President Holloway’s voice echoed clearly in Tanya Sinclair’s ears. Her expression remained unchanged, but her thoughts were already racing. To hate her enough to blackball her, and have the ability to do so... Tanya couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. Vincent Hawthorne is shameless enough to go this far to vent Cindy Lynn’s frustrations! Belinda glanced at Tanya and spoke solemnly, reminding President Holloway across the table: "President Holloway, you should know that the current president of Westgard Pharmaceuticals is President Pierce. Blackballing Tanya Sinclair means planning to go against The Pierce Family?" The weight of those two words, The Pierce Family, was self-evident. Unexpectedly, President Holloway on the other side chuckled twice. "Manager Belinda, there’s no need to scare me with The Pierce Family. Not to mention the awkwardness of your President Pierce’s position within The Pierce Family, Westgard Pharmaceuticals is insignificant to them. Moreover, Tanya Sinclair is merely a project lead and not The Pierce Family’s heir." Initially, he was worried Tanya might have some personal ties with Second Young Master Pierce, but upon investigation, Tanya was found to be married, and to none other than Zenith Group’s President Hawthorne’s wife. It is reported that this Mrs. Hawthorne holds a position in The Hawthorne Family that is hardly better than a housekeeper. Thıs content belongs to 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍 The person stepping forward this time to blackball her is none other than President Hawthorne’s good friend of over ten years, Rhys Lucas, who is The Lucas Family’s only heir! Is there really a choice on whom not to offend? "President Holloway..." Belinda furrowed her brows, wanting to say more. "Oh, Manager Belinda, I have a meeting now, let’s leave it at that." The person across wrapped up and impatiently hung up. Belinda took a light breath and looked up, not at Tanya, but at a colleague from the procurement department, "You go ahead and contact our previous overseas suppliers." The procurement colleague showed a look of discomfort at the words, reminding: "Manager Belinda, if we have to re-order from overseas, it will take at least three weeks to arrive, which will delay the project’s timeline." "Manager Belinda." Tanya spoke, "Let me handle the procurement for this round of experimental materials. I’ll ensure it arrives within the week." Belinda didn’t immediately respond, and instead asked the procurement colleague to step out. Once the office door shut, leaving only her and Tanya alone. She looked at Tanya and advised her in a seasoned tone: "Ms. Sinclair, this isn’t the time to show off. If the experimental materials don’t arrive by this week, it’ll be hard to establish authority within the project group in the future." In the workplace, establishing authority and losing one’s credibility often happens right at the beginning. Tanya knows Belinda means well. "I understand, since they’re targeting me, I’ll resolve it well. Besides, this project holds great significance for me, I don’t want delays." Seeing Tanya’s resolve, Belinda offered no further persuasion. "Alright, then I’ll await your good news." "Manager Belinda, please refrain from reporting this matter for the time being," Tanya requested. She had promised Declan Pierce that personal matters would never affect her work. Moreover, during university, Declan had disapproved of her relationship with Vincent Hawthorne, and now if Declan were to find out that work was delayed due to her issues with Vincent. Given Declan’s temperament, he might just fire her in a flash! Belinda: "As long as the experimental materials arrive within the stipulated time, I will not report it." "Thank you." Tanya stood up, "If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back to work first." "Ms. Sinclair." As Tanya reached the door, she heard Belinda’s voice from behind. Tanya paused and turned back. Belinda: "About today’s incident in the break room at noon. Thank you." Tanya was slightly taken aback, then smiled and said, "If I had arrived a few days earlier, I’d have splashed him sooner." After Tanya left, Belinda made a call to the procurement colleague from earlier. "Go ahead and place the overseas order... if the experimental materials aren’t needed for this project, we’ll use them for the next." Out of personal fondness, she certainly wanted to trust Tanya, but as the manager of the research center, she also needed a backup plan for the project’s considerations. Tanya returned to her office and took out her phone, seeing a message pop up first. It was sent by Janne Hayes. Janne Hayes: [Ms. Sinclair, have you arrived at the company?] The time stamp was from ten minutes ago. Tanya felt flattered; Janne was actually quite thoughtful to specifically send her a message asking her. Out of politeness, Tanya naturally replied immediately: [I’ve arrived, thank you, Special Assistant Hayes, for your concern.] Janne Hayes replied in seconds: [Okay.] Followed by a friendly and kind smiley face. Tanya didn’t reply after that; she opened WeChat, intending to message the recently added Sam Sawyer. She wanted to contact Ethan Carter, Professor Carter. No matter how influential Vincent Hawthorne’s reach is, he can’t meddle at the national level. Professor Carter was planning to engage in deep collaboration with her, she might as well go thick-skinned and take the chance. However, before Tanya could send her message, a friend request popped up first. The avatar was Ethan Carter, Professor Carter himself. Tanya was momentarily surprised but naturally accepted the friend request immediately. Tanya: [Hello, Professor Carter.] Ethan Carter: [Hello.] Along with a smile to show friendliness. Also quite fitting for their age. Tanya: [Professor, is it convenient to talk now?] As soon as the message was sent, Ethan Carter’s voice call came through. Tanya answered promptly. Ethan Carter: "Ms. Sinclair, I’ve heard a lot about you." Tanya humbly replied: "You are too kind, Professor Carter, it’s me who has long admired you." Ethan Carter laughed heartily: "Then you must come to provide assistance for my Veridia Project!" Tanya: "If there’s anywhere I can be utilized, just let me know. To serve the country is my honor." Capable, humble, and understands the bigger picture. Ethan Carter became even more fond of Tanya Sinclair. Tsk, why isn’t she his apprentice? "Tanya." Ethan Carter spoke directly, "You wanted to talk, I guess it’s not just to chat with an old man like me, right? Is there something else you want to discuss?" Since Professor Carter was so straightforward, Tanya Sinclair wasn’t one to beat around the bush either. She got straight to the point: "Professor Carter, I have an audacious request. I currently need some experimental materials, would it be convenient to borrow some from your lab?" Ethan Carter agreed immediately: "No problem, just tell me how much you need, and I’ll have it sent to you tomorrow." As a national project manager, he had plenty of those experimental materials at his disposal. Tanya quickly said, "No need to trouble you, I can pick them up myself." "That works too." Ethan Carter had his own calculations, "It’d be great if you come by tomorrow, have lunch with me!" Anyway, Preston Truman didn’t want this student anymore, so it wouldn’t be considered stealing her away if he tried to recruit her. "Okay, Professor Carter." Having settled things with Ethan Carter, Tanya Sinclair felt relieved. She was about to share the news with Belinda when she received a call from the finance department. "Ms. Sinclair, the bank card under your name has been lost and frozen. We can’t deposit the three hundred thousand down payment." "Lost? How could that be, I just..." Tanya Sinclair just found the card in her bag and suddenly stopped, realizing it was definitely Vincent Hawthorne! They hadn’t officially ended their marriage, so he had the authority to report her card lost as a spouse. And Vincent Hawthorne being the bank’s top-level client, if he wanted to freeze her card, the bank wouldn’t question him! Tanya Sinclair closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her hand holding the card trembling. Blocking and freezing the card... Fifteen years of history meant nothing to Vincent Hawthorne! He really intended to drive her to despair! Tanya Sinclair struggled to remain calm and said to the finance department: "Sorry, there’s a slight issue on my end. I’ll communicate with the bank as soon as possible." After hanging up, Tanya called the bank to cancel the cancellation, but the gap between her and Vincent Hawthorne’s status was too wide. The bank kept giving excuses, saying the process was complicated. Essentially, they didn’t want to offend Vincent Hawthorne for her! Tanya Sinclair had to remove Vincent Hawthorne from her blacklist, suppress her anger, and called him. At this moment, Vincent Hawthorne was in a high-level meeting room. The phone on the table started vibrating suddenly. He initially planned to ignore it, but upon seeing the caller ID [Mrs. Hawthorne], Vincent Hawthorne immediately sat up straight, picked up the phone with one hand, and slightly raised the other to signal the reporting manager to pause. "Let’s take a ten-minute break, I need to take an important call." After saying that, Vincent walked out, closed the door, and answered the call. He chuckled coldly, "What? Realized your mistake?" Freezing the card really was the most effective tactic. If he didn’t teach Tanya a lesson, she’d really think she could stir up trouble with her little skills! Seven years ago Tanya Sinclair was indeed the celebrated genius, but now, time waits for no one, and a fallen genius isn’t worth much. There was heavy breathing on the other end, Tanya tried to maintain a steady voice, asking him, "... So it was you?" Vincent made his way to the break room, pouring himself a glass of water. He sipped the water slowly to soothe his throat. "Mrs. Hawthorne, this farce should end. Come home tonight and properly explain your relationship with Janne and Julian, as well as your whereabouts these past days." "Also, formally apologize to Cindy Lynn. The issues you’ve caused recently, for the sake of our kids and our many years together, I might let them slide." Listening to Vincent Hawthorne’s self-righteous tone. Tanya Sinclair was amused by his shamelessness and stupidity. Her laugh, filled with coldness and sarcasm, made Vincent Hawthorne frown deeply. Tanya calmly told him, "Vincent, there’s a total of 1.03 million in my account..." Vincent scoffed, "So? Want me to give you more pocket money when you come home?" "How much do you think it’ll cost to manage the scandal of your affair with Cindy Lynn?" Tanya feigned curiosity, "Probably more than dealing with the video of you beating someone at the bar last night?" Vincent’s expression changed slightly, he asked coldly, "Tanya, what do you mean?" Tanya smiled and said, "President Hawthorne, considering my market annual salary and equity bonus, my due wages from Zenith Group during those two years, for the sake of our kids, I’ll give you a discount, six million." "I hope by tomorrow morning, after my card is unfrozen, the public account transfer is there." Tanya hung up the call directly. When Vincent called again, she cut the call and put him back on the blacklist. Considering Silas Hawthorne’s uncontrollable flamboyant nature, the photos and chat records of Vincent and Cindy Lynn would be all over the internet by tonight at the latest. Tanya could almost envision the chaos. Eventually, her current status as Mrs. Hawthorne would seal it... Tsk, by then Vincent might be punished by Father Hawthorne’s family traditions. Tanya sent a message to Belinda, informing her that the experimental materials would arrive tomorrow. Then she continued working, staying busy until it was time to leave. Tanya packed her things and left, bringing some work home to do. She could have stayed late at the office, but if the project manager stayed, the rest of the staff wouldn’t dare to leave either. Tanya, holding the materials, just stepped out of the company’s main doors when she heard a familiar voice. Tanya turned to see Julian Poole approaching. She noticed he had changed into another outfit, a business-casual suit, giving him more of an elite vibe than in the morning. "Julian, what are you doing here?" "Oh, I live across the street, so I came to this convenience store to buy some stuff." Julian pointed to the convenience store next to the company, holding some snacks. Tanya responded, "... But isn’t there a convenience store at the entrance to the neighborhood?" puzzled