Wendy’s phone rang.
She took one look at the caller ID and noticed that Todd was calling. Apologizing, she stepped aside to take the call.
"Where are you? I’ll come and pick you up," Todd asked, sounding gentle as he always was.
"I’m at the manufacturer’s," Wendy replied, adding, "Mr. Woods is here also. I can catch a ride back from him."
"I’ll be right there," Todd said, not giving her a chance to decline.
Just when Wendy was about to speak up, she heard the engaged tone. Todd had already hung up.
Walking back to her seat, Wendy smiled, "My apologies. I have an appointment tonight and will not be able to join you. Let’s take a raincheck. It will be my treat."
"Thank you for the invite, Mr. Nathan. I too have an appointment tonight so let’s leave it for now," Timothy replied, knowing that the call that Wendy had taken was from Todd.
He was going to use this opportunity to buy both Todd and Wendy dinner.
"Oh, this is really regrettable," Mr. Nathan responded, looking disappointed. Then he said, "Another time then. Next time, you must make yourselves available."
"Sure," Wendy nodded.
When Todd arrived, Timothy suggested, "Let me treat you both to dinner tonight. It’s almost time for dinner anyway."
When Wendy nodded and was about to agree, Todd looked sullen as he replied, "No need. I want to have dinner with just Wendy. So, Mr. Woods, if there’s nothing urgent, we’ll take a raincheck."
Todd’s refusal was a clear sign that he was still upset.
After all, it was normal that Todd would be upset since Timothy had previously accused him of entering his lounge wIthout permission He would have appeared more guilty if he had been easily placated by Timothy’s apology.
Looking embarrassed, Timothy smiled and did not insist further, saying instead, "All right then. Have a pleasant evening."
Wrapping his arm around Wendy’s shoulders, Todd put on a plastic smile and said, "We’ll head out now."
At that, he turned around with Wendy and walked away.
As they were leaving, Timothy overheard Wendy saying, "Mr. Woods has already apologized. Don’t you think that you’re being ungracious?"
"Me, ungracious?" Todd burst out laughing angrily, "If only you had seen how he had hurled the accusation against me."
"Leave it. I don’t want to talk about t anymore," Todd continued, "Sure, I won’t bear grudges but you cannot expect me to be even-tempered about it. I am human after all."
"Ok, all right. Stop being upset," Wendy tried to calm him down.
She continued trying to appease him, "Putting aside this incident, Mr. Woods has indeed been good to us all these years. We should not take this one-off incident to heart.
"I hope that your feeling of being unfairly accused will be dissipated soon."
Frowning, Timothy listened in on their conversation until their voices faded into oblivion.
He had originally not wavered in his suspicion that Todd was the mysterious intruder into his lounge.
But now, it would appear that he might have been wrong. Was he wrong?
Was Todd really not the intruder?
Now he was getting confused himself.
After they had walked some distance away, Todd said, "I don’t think he can hear us now."
Wendy heaved a sigh of relief and edged away from him.
It was obvious that she was trying to maintain some distance from Todd.
Todd’s arm, which had originally been wrapped around Wendy’s shoulders, was now left hanging.
Slowly clenching his hand into a fist, he put down his arm.
Like nothing was amiss.
Sighing softly, Wendy said, "Let’s hope that this will stop him suspecting you."
"That should do the trick," Todd said absentmindedly.
At this moment, he was not thinking about whether Timothy still suspected him.
"I’ve made reservations. Let’s go there now," Todd said, walking alongside Wendy, matching her pace.
"Oh no, I will eat when I get home. I haven’t eaten at home for a long time," Wendy replied, "The kids are missing me too."
"I will send you home immediately after dinner. It would not take more than one hour, OK?" Todd pleaded expectantly.
"it’s still early. Besides, we had just told Mr. Woods that we were going to dine out. It would be awkward if he happened to find out that we did not eat together after all, don’t you think?"
Keeping her head low, Wendy hesitated as she stole a glance at Todd out of the corner of her eye. Then she nodded.
....
Michael had been in Rheinsville City for half a day.
However, he had not mustered up the courage to look up Wendy or to call her.
Eventually, he ended up waiting for her on the ground floor of her office building.
Hoping to bump into her when she left work for the day.
However, he had waited till eight that night and while most of HG’s employees had left the building, there was no sign of Wendy.
At long last, he noticed Zen leaving the building.
He was aware that Zen was now Wendy’s assistant. So, if Zen was leaving for the day, that could only mean that Wendy would be leaving too.
However, after watching the exits for a while, there was still no sign of Wendy.
After some hesitation, he walked forward and called out to Zen, "Hi Zen..."
Hearing her name called, Zen turned instinctively to see who it was.
She was shocked to see that it was Michael.
"Mr. Lucas?" Zen was very surprised to see him, "What are you doing in Rheinsville City? And at HG too?"
"Where’s Wendy?" Michael asked, "Is she still working?"
Michael looked up at the HG building but unfortunately, from where he was standing, he could not see Wendy’s office.
He was worried about Wendy’s health.
He knew that she frequently worked long hours. But, working overtime and skipping meals over a long period of time would take their toll on her health and she could collapse.
"She has not been in the office since this afternoon," Zen replied.
"Not in the office?" Michael asked, looking hapless.
So he had been waiting in vain all this time?
He asked, "Where is she?"
"I guess that is a business secret so I cannot tell you," Zen replied, looking a tad uncomfortable.
"Do you want me to do something to you before you’ll talk?" Michael asked menacingly as his gaze moved to her swollen belly.
Instinctively, Zen cradled her belly.
She was an expectant mother. If Michael made good his threat, she would not be able to defend herself.
After some hesitation, she responded, "OK. She’s gone to meet with the manufacturer."
"Give me the manufacturer’s address," Michael demanded coldly.
"I’ll text it to you," Zen replied.
Opening her phone, she sent Michael the address.
Having received the address, Michael did not waste any time talking to Zen. Instead, he turned around and walked away.
Shortly after, he flagged down a cab and got into it.
Giving the driver the address, Michael asked, "How long would it take to get there?"
The driver replied, "Not too far. It would normally take about thirty minutes but since it is rush hour, it could take longer."
"Fifteen minutes...," Michael said curtly.
Just when the driver was about to speak up, Michael added, "I’ll pay you ten times the fare."
Tempted by the incentive of ten times the fare, the driver stopped whatever he had wanted to say and assured him immediately, "Sure. I am an experienced driver and I know my way around."
In the next second, the cab pulled out into the traffic at high speed.
Zen frowned as she watched the cab speeding away.
Wondering what she should do, she decided to call Wendy to inform her that Michael was in Rheinsville City.
When the call was accepted, she said, "Wendy, Michael’s here. He’s just asked me for the manufacturer’s address. I guess he should be there pretty soon."
"Michael?" Todd asked with a frown.
Looking displeased, he sounded a little hostile as he kept his voice low, "OK, I get it."
"Mr. Lewis?" Zen had recognized his voice and asked, "Where’s Wendy? Why are you answering her phone?"
"Don’t tell her that you had called," Todd instructed. After a pause, he added, "Please do me this favor."
"Erm...," Zen hesitated, feeling confused.
However, Todd had hung up even before she could speak up.
