Chapter 45 Rumors Fly Everywhere
The remark was so blunt that the conference room fell silent all at once.
The man clearly had no intention of letting Daisy off the hook. His next words rattled out like a machine gun.
"Mr. Reed, I remember our company's previous special consultant was Professor Warren, wasn't it?"
Daisy instinctively looked toward Ethan. His expression was serious—he clearly hadn’t expected a shareholder to suddenly attack like this either.
Seeing someone backing him up, the middle-aged man immediately continued, "Professor Warren is an authority in biomedical research. He's published over a hundred papers and led national-level key projects."
"After he retired, this position has been vacant. Now Mr. Reed suddenly announces a new face for this role. We should at least know—what qualifies her?"
"Yeah, this... Ms. Hart? May I ask what your educational background is? What publications have you authored?" Another young man suddenly spoke up.
All eyes focused on Daisy.
Daisy's face felt slightly hot.
Her education, her resume—in front of these people, she really had nothing to show.
After graduating from college, she could have continued with graduate school and a PhD, but she chose marriage and children instead.
For six years, she had no academic achievements.
Once called a genius by her professors, the papers she'd published and awards she'd won were all buried in the dust of time.
Among students, they would have been enough to guarantee her a direct PhD track, but to mention them now would be humiliating.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found she couldn't say anything at all.
Ethan's expression darkened.
"Professor Warren is an authority, I'll grant you that, but Ms. Hart's research direction is exactly the field our company plans to focus on next."
"I've personally reviewed her project, personally evaluated it. The prospects are excellent. That’s more important than any degree or any papers!"
The middle-aged man smiled, his smile full of disdain.
"Mr. Reed, don't you think that sounds rather ridiculous?"
"Last month, the employee the company just fired...oh, Zoey Sullivan. She was also personally hired by you, wasn't she? Indeed, that Ms. Sullivan had a master's degree, came from a prestigious school, had an impressive resume. It was understandable that you brought her in. And the result?"
"She knew nothing, understood nothing, and ended up breaking company equipment worth millions."
"Mr. Reed, we all recognize your research capabilities and business acumen, but your judgment of people really needs improvement. At least that Ms. Sullivan had impressive credentials. As for this one..."
He didn't finish the sentence. There was no need to.
Soon, the shareholders and directors were arguing back and forth, but everyone meant the same thing.
Ms. Hart is so young and beautiful—if you want to do her a favor, want to keep her close as eye candy, fine. Make her your secretary, make her your assistant, whatever.
But technical consultant is the company's public face. You can't get that position just based on looks.
Daisy sat there, her palms sweaty.
Although these people were spreading rumors about her from the start, which disgusted her.
But setting that aside, what they were saying wasn't wrong.
In research circles, there's a hierarchy of contempt—education, publications, credentials, layer upon layer.
Someone like her would only be fit to serve tea and fetch water for the big shots.
But Daisy wasn't willing to accept that.
Her lab had already produced results! This proved she wasn't inferior to anyone.
What's more, over these six years, she'd given up not just her studies, but her dreams and aspirations, even the entire meaning of her life.
Now she'd finally managed to stand up again, finally saw a glimmer of hope—was she going to be knocked back down because of things she couldn't change?
She took a deep breath, about to speak, when Ethan spoke first.
"Enough!"
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried enough authority.
The conference room quieted down.
Ethan looked around, his gaze landing on the people who had been speaking.
"You're right—education, papers, credentials are all important."
"But have you considered that these things matter because they prove a person's ability? But if someone has ability but lacks those things, will you deny them a chance?"
No one spoke.
This viewpoint was too naive. They couldn't even be bothered to refute it.
Ethan continued, "Ms. Hart's undergraduate advisor was the very authority you mentioned, Professor Warren. The papers she published as an undergrad have been cited many times in research circles."
"The experimental protocols she designed are still being used in Professor Warren's lab to this day!"
Another round of whispers filled the conference room.
The middle-aged man's expression changed, but he quickly regained his composure.
"Even if she performed well in college, that was six years ago. Has she improved at all in these six years?"
Daisy's fingers clenched tight.
For six years, she'd been Mrs. Black—glamorous in others' eyes, but also a housewife revolving around family and children.
Though she'd kept up with new research developments in her spare time and improved herself, it was all just theory with no actual results.
But how could she say that out loud? Wouldn't that be slapping Ethan in the face?
Daisy thought for a moment, cleared her throat lightly, and said, "The past is past. Everyone, if you want to know what qualifies me, I'd like to ask you to give me one month."
"One month. I'll use facts to give everyone a satisfactory answer."
Despite the arguments and doubts, Ethan forcefully pushed Daisy into that position.
After the meeting ended, Daisy followed Ethan out of the conference room.
"Ethan, thank you for earlier," she said softly.
Ethan waved his hand. "Thank me for what? I was stating facts."
He paused, looking at her. "But there's one thing I find strange. Usually when I appoint someone, there's never been this much resistance, and they were so insistent that you and I..."
He stopped there and sighed, "This isn't normal, but I'll get to the bottom of it. For now, go complete your onboarding procedures."
"There might be some... gossip coming. Be mentally prepared."
Daisy certainly understood what kind of gossip that would be.
Sure enough, as soon as she walked into the office area, she could feel eyes landing on her.
Those gazes held curiosity, scrutiny, and more often a certain indescribable meaning. She even heard someone whisper:
"...That's her, right? She is pretty good-looking."
"In our line of work, what good are looks? You really expect her to teach you anything? You'll be lucky if you don't have to teach her."
"Who says being pretty isn't an advantage? Isn't that exactly the advantage—she's got our big boss completely smitten."
A round of knowing laughter, and even seeing her come in, they didn't hide their mocking looks.
Daisy heard it but didn't react much.
After that, she ran between the lab and the company, even busier than before.
Especially when the project reached its critical phase, many things required coordination with Ethan.
The rumors became even more outrageous.