Chapter 18 The Importance of Olivia
Michael couldn't stand seeing her look so pitiful, so he immediately pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.
He gently reassured her, "Why are you apologizing to her? The system issues are her fault. You've only been in this position for a few days—how can anyone blame you?
Don't beat yourself up over the lost clients! You've done a great job these past few days. Wipe your tears, and I'll take you out for a meal.
Afterward, we'll head back to Emerald City. I'll make sure Olivia takes responsibility for this!"
"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Sophia's goal was achieved, and she felt secretly pleased, though she maintained her understanding demeanor.
She pretended to plead, "Michael, please don't blame Olivia. It's my return that's untimely. If she had more time, maybe she wouldn't have had such a hard time with this, and things wouldn't be like this now. It's all my fault."
"I said it's not your fault. Stop saying things like that." Michael patiently comforted her again.
After Sophia wiped her tears, he stood up and gallantly pulled out her chair. "What do you want to eat? I'll take you!"
Sophia's mood improved, and she said, "Anything's fine. I'm not picky. As long as I'm eating with you, it's all good."
Michael smiled, "I'll have Robert Davis book the restaurant and the plane tickets."
Sophia nodded and walked out of the café with him.
Since Michael was on the phone, he missed the fleeting cunning look in her eyes.
What he didn't know was that the client's loss had little to do with Olivia.
In fact, after Olivia completed the handover, Sophia realized that the research department wasn't as bad as she had imagined.
The medical system developed by Olivia's team was on par with some top international companies.
In some aspects, it was even superior.
Therefore, when submitting the data, the system encountered a bug, and Sophia failed to fix it in time.
Of course, Sophia wouldn't admit this.
She was actually quite annoyed.
Earlier, Jasper Howard had said, "Why replace Ms. Smith from the Johnson Group? She's been working with us for so long without any errors. How come there's a bug as soon as it falls into your hands, causing such a big problem?
Mr. Johnson made a huge mistake in hiring you!"
This wasn't the first time Sophia had heard such words.
In the past few days, other clients had also experienced various issues.
Although they were eventually resolved, they still led to dissatisfaction.
Those clients called, questioning, "Where's Ms. Smith? Why isn't she handling this? She would have fixed it quickly!"
Sophia hadn't expected Olivia, whom she considered insignificant, to hold such an important position in the Johnson Group.
All those clients trusted her completely!
Whenever there was something they weren't satisfied with, they would compare it to Olivia.
Sophia was furious.
She couldn't let Michael know about this.
Before things escalated, she had to shift the blame to Olivia.
She would never let Michael discover Olivia's importance!
That evening, after dinner, Olivia and Bianca were sprawled out on the living room carpet, working on a massive puzzle.
The puzzle was brand new and had tens of thousands of pieces.
Olivia had initially worried that the sheer number of pieces might be too challenging for Bianca.
But to her surprise, Bianca quickly immersed herself in the puzzle, working at an astonishing speed and finding patterns almost immediately.
Olivia helped find a few pieces but was much slower, needing Bianca's assistance.
"Bianca, you're amazing! I've been working on this piece forever, and you found it instantly. Come here and let me give you a kiss!" She kissed Bianca's soft, fragrant cheek, her expression a mix of affection and pride.
Though Bianca had autism, her intelligence was remarkable, and she learned things quickly.
Educational toys were hardly a challenge for her!
Bianca blushed shyly from the kiss, then hugged Olivia, responding by nuzzling her head against her.
Olivia's heart melted.
She kissed Bianca several more times and then encouraged her, "Keep going, Bianca. Once we finish, I'll reward you with a trip to the zoo!"
Bianca's eyes lit up, and she nodded obediently before diving back into the puzzle.
Olivia watched her quietly, not wanting to disturb her.
At that moment, the door unlocked.
Olivia turned instinctively and saw Michael walking in.
He wore a tailored suit that emphasized his broad shoulders and narrow waist, casually draping his coat over his arm. His handsome face showed signs of fatigue.
He must have just returned from a business trip.
Despite his weariness, his dignified demeanor remained unmistakable.
Olivia no longer greeted him like she used to, asking if he was tired or offering to take his things.
She had only one thought in her mind now:
Finally, she could start the divorce process!
Once Michael signed the papers, she would take Bianca and move out, severing all ties with the Johnson family.
No more feeling uneasy about Michael and Sophia.
However, before she could act on this thought, Michael was already standing in front of her.
He tossed his coat onto the couch, his expression quickly turning cold and displeased. He demanded, "Olivia, did you do this on purpose?"
His tone was harsh enough to startle Bianca, who looked up with a puzzled expression.
Olivia instinctively patted Bianca's back to soothe her. Once Bianca returned to her puzzle, Olivia faced Michael, confused. "What do you mean, on purpose?"
Michael's gaze was stern, unconcerned about scaring Bianca.
He looked down at Olivia and said coldly, "I told you to handle the work transition clearly and not cause any trouble. But you still played games, causing the system to have a bug!
Do you realize your recklessness delayed Mr. Howard's project? He's now considering canceling his contract with the Johnson Group!"
He added, "It's not just Mr. Howard. Other clients have had issues too, and they're very unhappy with the research department!
Is this your plan? To make things difficult for Sophia so she can't stay, and you can return to the Johnson Group?"