Luca followed Mo's lead and walked into the conference room.
There were already two professors waiting in the conference room.
When they saw Luca walk in, the two professors said one after another, “Dr. Craw, you're here. It's been too long."
"Long time no see, Professors." After receiving the warm welcome from the two professors, Luca knew what was
going on.
It seemed that the rumors from T Corporation had reached this side as well.
The two companies were not deeply associated, but somehow, gossip still managed to find its way here. Luca had
resigned herself to it.
"Yes, it's been a long time. Have a seat." Dr. Linwood looked at Luca and thought that since she was close with Luke,
he should not offend her.
After seeing how attentive Dr. Linwood was, Dr. Jackson was unwilling to fall behind. He asked Mo, "When will the
other professors and general manager arrive? They should know that Dr. Craw's time is very precious."
"Everyone, please wait a moment. I'll go inform them again." Mo could not do anything but watch as the two
professors fawned over Luca with their flattery.
This was reality.
Besides, Luca shared that kind of relationship with Luke. If they got closer to Luca, they might even be able to get
more research funds in the future, which would make their research a whole lot easier.
"Be quick. We promised to meet at 3:30. Look at the time now!" said Dr. Linwood with a look of disappointment. He
then smiled at Luca and said, "Dr. Craw, would you like some coffee? Let my assistant make you a cup."
"No, thank you." As always, Luca chose to keep a low profile, so she picked a corner seat and sat down. She opened
her laptop, and just then, a thought occurred to her. She asked the two professors, "By the way, what's the agenda
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtfor this meeting?"
"Did Ms. Stone not tell you? How careless of her," said Dr. Linwood as he frowned.
"She did tell me, but the new quarter isn't here yet. Why is the manager in such a rush?" said Luca. The new
quarter would only arrive after the new year, but the new year was still a month away.
"It's all because of Dr. Albus. The company had planned to use his research as the first revenue. Now that the plan
has fallen through, the manager must've called for this meeting to have us speed up the research progress to
quickly increase the company's sales," Dr. Linwood explained to her.
Luca nodded her head, indicating she understood.
That was her guess too.
“But our research is nowhere near completion..." Dr. Linwood looked at her and added, “Dr. Craw, your research
made the most progress at first. How is it going now?"
"There were some data errors some time ago, but we've found the problem and we're speeding up the research so
that it can enter the market," Luca replied without holding anything back.
"I see. Then your drug can be marketed soon." Dr. Linwood heaved a sigh of relief. It was good for her to take the
lead. That way, their research would have a chance to take a breather.
"If everything goes as planned, you're right." Luca heard footsteps and glanced up at the door.
Several professors and managers walked in at the same time.
The general manager did not give them a chance to exchange pleasantries and dived straight into the topic. "Since
all the professors have arrived, let's begin the meeting."
The conference room was pin-drop silent as everyone waited for the manager to speak.
"Mr. Crawford has sent out the news of the press release yesterday and terminated Dr. Albus' contract. Later on,
Dr. Albus will be held accountable for this incident. So, to all the professors here, if Dr. Albus had said or done
anything to you, you can tell me. In case something happens in the future, all of you will need to bear the
responsibility and consequences," the general manager hinted.
Although Dr. Albus was the main professor in charge of that project, it would still require a great deal of effort to
single-handedly betray the research.
Therefore, the general manager believed that someone among them had sided with Dr. Albus for their benefit.
After hearing what the general manager had to say, one of the professors said unhappily, "What do you mean by
that?"
"I'm not trying to offend anyone. I'm just following the orders from above and conveying the message to everyone,"
explained the general manager.
Luca frowned as she listened to the general manager's words.
There was no way that was what Luke meant.
Jason would not carelessly convey messages either, so it was either this manager was lying, or someone was
putting words into Luke's mouth.
Dr. Linwood was also upset. "Dr. Albus' project encountered some problems at the beginning and several professors
got involved. When things went south, we cooperated with the investigation as well. It's been proven that we have
nothing to do with this. But are you saying that you're suspecting us?"
The general manager looked at Dr. Linwood with a stern face. "That's not what I'm saying. It's just that all of you
were involved in the project at some point, so I just want to give you all a reminder."
"That means you're suspecting us. General Manager, you're not a research professor. You have no idea how
complicated science is. Even if we had helped Dr. Albus, the data we saw would only be the tip of the iceberg.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmBetray the research? Who in the world would want that bit of data? Plus, we never even came close to the key
data. Next time, think before you make slanderous accusations!" Dr. Linwood said coldly. Excluding the former
manager, Dr. Cole, and Dr. Albus, Dr. Linwood had the highest seniority among them.
He was angry and for good reason.
Luca watched everything in silence. If this went on, she was afraid that they were going to quarrel even before they
had officially touched on the meeting agenda.
The general manager frowned. He was not afraid of causing trouble. After all, he did not work in the laboratory but
was in charge of managing the whole company. "That's not what I meant. I was just conveying the orders from
above. Plus, if you say that you didn't do anything wrong, then so be it. With the way you're acting right now, Dr.
Linwood, it makes me think that you're guilty."
"Mr. Crawford would never convey such orders. General Manager, did you misinterpret his message? Moreover, Mr.
Crawford's people would take the initiative to look into whether anyone has done anything wrong. I suppose the
focus of this meeting is not about Dr. Albus, is it?" Luca could not keep quiet any longer. If she let the general
manager continue talking, Luke would lose all his credibility.
The general manager was stunned. He dared not utter a word after he thought about Luca and Luke's relationship.
He had no choice but to say, "Perhaps I misunderstood the boss' meaning..."
Luca remained silent.
"Let's move on, then. We'll officially start the meeting and discuss the upcoming development goals of the
company," said the general manager.
Luca did not say anything and watched everything with a blank expression.
If the general manager had not used Luke's name to put pressure on these old professors, she would not have
spoken up.
It was important to know that these old professors were very important to Watson.