Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Isabella's excuse seemed reasonable enough, but the observant Martin still noticed something was off.

He hid the calculation in his eyes and put on a warm smile again.

"Well then, Ms. Taylor, let me take a quick look around. I need to give Mr. Rogers some kind of explanation, don't I?" Martin said with a light laugh. Using Harold's name, Isabella naturally wouldn't stop him. She stepped aside to let him through.

"Mr. Collins, please go ahead."

Watching Martin's retreating figure, Isabella turned her head and whispered to Briar, "Keep an eye on him. Don't let him cause any trouble."

Briar let out a long sigh.

There was already so much to deal with at the construction site, and now Martin had to come over and make things difficult for them.

Harold really went to "great lengths."

Briar gritted her teeth, cursed a few times under her breath, then followed Martin at a moderate distance.

She kept just the right distance, so Martin couldn't say much about it. After walking around a couple of times, he casually pointed at some building materials and exchanged a few words with a nearby worker.

This move made Briar's heart tighten.

Please don't target these materials. Everything at the construction site depended on the building materials. If Martin wanted to mess with them, things would get serious.

Briar immediately put on a fake smile and quickly stepped forward, subtly positioning herself to shield the materials.

"Mr. Collins, these materials are heavy and bulky. You might hurt yourself."

Martin still wore his gentle smile, but his eyes carried a hint of probing.

His gaze fell on the packaging paper of these materials. The packaging had prominent labels showing the quality inspection standards.

His eyes paused for a moment, then he looked up with a smile.

"I'm just taking a casual look. You don't need to be so nervous."

He acted like an easy-going boss, but Briar knew well that beneath his gentle smile were nothing but schemes.

The worst part was that he did everything flawlessly, leaving no room for criticism.

Martin's approachable attitude made the workers lower their guard. After Briar walked away, he subtly extracted some information from them.

He also learned what had happened at the construction site that morning.

Martin's eyes shifted. He glanced back at Isabella and Briar, who were busy dealing with workers in the distance, and formed a plan.

He walked over with long strides, slowly approaching Willie, who was working with his head down.

"I see you've been working hard here. That's pretty diligent of you. Have a smoke, take a break, and relax."

Martin smiled as he pulled out a cigarette and politely offered it to Willie.

Willie hesitantly accepted the cigarette. After Isabella warned morning, he wasn't as arrogant as before.

"You are?"

Martin's smile deepened.

"I'm the supervisor for this project. I heard you're the foreman, and I wanted to chat with you about something."

"Ms. Taylor has quite a temper this morning, doesn't she? I heard about what happened. Let me apologize on Ms. Taylor's behalf. She's still young and tends to speak her mind. Don't take it to heart."

Willie had been holding a grudge about the morning incident. Now that Martin deliberately brought it up, the anger he'd buried inside flared up again.

He took the cigarette and took a fierce drag.

By the time Willie and Martin finished talking, Isabella had also completed her negotiations with the workers. She tiredly rubbed her temples and asked Briar.

"Where's Mr. Collins? Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on him?"

Only then did Briar remember she was supposed to follow Martin. She slapped her forehead in frustration.

"I got too busy and forgot! Oh no, he didn't already do something bad, did he?"

She started running toward the construction site, but after two or three steps, she stopped.

Martin had already come out of the site. His hard hat was properly on his head, his badge hung around his neck, and he had a refined air about him.

"Ms. Taylor, I've looked over the construction site, and it's running very well indeed."

"The workers you hired are also excellent. They're all very hardworking. If things continue at this pace, completion is just a matter of time. You might even finish ahead of schedule."

His smile seemed genuine, as if he were truly happy for Isabella.

But both Isabella and Briar knew his sincerity was just a mask. Dealing with this kind of person was the scariest thing—you never knew what he was thinking.

Or when he might suddenly stab you in the back.

If he wanted to put on an act, Isabella would naturally play along.

"Mr. Collins, you're too kind. This is just what I should be doing. It's my duty to serve Mr. Rogers."

Martin left. Watching the exhaust fumes from his departing car, Briar looked confused.

"Why did Mr. Collins just leave without a word? I thought after he came out, he'd find a bunch of problems to delay the progress."

Everything was eerily calm.

Isabella stared deeply at the departing car, her brows slightly furrowed. It was even more suspicious that he didn't make a move.

She withdrew her gaze, her tone serious. "Keep a close eye on the workers at the site. He might have already started preparing something. We need to stay alert at all times."

As if to confirm her words, workers at the nearby construction site gathered together, their buzzing discussion drifting toward Isabella and Briar.

Briar's heart tightened. "Ms. Taylor, I'll go check it out."

Isabella naturally wanted to follow too. The two quickly walked over, already somewhat out of breath by the time they arrived.

As they got closer, an angry voice rang out.

"Where did the critical building materials go! The stuff was brought over and placed right here. Where is it?" Willie stood with his hands on his hips, demanding loudly.

The building materials were missing!

Isabella pushed through the gathered workers and entered the site.

The open space in front of them should have been piled with materials needed for the next phase, but now it was empty—not even a speck of dust.

These critical materials had been delivered this morning. When they arrived, she had personally watched as people placed them here.

Where were they? Where did they go?

Willie caught sight of Isabella's movement from the corner of his eye, and his questioning voice grew even louder.

"Which one of you has sold off the materials?"

"Do you know how hard these materials are to make? Even if we rush to make them now, we can't finish within a month. This project is about to be submitted. What are you trying to do!"

The workers looked at each other, their faces full of confusion.

One of the bolder ones spoke up. "Willie, you can't wrongly accuse us. What would we want with these materials?"

"Besides, people come and go at this construction site. It's not just us workers here. Ms. Taylor's people are here, too. Why do you suspect us when something goes missing?"

"Yeah, we're workers, not thieves."