Luca followed Mo's lead and walked into the conference room.
There were already two professors waiting in the conference room.
When they saw Luca walk in, the two professors said one after another, “Dr. Craw, you're here. It's been too long."
"Long time no see, Professors." After receiving the warm welcome from the two professors, Luca knew what was going on.
It seemed that the rumors from T Corporation had reached this side as well.
The two companies were not deeply associated, but somehow, gossip still managed to find its way here. Luca had resigned
herself to it.
"Yes, it's been a long time. Have a seat." Dr. Linwood looked at Luca and thought that since she was close with Luke, he should
not offend her.
After seeing how attentive Dr. Linwood was, Dr. Jackson was unwilling to fall behind. He asked Mo, "When will the other
professors and general manager arrive? They should know that Dr. Craw's time is very precious."
"Everyone, please wait a moment. I'll go inform them again." Mo could not do anything but watch as the two professors fawned
over Luca with their flattery.
This was reality.
Besides, Luca shared that kind of relationship with Luke. If they got closer to Luca, they might even be able to get more research
funds in the future, which would make their research a whole lot easier.
"Be quick. We promised to meet at 3:30. Look at the time now!" said Dr. Linwood with a look of disappointment. He then smiled
at Luca and said, "Dr. Craw, would you like some coffee? Let my assistant make you a cup."
"No, thank you." As always, Luca chose to keep a low profile, so she picked a corner seat and sat down. She opened her laptop,
and just then, a thought occurred to her. She asked the two professors, "By the way, what's the agenda for this meeting?"
"Did Ms. Stone not tell you? How careless of her," said Dr. Linwood as he frowned.
"She did tell me, but the new quarter isn't here yet. Why is the manager in such a rush?" said Luca. The new quarter would only
arrive after the new year, but the new year was still a month away.
"It's all because of Dr. Albus. The company had planned to use his research as the first revenue. Now that the plan has fallen
through, the manager must've called for this meeting to have us speed up the research progress to quickly increase the
company's sales," Dr. Linwood explained to her.
Luca nodded her head, indicating she understood.
That was her guess too.
“But our research is nowhere near completion..." Dr. Linwood looked at her and added, “Dr. Craw, your research made the most
progress at first. How is it going now?"
"There were some data errors some time ago, but we've found the problem and we're speeding up the research so that it can
enter the market," Luca replied without holding anything back.
"I see. Then your drug can be marketed soon." Dr. Linwood heaved a sigh of relief. It was good for her to take the lead. That
way, their research would have a chance to take a breather.
"If everything goes as planned, you're right." Luca heard footsteps and glanced up at the door.
Several professors and managers walked in at the same time.
The general manager did not give them a chance to exchange pleasantries and dived straight into the topic. "Since all the
professors have arrived, let's begin the meeting."
The conference room was pin-drop silent as everyone waited for the manager to speak.
"Mr. Crawford has sent out the news of the press release yesterday and terminated Dr. Albus' contract. Later on, Dr. Albus will be
held accountable for this incident. So, to all the professors here, if Dr. Albus had said or done anything to you, you can tell me. In
case something happens in the future, all of you will need to bear the responsibility and consequences," the general manager
hinted.
Although Dr. Albus was the main professor in charge of that project, it would still require a great deal of effort to single-handedly
betray the research.
Therefore, the general manager believed that someone among them had sided with Dr. Albus for their benefit.
After hearing what the general manager had to say, one of the professors said unhappily, "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm not trying to offend anyone. I'm just following the orders from above and conveying the message to everyone," explained the
general manager.
Luca frowned as she listened to the general manager's words.
There was no way that was what Luke meant.
Jason would not carelessly convey messages either, so it was either this manager was lying, or someone was putting words into
Luke's mouth.
Dr. Linwood was also upset. "Dr. Albus' project encountered some problems at the beginning and several professors got
involved. When things went south, we cooperated with the investigation as well. It's been proven that we have nothing to do with
this. But are you saying that you're suspecting us?"
The general manager looked at Dr. Linwood with a stern face. "That's not what I'm saying. It's just that all of you were involved in
the project at some point, so I just want to give you all a reminder."
"That means you're suspecting us. General Manager, you're not a research professor. You have no idea how complicated
science is. Even if we had helped Dr. Albus, the data we saw would only be the tip of the iceberg. Betray the research? Who in
the world would want that bit of data? Plus, we never even came close to the key data. Next time, think before you make
slanderous accusations!" Dr. Linwood said coldly. Excluding the former manager, Dr. Cole, and Dr. Albus, Dr. Linwood had the
highest seniority among them.
He was angry and for good reason.
Luca watched everything in silence. If this went on, she was afraid that they were going to quarrel even before they had officially
touched on the meeting agenda.
The general manager frowned. He was not afraid of causing trouble. After all, he did not work in the laboratory but was in charge
of managing the whole company. "That's not what I meant. I was just conveying the orders from above. Plus, if you say that you
didn't do anything wrong, then so be it. With the way you're acting right now, Dr. Linwood, it makes me think that you're guilty."
"Mr. Crawford would never convey such orders. General Manager, did you misinterpret his message? Moreover, Mr. Crawford's
people would take the initiative to look into whether anyone has done anything wrong. I suppose the focus of this meeting is not
about Dr. Albus, is it?" Luca could not keep quiet any longer. If she let the general manager continue talking, Luke would lose all
his credibility.
The general manager was stunned. He dared not utter a word after he thought about Luca and Luke's relationship.
He had no choice but to say, "Perhaps I misunderstood the boss' meaning..."
Luca remained silent.
"Let's move on, then. We'll officially start the meeting and discuss the upcoming development goals of the company," said the
general manager.
Luca did not say anything and watched everything with a blank expression.
If the general manager had not used Luke's name to put pressure on these old professors, she would not have spoken up.
It was important to know that these old professors were very important to Watson.