Chapter 122
I felt a bit embarrassed by Emily's praise, "You're exaggerating. You're practically putting me on a pedestal. If I fall down one day, it's going to hurt."
Emily immediately protested, "You won't fall down. You're naturally meant to stand at the top and shine. The rest of us just need to applaud and cheer for you from below."
We were teasing each other when William walked over expressionlessly and stopped beside my desk.
When Emily saw William's face, her smile faded and she asked with some concern, "William, what's wrong? Did something happen?"
William glanced at her, his tone flat, "Nothing. I just have some work matters to discuss with Grace."
He turned to me, "Come to my office."
Emily still looked worried, questioning me with her eyes.
I gave her a reassuring smile and said quietly, "It's fine, I'll be right back."
I followed William into his office. He closed the door and pointed to the sofa, "Sit."
I sat down as instructed, feeling a bit nervous, wondering what tricky matter could make William look so serious.
William picked up a folder from his desk and handed it to me, "Here's the situation. We have a project with a technical module that needs coordination and data debugging with Sarah's company."
My heart skipped a beat for no reason, but I kept my face calm and reached out to take the folder.
William watched my expression and continued, "This technical issue isn't particularly complex, but it requires on-site coordination. I originally wanted to send Ember or Daniel, but they're both at critical stages with their own projects and can't get away, so..."
He paused, his tone clearly careful and apologetic, "This task might have to trouble you to make the trip. However, Grace, if you feel uncomfortable or uneasy about it, I can try to make other arrangements, or I can go myself."
I opened the folder. Inside were the basic project details, technical difficulties, and preliminary procedures for coordinating with Bright Light Tech. I quickly scanned through it, my fingertips sliding across the pages with a soft rustling sound.
The initial ripple in my heart quickly settled after I understood the work content.
I closed the folder, looked up at William, and said calmly, "Mr. Jones, this is work. It's not the time for me to be emotional. Who the other party is doesn't matter. Solving problems and advancing the project is what's important. Of course I can go."
William seemed relieved, but his brow didn't completely relax.
His tone carried obvious concern, "Do you need me to go with you? I have a dinner with government officials this afternoon, but I can cancel it."
I immediately shook my head, my expression serious, "No way. The government dinner is very important. It relates to more project opportunities for us later. You must go, and you need to perform well to secure more cooperation. I can handle things here, don't worry."
I understood William's concerns.
He was afraid that if I faced Sarah alone, I'd be wronged or given a hard time.
"But..." William hesitated, finally saying it out loud, "Sarah will very likely be there. I'm afraid she might..."
"It's fine." I interrupted him, my voice steady. "William, facing Sarah now isn't like it used to be for me."
"Because I've accepted reality. I've completely and clearly recognized that some people, some relationships, were wrong from the start. They can't be forced, and they're not worth suffering over. When your heart dies and you wake up, naturally you won't be easily hurt anymore."
William looked at me quietly for a few seconds, as if confirming the truth in my words.
Finally, he nodded, his tense expression easing somewhat, "Alright then, but I'm still not comfortable with you going alone. Take Emily with you. She's got fighting spirit and can at least help you deflect unnecessary gossip."
I couldn't help but smile, "Okay, I'll listen to you."
When Emily heard I was going to Sarah's company for work coordination, she rolled up her sleeves, "I want to see just how impressive that bitch's company is."
I laughed and pulled her back, "Emily, we're going to work, to solve problems, not to fight. Relax a bit, smile more."
Only then did Emily reluctantly tone down her aggression, muttering, "Fine, I'll give you face. But if she dares bully you, I won't hold back!"
On the way, I reminded Emily a few more times to try to restrain herself and not start conflicts.
When we arrived at Bright Light Tech, we were received by the project manager and several technical team members.
Unexpectedly, Sarah herself wasn't there.
I breathed a small sigh of relief. This was better—we could handle the work purely and avoid unnecessary emotional drain.
The coordination process went more smoothly than expected.
The technical problems they raised weren't really that complex, but involved some compatibility issues with underlying data and interface optimization.
I carefully examined their code structure and data flow, and quickly found the root of the problem.
Without unnecessary small talk, I sat down directly at their computer, my fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard, modifying several parameters and optimizing a data processing logic.
The whole process took less than twenty minutes.
"Okay, that should do it. Run the test process again and see." I stood up and moved aside.
The project manager and technicians looked at each other, their faces showing skepticism.
After all, their team had struggled with this problem for half a month without solving it, and I was saying it was fixed so quickly?
Several people crowded around the computer screen and restarted the test program.
The data stream began rolling, indicator lights lit up one by one, and the curves on the monitoring charts ran smoothly without any errors or lag.
"It actually works?" a young technician couldn't help exclaiming.
"More than just works—look at this processing speed, it's at least fifteen percent faster than our previous version." Another more senior engineer pointed at the data on the screen, his tone full of surprise and admiration.
The project manager also smiled and extended his hand to me, "Ms. Brown, your reputation is well-deserved. Thank you so much for solving our big problem so quickly!"
Other team members also gathered around, expressing their thanks and praise.
"Ms. Brown is amazing."
"Is this Star Tech's technical capability? Impressive!"
"Watching Ms. Brown work just now was like watching flowing water—clearly a master."
Emily, standing nearby, lifted her chin high, proudly chiming in, "Of course. When our Ms. Brown personally takes action, you should count yourselves lucky. Her technical skills were personally recognized and praised by Dr. Owens from the Aviation Administration."
"Aviation Administration?" Now the people around looked even more shocked, their gazes at me carrying a bit more awe.
Someone whispered, "I thought it was just regular technical support sent by Star Tech. I didn't expect Ms. Brown to come personally, and with such impressive skills..."
I didn't refute the high praise Emily gave me.
I knew this was just her personality—she liked protecting her friends and showing off the best in them.
Since she was happy and it was harmless, I let her be.
I wore a proper smile on my face and responded modestly a few times.
With the problem solved and pleasantries exchanged, Emily and I prepared to leave. Just as we reached the reception area door, we ran into an unwelcome visitor—Terry.
He clearly hadn't expected to run into me here either. His expression froze for a moment, then that familiar mocking look crept back onto his face, "Well, well, who do we have here making such a big show? Ms. Brown?"
"Grace, does Mr. Jones know that you're out here coordinating work while also showing off and spreading lies about the company's reputation?"
Emily stepped forward and shot back without hesitation, "Mind your own business, Terry. Which ear heard us spreading lies? Our Ms. Brown's technical skills were recognized by the Aviation Administration. The contract is almost signed. You're just ignorant, so stop being jealous here."
Emily's fiery temper was well-known. Terry had clearly suffered at her hands before. When she yelled at him like this, his momentum immediately weakened by a third. His face showed embarrassment, but he refused to admit defeat.
He looked me up and down, his eyes full of malicious speculation and contempt, "Grace, I wondered how you could stay at Star Tech and even get the title of technical lead. Turns out it's just that pretty face of yours that's useful—able to hook a man like William, make him obey you and back you up, right?"
His words were extremely vulgar, not only insulting me but dragging William down too.
The air around us instantly froze.
The Bright Light Tech technicians all looked embarrassed and quietly stepped back.
My previously calm mood was completely stirred up by his remark.
But this time, I didn't feel embarrassed or too angry to speak.
I stopped, slowly turned around, faced Terry directly, and said mockingly, "I'm not as capable as you—being such a dedicated backup, running errands for Sarah, doing whatever Sarah tells you to do."
"I could never learn your skill at serving people."