Chapter 41
“Lester? Hey, Lester” There was Wendy’s voice again, yanking Lester out of his daydream..
He snapped back, giving her an awkward smile. “Sorry, spaced out there. What were you saying?”
“Lester, you’re running on empty. Head home and crash early tonight, Wendy said, squeezing his hand. Even as she smiled, her face was way too pale tie opened his mouth to argue but Wendy cut him off. “Just this once, do me a favor. I’m okay here. Take off already. I’m tried.”
Then she snuggled down, shut her eyes, and faked being asleep. Lester read her like an open book and let out a soft sigh. “Alright, I’m out
But hit me up if you need anything, okay?”
She made a little noise to say she heard him and then clammed up. Lester didn’t stick around and slipped out of the room on tiptoes.
As soon as he was gone, Wendy’s eyes popped open and tears started streaming down. She bit her lip, trying not to make a sound. The last thing she needed was Lester coming back to see her like this. She was freaking out because she knew her sickness was grinding him down. If she hadn’t been sick, Lester would’ve been out there, living it up and doing what he loves most–designing. Seeing Lester so worn out from it all, Wendy’s heart just broke.
Deep down, Wendy wanted to tell Lester about all of this mess. She thought about spilling the beans but then ditched the idea. She couldn’t bear the thought of him blaming himself.
Meanwhile, Thiago trudged back into the office, Whitney still bouncing around his brain. He was so steamed, that he kept wondering why she had guys all around her. “She used to be a good girl, but now… his thoughts trailed off. Then again, he checked himself. They were divorced; she wasn’t his problem.
Thiago slammed his fist on the desk, startling Liam Stafford, Thiago’s assistant who just came in. With a loud sound, the documents in Liam’s hand fell all over the floor.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it,” Liam said. He squatted down, picked up the documents, and put them neatly in front of Thiago. Without saying anything, Thiago looked through the documents and waited for Liam to continue.
“Mr. Mackenzie, these are Edison Lockwood’s leftovers. Sorted and ready,” Liam said, standing at attention. “The proposal he was mapping out is half–baked, and the design’s in your inbox. Take a gander?”
Upon hearing that, Thiago frowned. Edison had been poached before he was in charge of the most important project. The company where Whitney worked just got that project, so it was crystal clear
Thiago felt a little guilty about Whitney and thought that the matter needed further investigation, but now there was clear evidence.
Just minutes ago, Thiago’s mind was full of Whitney. Now, everything had shattered. He thought, “What does she really want? Why does she hate me so much? Is she trying to ruin the Mackenzie family’s company?”
Thiago gritted his teeth angrily, but the next second he smirked. He thought, ‘If Whitney is coming after me, it’s game on. Let’s see who comes out on top in the end.”
“Call Matthew here!” Thiago’s tone was cold and distant.
Liam nodded and went out. He went directly to the design department.
To Liam, no matter how much of a pain Thago could be, he was his savior, and that wasn’t going to change. Liam would always have Thiago’s back, and that drove Liam to work hard.
A few minutes later, Matthew Ingram, the assistant team leader of the design department, came to Thiago’s office.
Chapter 41
› for you?” Matthew asked cautiously. After all, Thiago didn’t look too happy at the moment. Matthew didn‘
“Mr. Mackenzie, what can I do fory want to stir up trouble.
Thiago didn’t speak. He threw a pile of documents in front of Matthew and said, “Take it back. You’re in charge of the design department now The project’s yours to run with”
Matthew picked up the documents obediently and looked at them. His expression stiffened in an instant. He looked worried as he started, “Mr. Mackenzie, this is the project Mr. Lockwood was supposed to do. Now that he’s gone, will he…” He trailed off, but Thiago got the hint.
if Whitney had really snatched away Edison, then Edison must’ve given her all the important designs. So that meant for Thiago and the team, all the work they’d done was pretty much useless.
However, things might not be as they seemed. Now that the project of Indigos Corporation had been taken away by Whitney, if Thiago suspended the project, it would be like admitting defeat. Then, the Mackenzie family would lose its position in the industry and might lose this portion of the market. At that moment, the loss must be unimaginable.
The Mackenzies had made it this far because Thiago worked hard. They all guarded their turf, and Thiago was no different. No way was he going to let this slide.
“Whatever Edison’s done, you’re the boss of this project now. Keep going with your plan. If it flops, we’ll find someone else,” Thiago said, shooing Matthew away with a wave.
Matthew peeked at the papers in his hands, feeling stuck between a rock and a hard place. This project was like a trap. If he did a good job, cool, but if he blew it, he could kiss his job goodbye. Thinking about how tough Thiago was, he ditched the idea of backing out and hustled back to the design team to start a meeting, stat.
At the same time, Thiago called a quick meeting with the board to talk strategy. Sure, some people were down with the plan and others weren’t. But Thiago didn’t let them debate. He was the boss, and he made the call.
We’ve got to make a tough choice,” Thiago said. “If we want to cut our losses and keep a foot in the door, we’ve gotta fight for it. Even if dison took off with our design, we still got half of it, and that gives us a fighting shot. If we can’t work with Indigox anymore, then we go all
n and take them on!”
hose words got everybody pumped up. Maybe it was Thiago’s style–kind of fierce, but it also fired up the troops.
