Free Web NovelChapter 412: A Talk With Timothy
"That doesn’t seem very appropriate." Wendy felt the annoyance creep into her voice after hearing Timothy’s request, "It’s true that HG’s products are experiencing problems, but my relationships with the clients are all based on HG’s products’ outstanding quality. How do you expect me to face the clients and ask them to accept a lower compensation?
They’ve already given HG another chance just by not requesting to dissolve their contracts. Besides, the numbers I’ve come up with for the compensation plans are already low. I don’t have the ability to negotiate any further. How about you send a different person to complete this task."
"I know that your plan is sensible, it’s just that HG is short on funds right now. Based on the numbers you’ve provided, we don’t have enough money to compensate all the customers immediately." Timothy was troubled. He continued speaking, "When that time comes, the clients are going to think that HG can’t keep its promises."
"HG doesn’t have the money?" Wendy acted surprised when she heard Timothy’s words, "What do you mean? Didn’t HG receive a large advance payment before?
That amount must have been around 10 to 20 million."
"What I mean to say is that ever since HG got into this mess, there seem to be too many places in need of extra cash. It’s better if we can save some money wherever possible." Timothy said defensively and let out a nervous laugh.
"Is there something you’re trying to hide from me?" Wendy asked purposefully.
"How is that possible? I would never keep anything from you." Timothy did not dare to meet Wendy’s gaze. He spoke hurriedly, "I have to excuse myself. There are still a lot of things I need to take care of. You also have a lot of work. Let’s both get back to work. We can talk further in case anything happens."
Timothy turned to leave after he finished speaking. The corners of Wendy’s lips turned upwards slightly, as she watched him go.
....
At the same time in Lake City, Michael had already driven to the hotel Wendy had stayed in two days ago. He quickly found the flower vases Wendy had described to him on the phone and grabbed the vase of artificial flowers. He stuck his hand into the vase to search. He found the note, just as Wendy had said.
Wendy didn’t tell him whether he was allowed to look at the note. However, his curiosity made him eager to look at the note’s contents. The note Wendy had left behind must have been something extremely important, otherwise, she would not have bothered telling him about it.
Even though his curiosity grew stronger, Michael’s sense of reason prevailed. He took control of his straying hand and instead grabbed his phone. He called Wendy.
Wendy saw her phone ring. She furrowed her brows when she noticed it was Michael calling. She then went to the break room. He must have found her note already since he was calling her this late.
"Wendy, I have your note." Michael noticed that Wendy had answered her phone immediately this time, "I just wanted to know if I could read it."
"You haven’t read the note yet?" Wendy was surprised.
Based on Michael’s personality, he would have looked at the note the minute he got his hands on it. Why did he call her to ask if he could read it? That didn’t seem like Michael at all.
"I really wanted to read it, so I decided to ask for your permission first." Michael was afraid Wendy would become angry, so he hurriedly explained himself, "If I’m not allowed to look, that’s fine too."
There was a hint of caution in Michael’s voice. It made Wendy realize just how much Michael had changed from the past. At least he knew to care about her feelings and to respect her. Wendy’s face involuntarily relaxed. Her voice also sounded gentler, "You can read it."
Wendy’s words filled Michael with an immediate sense of happiness. He had been afraid that Wendy did not trust him, that she would not let him read the note. It seemed that Wendy did, in fact, trust him.
"Thank you, Wendy." Michael said sincerely.
Wendy was confused by Michael’s gratitude, "What’s there to thank me for?"
"It’s nothing." Michael could not keep the happiness from his voice. Wendy hadn’t realized that this was a moment of recognition for Michael. It represented Wendy’s approval.
She shook her head in confusion. She didn’t concern herself with the matter, so she continued, "I’m going to send you a detailed list of names, then I’ll send you the customer compensation packages I put together. You can start buying off HG’s partners based on those two lists."
"No problem." Michael confidently replied. After she finished talking business, Wendy didn’t know what else to say to Michael. They both fell silent. After the silence persisted for a moment, Michael finally decided to speak, but Wendy’s voice sounded first, "If there isn’t anything else to say, let’s end the call. It’s better if we contact each other less frequently."
"I..." Michael could only nod in agreement after hearing Wendy’s words, "Okay, just be very careful."
"Yeah." Wendy gave him a one-word reply. She kept her phone by her ear but did not hang up.
It was a pity that no sound came from the other end of the phone. She let out a silent sigh and dropped her phone from her ear. Then she slowly and gently swiped the screen to end the call.
Wendy shook her head seeing the home screen pop back up on the phone. What was she waiting for back then? Was she waiting for Michael to tell her something?
She shut her eyes It was going to be a sleepless night today. Wendy worked all the way until 7 a.m. When she saw the sun peeking through her window, she stood up to stretch.
She didn’t have to travel abroad during the day. She had two meetings to attend with the largest clients in Rheinsville City and had already scheduled the meetings.
The first was at 10 a.m. and the second was scheduled for 2 p.m.
Although she was not leaving the city, it was at least a two-hour car ride to her first meeting. After she had met with the two Rheinsville City clients, Wendy would have to take a flight to the neighboring state. She had another meeting at 9 p.m. with a third client.
Wendy looked at the clock. It was just about time to get going. She sighed, took out her phone, and pressed on the screen.
A picture of Leah and Jake appeared on her home screen. As she looked at the photo, she thought back to the time when Michael had promised to take a family photo with the four of them.
Unfortunately, the only photos they had ever taken together were their wedding photos. Afterward, there were too many things that happened to take any other photos.
Up until today, they still hadn’t taken the family photo. Wendy sadly caressed the photo on her screen, quietly speaking to herself, "Once this matter is taken care of, Daddy will definitely take that photo with us."
HG was only 10 minutes away from her house, but Wendy felt it would be impossible to go see her children. The company was at a critical turning point, and her every move was under close scrutiny. Even though seeing one’s children was normal, Timothy would probably think she was losing her focus and not giving HG her full effort.
Just as she was feeling sad, two sweet little voices sounded from behind her, "Momm..." Wendy was all too familiar with those two voices...
Guess what was written in that note? I don’t think that you would guess correctly...
...
When she heard the two voices, Wendy reflexively turned around. To no surprise, it was Leah and Jake. Watching the two little figures run towards her, Wendy’s heart began to melt. She opened her arms and Leah and Jake ran into her embrace.
"Mommy..." Leah planted a loud smooch onto Wendy’s cheek, cheekily saying, "Mommy, did you miss me and Jake?"
"Of course." Wendy kissed both of them. She couldn’t hide the happiness from her face, "How did you two get here?"
Wendy looked up to see Zen standing behind the two children. It seemed that Zen had brought them. She then explained, "You told the two of them that you had returned to Rheinsville City when you talked last night. The next morning, Leah and Jake wouldn’t stop pestering me about where you were. I told them you were probably at the office, but they wanted to see you anyway. They said that since you were busy with work and couldn’t come home to see them, they would come and see you."
Wendy’s happiness only deepened after hearing what Zen said. She also felt even sorrier for her two children. She had been too busy recently and had no time to spend with them.
"When Mommy’s finished with her work, I’ll spend a lot more time with you, okay?"
Wendy told them and kissed their little faces once more.
"Mommy, it’s okay. You should finish your work." There was a hint of distress in Jake’s voice as he told her Mom, "Just remember to eat every meal and take breaks.
If you don’t have any free time, then don’t worry about us. I’ll take care of my sister.
Don’t worry Mommy."
Jake had noticed that Wendy looked exhausted. He caressed her face with his hand.
Wendy could detect the sadness in his voice, "Mommy, you don’t look too good. You look like you’re not feeling well at all. You need to look after yourself."
"Mommy, you didn’t sleep last night, didn’t you? You have such big dark circles under your eyes." Leah touched the dark rings under Wendy’s eyes. She was also sad. Wendy suddenly felt the tears coming to her eyes at hearing her children’s words. She reminded herself that all the sacrifices she made were worth it because of her two adorable children.
She nodded her head, "Mommy will make sure to take care of herself. You all listen to me, pay attention at school, okay?"
The two children earnestly nodded. Wendy stayed squatted to maintain eye contact with her children. She said, "Did you get up this early just to come to the office and see Mommy?"
"Of course." Leah hugged and patted Wendy’s head. She didn’t want to leave, "Leah hasn’t seen Mommy for such a long time."
Leah usually loved sleeping in. She usually was the last one to get up. Sometimes she would even get annoyed at having to wake up. It was only a little past 7. Wendy was touched that Leah had woken up so early to see her. Sadly, she still had a lot of work to do. She couldn’t stay with the children too long.
Wendy sighed softly. She was full of reluctance to leave, "Mommy is very busy today. I have to meet with a lot of clients, so I can’t stay with you very long. You won’t blame Mommy, will you?"
"Of course not Mommy," the two children spoke in unison.
Wendy patted both of their heads and felt her eyes water.
"Mommy, why are you crying?" when Leah saw her Mom start to cry, her little mouth began quivering, "If Mommy cries, I’m going to cry too."
Leah began crying while she wiped the tears off Wendy’s face.
...
Jake also felt a deep sense of sadness and his eyes too teared up. But he was a boy;
he shouldn’t cry. Instead his little arms hugged both Wendy and Leah, trying to comfort them.
"It’s about time to go. Ms. Swift, we’re going to leave in a moment." Zen was watching the touching scene unfold in front of her. She unconsciously looked down and touched her belly. She didn’t want to interfere with the family reunion between Wendy and her children. However, it really was time to go. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
Wendy blew her nose, took a deep breath, then stood up and looked at Zen, "I’ll have to trouble you to take these two home."
"Zess is waiting for them outside. She’ll look after Leah and Jake," said Zen, "I’m coming with you to the client meetings, so I don’t have time to take the children back."
"What do you mean you’re also coming to meet the clients?" Wendy frowned in confusion, "I didn’t plan on you coming with me."
Zen was pregnant, and it was becoming obvious to tell. Wendy’s workload was going to be hefty over the next few days. She would have to run around from meeting to meeting. Zen wouldn’t be able to handle the stress. Besides, Zen was Wendy’s personal assistant. There was no need for her to follow Wendy.
Suddenly, Zen’s motives became clear. She was Christian’s woman. That meant that Christian must have sent Zen to monitor her activities. Was Christian afraid that Wendy would not be working in HG’s favor during the client meetings?
Zen fluttered her eyes. She couldn’t meet Wendy’s eyes, so she hung her head instead to avoid Wendy’s gaze. She said, "The CEO instructed me to do so. He told me yesterday to come into the office early today. He told me to meet the clients with you."
Of course.
"But you’re pregnant. How are you going to run around everywhere with me?"
Wendy’s frown deepened as she spoke, "No, I’ll go have a talk with Timothy."
Wendy looked down at the two children, telling them, "Leah, Jake, wait here until Zess comes to pick you up, okay?"
Even though Leah didn’t want to leave, she still nodded her head. Jake was a little more mature. He let go of Wendy’s hands, "Mommy, you go work. Don’t worry about us. We know our way around HG."
These two children had basically grown up in the HG office. All the employees recognized them. Nothing bad could possibly happen. Wendy patted their heads, then took out her phone to give Zess a call. She let Zess know to come and pick up the children from the office.
Wendy and Zen, on the other hand, went to Timothy’s office. They found Timothy sitting at his desk, busily reading something on his computer. He didn’t seem surprised to see Wendy enter. Timothy stood up and pointed to the couch, "Corinne, sit."
Wendy had already guessed what Timothy wanted to talk about based on his demeanor. frёewebηovel.cѳm
"Timothy, did you send Zen to accompany me?" Wendy cut straight to the point.
"Zen is your assistant. She’s also your friend of many years. Isn’t it good that she’s accompanying you in support?" Timothy continued speaking, "I thought that my arrangement would make you happy."
"Did you forget that Zen is pregnant?" Wendy’s face became serious, "How do you expect her to attend to official business in her condition?"
"I was planning on having her meet the two Rheinsville City clients with you. My secretary can accompany you for the remaining client meetings." Timothy said, "Mr.
Shawn has worked for me for many years, and many of the clients know him."
