Chapter 6

After seeing Shirley off, William returned to his office.

He knew exactly why Shirley had come this time.

She made her grand entrance, and he escorted her publicly. The claim of ownership had been staked, and her objective was achieved exactly as intended.

Besides, Shirley was a smart woman who used reasonable excuses to downplay her scheming.

For a woman, this kind of calculation was not only harmless, but even made her seem somewhat adorable.

But William wasn't an ordinary man, and he remained entirely unmoved.

In the afternoon, Jack came in to brief William on the latest moves of other investors in the industry.

After the briefing, as Jack was about to leave, William suddenly called him back.

"How are things at the R&D center?" William asked.

Jack didn't catch on at first, "Everything's normal..."

Mid-sentence, the realization finally dawned on Jack what William really wanted to know.

He quickly said, "Wendy and her team have adapted very quickly. The project collaboration is already on track, and efficiency is higher than expected."

William nodded, "Send me the documents she's handled for my review."

Jack's heart stirred, and he carefully probed, "Ms. Moore is indeed a rare talent. Not only is she technically skilled, but her overall capabilities are also very strong. Mr. Ford, are you thinking of recruiting her?"

For a tech leader like the Ford Group, general staff are easily replaceable. What's truly scarce is top-tier technical talent.

When William took over the company, R&D team management was chaotic, and few core employees could shoulder the important responsibilities.

He later invested aggressively in headhunting top-tier technical talent at high salaries, gradually optimizing the Ford Group's R&D team to its current world-class level.

Faced with promising talent like Wendy, Jack thought it was quite normal for William to value her.

"Call her to tomorrow's meeting too." William didn't answer Jack's question, only issued a new order.

The next day, William sat in the conference room, watching as everyone arrived, but Wendy didn't come.

He frowned slightly and looked at Jack.

Jack went out to make a call, then hurried back to explain, "Today is the day Fred's group is testing the new model, and he called Wendy over."

Fred Brown was an important figure in the Ford Group's R&D team, with a rebellious personality who dared to oppose even William's decisions.

Such a person was naturally extremely proud.

In William's impression, the number of people Fred was willing to treat politely in the entire Ford Group probably didn't exceed five.

And that didn't even include him.

What did Fred call Wendy over for?

Jack thought William's silence meant displeasure, and quickly said, "There's another regular meeting on Friday evening. I'll call Ms. Moore over then. She probably didn't come this time because she felt awkward refusing Fred."

William said nothing more, and the meeting proceeded as usual.

Friday night, William looked at the packed conference room, his brow furrowing once again.

Wendy didn't come again!

Jack also knew something was off and immediately called the R&D center to inquire.

When he returned, he explained to William, "Ms. Moore just said that the high-temperature warning system for the sensor module is showing unstable feedback. To avoid affecting next week's schedule, she needs to handle this problem right away."

William raised an eyebrow.

So?

So she stood him up again?

Wasn't his request as important as the feedback data?

Jack watched William's expression, a cold sweat nearly breaking out on his forehead.

Wendy was the first person he'd ever encountered who dared to ignore William's orders twice.

He even suspected whether Wendy was doing it on purpose.

After all, the last time Fred was testing the new model, that was Fred's group's task and didn't have much to do with her.

Even though Fred was a big shot in the Ford Group's R&D center, she was from an external collaboration team, and finding an excuse not to go would have been simple.

But between Fred and William, she actually chose Fred.

And this time, between the feedback data and William, she chose the feedback data!

The meeting start time arrived.

William finished the meeting with a normal expression, then stood up.

Jack followed, watching as William headed toward the R&D center.

"Mr. Ford, Ms. Moore probably didn't mean it. She might just want to complete her work tasks properly." Jack's brain spun rapidly, trying to find excuses for Wendy.

"Did I say she did it on purpose?" William said coolly.

Jack was momentarily speechless.

"See? Even you can tell she did it on purpose." William let out a cold laugh.

Jack hadn't expected his good intentions to backfire.

He thought, 'Ms. Moore, you're on your own!'

The two arrived at the door of a laboratory in the R&D center.

They could hear Wendy's voice inside, talking with others.

"You guys go ahead. I'll work overtime. This problem will be solved by tomorrow." Wendy, in a lab coat, didn't look at the others; her eyes were fixed on the equipment.

"Wendy, let me stay and keep you company."

"No need. I can watch it by myself. You staying won't help the experiment anyway."

"But I want to keep you company!" the female colleague said, sounding hurt.

"We'll be even busier next week. You'll have plenty of time to keep me company then." Wendy smiled, "Alright, everyone, go home."

Jack stood at the door, listening intently, when he turned his head and saw that William had suddenly disappeared.

At the same time, members of Wendy's team were walking toward the door and soon spotted Jack.

Before anyone could ask questions, Jack quickly said, "I'm looking for Fred. Where is he?"

"He left work ages ago..."

"Okay, I'll be going then." Jack hurried off.

He thought, 'Mr. Ford, you could have told me you were leaving!'

Monday.

After clocking out, Jack stretched and was about to pack up and leave the company when his phone buzzed.

Shirley sent a message: [Has Mr. Ford been busy lately? Does he have any free time this week?]

Naturally, Jack didn't dare make any decisions on William's behalf.

Jack: [Pretty busy. I'll ask Mr. Ford for you. If he has free time, he'll contact you directly.]

Shirley: [My sister has been at the Ford Group for several days now. How's the collaboration going? She hasn't caused any trouble, has she?]

Jack found this a bit strange.

He thought, 'Wendy is your sister. Why don't you just ask her directly?'

But naturally, he wouldn't say that. After thinking for a moment, he replied: [The collaboration is going very smoothly. Mr. Ford is also very satisfied with her work performance!]

Her work performance was certainly satisfactory, but as for other aspects of her performance... Jack didn't dare think too deeply about it.

Upon reading the message, Shirley's eyes darkened message, Shirley's eyes darkened.

Very satisfied? How satisfied?

Shirley took a deep breath.

No, things were progressing too slowly between her and William!

Wendy and William worked at the same company the same company, and Wendy was a key member of the technical team. If William continued to appreciate her, sparks of romance might fly between them.

She had to act if she wanted to get closer to William.