Chapter 274

I set down my pen, looked up at Sarah, and said in a flat tone, "Ms. Wilson, the files are in the second folder over there. Take them and leave. Close the door on your way out."

My dismissal was direct and left no room for refusal.

Sarah's smile froze on her face.

She hadn't expected me to be so blunt in front of Ember.

She stood there without moving, instead straightening her back slightly:

"Ms. Brown, I know you may have some personal issues with me, but this is work time, and we're discussing business matters."

"I'm an official member of the project team. I have both the right and the duty to understand the project's progress."

"If you have any complaints about me, we can talk after work. Bringing personal emotions into work and affecting project progress doesn't seem appropriate, does it?"

Sarah's words were airtight. She showed her serious work attitude while hinting that I was mixing personal and professional matters, and left Ember and the others with the impression that I was making things difficult for a new colleague.

Sure enough, Ember and Daniel both looked at me with confusion and disapproval in their eyes.

They didn't know about the bad blood between Sarah and me. They only knew that Sarah was a double-degree graduate recommended by Mr. Smith.

She had even treated the whole company to expensive afternoon tea this morning.

And I seemed to have been especially cold and hostile toward her from the moment she walked in.

Daniel even leaned forward, lowered his voice, and asked with a conciliatory tone, "Ms. Brown, Sarah was late this morning and maybe her attitude was a bit off, but... should we give her a chance? After all, Mr. Smith..."

He didn't finish, but the meaning was clear.

Don't make your personal grudge too obvious. After all, behind Sarah stood George and that five hundred million dollars.

I looked at Sarah's smug expression, then at the subtle awkwardness on Ember and Daniel's faces, my expression calm.

If Sarah wanted to play, I'd play along.

Seeing my silence, Ember started trying to persuade me:

"Ms. Brown, actually Ms. Wilson's technical foundation is pretty solid."

"I heard she participated in that famous online coding marathon . She didn't win first place, but she came in second. She has real skills. Having her on the project could really help. It's a good thing."

She paused, probably feeling her words didn't carry enough weight, and brought up the five hundred million: "Besides, didn't Mr. Smith invest five hundred million in our project? That's the good fortune Sarah brought us."

"Shouldn't we be a bit more grateful and not be so..."

The word "grateful" coming from her mouth felt light and airy, yet it cut into my heart like a dull knife.

Grateful?

Grateful that she brought George's money to run wild on my turf, to steal my project, to trample my dignity?

Another usually quiet engineer nearby muttered softly, "Yeah, Ms. Brown, work comes first. Let go of personal grudges if you can. Sarah's attitude just now seemed pretty sincere."

I hadn't expected Sarah's tactics to be so clever.

Just an expensive afternoon tea, a few half-true complaints, and a statement were enough to easily sway, even buy off, these colleagues who had previously criticized her.

They couldn't see her deliberate provocations. They only saw the five hundred million investment she brought, heard about her impressive credentials, and tasted the expensive treats she shared.

Fair-weather friends—they blow whichever way the wind blows.

I slowly set down my pen, leaned back in my chair, and let my gaze sweep slowly across Ember, then those colleagues showing agreement or hesitation. A cold smile curved my lips.

"Ember, Daniel," my voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unquestionable hardness, "I let her join the project team because I wanted her to work properly. But work attitude isn't shown through words or bought with a few pastries."

"You all saw her performance this morning—late, unreachable, showing up halfway through the meeting. Is this the attitude one should have toward work and the team?"

I looked at their slightly changing expressions and continued, "As for letting her access core business, she hasn't even figured out the basic project documentation structure yet, can't even take complete meeting notes. Why would I let her touch those key modules? If something goes wrong, who's responsible? You, Ember?"

Ember's face stiffened at my question. She opened her mouth but said nothing.

"I am the project leader." I stood up, looking sharply at everyone present, and said clearly, "My responsibility is to ensure the project moves forward smoothly and is completed with quality. I'm not here to manage relationships for you or anyone else, or to play peacemaker."

My tone grew heavier, carrying an unmistakable warning. "If you think following her around doing grunt work is beneath you and wastes your professional talents, that's fine."

"I don't need so many wishy-washy, unprincipled fair-weather friends on my team."

Fair-weather friends—I said it heavily, like a slap across the faces of those who had just been speaking up for Sarah.

The office fell dead silent. You could hear a pin drop.

Ember and the others looked terrible, heads down, not daring to meet my eyes.

My words were harsh, even somewhat unreasonable.

But I knew that in this team, especially with someone as shameless as Sarah already mixed in, I had to establish rules and make my position clear.

Otherwise, once people's hearts scattered, the team would truly be impossible to lead.

Someone probably felt too embarrassed or genuinely thought I'd gone too far, and went to complain to William privately.

But William's attitude was even tougher than I'd imagined.

Emily told me later that William called those complainers into his office and gave them a cold dressing-down.

"Ms. Brown is leading the project. Personnel arrangements and task assignments are her call."

"Just do your own jobs. Stop gossiping behind people's backs, and don't let certain people sway your thinking with a few words."

"Star Tech doesn't need that five hundred million investment, and we certainly don't need a top student who only knows how to play tricks. Anyone who feels wronged and doesn't want to work here can submit their resignation now."

William's words were firm and final, completely shutting those people up.

Emily also took the opportunity to tease those still sympathizing with Sarah. "You're all just too naive. Can't you see clearly who's really looking out for the project and for you? Don't you have any sense?"

Under William and Emily's strong suppression, the office opinion quietly shifted again.

Those who had previously sympathized with Sarah and even spoken up for her began carefully flattering me, testing my attitude.

But I was too tired to care about any of this.

I clearly distributed the next tasks to everyone, including Sarah's portion.

Organize all industry research reports related to the project from the past three years, and create summaries and keyword indexes. Due by close of business Friday.

The workload wasn't small, but it was all basic information sorting—no technical content whatsoever, and no need to access any core data or code.

Basically, a glorified file clerk.

After assigning the tasks, I didn't look at anyone else and left the main office directly.

Later Emily told me on the phone, fuming, that right after I left, Sarah's eyes turned red again in the common area, in front of several colleagues comforting her.

She sobbed. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault. I've caused trouble for everyone. I really just wanted to help. I didn't expect Ms. Brown to be so petty and put everyone in a difficult position. I'm sorry..."

With this crying act, those colleagues who had already been scolded by William and were holding in their frustration felt even more that Sarah was pitiful and innocent, while William and I were unreasonable.

Although they didn't dare say anything openly, their private resentment and sympathy for Sarah probably only grew stronger.