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 wee 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 twopanies 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 ttery.
This was reality.
Besides, Luca shared that kind of rtionship 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 herptop, and just then, a thought urred to her. She asked the two professors,
"By the way, what''s the agenda for 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. Thepany had nned to use his research as the first revenue. Now
that the n has fallen through, the manager must''ve called for this meeting to have us speed up the
research progress to quickly increase thepany''s sales," Dr. Linwood exined to her.
Luca nodded her head, indicating she understood.
That was her guess too.
“But our research is nowhere nearpletion..." 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 nned, you''re right." Luca heard footsteps and nced 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."
This belongs ? N?velDra/ma.Org.
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 ountable 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," exined 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 howplicated science is. Even if we had helped Dr. Albus, the data we saw would only be the
tip of the iceberg. Betray 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 nderous usations!" 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 wholepany. "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
rtionship.
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 uing development goals of
thepany," said the general manager.
Luca did not say anything and watched everything with a nk 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.