Chapter 240 - 238: I Forgot

"It must be the Goodman Group’s fault!" Estelle declared firmly.

She trusted Cecilia. ’Since Cecilia brought this up with me, she wouldn’t have just changed her mind for no reason, and she definitely wouldn’t have failed to mention a single word about what happened next.’

’She must have been mistreated. Knowing Cecilia, as long as the Goodman Group had given her a chance, she would have been grateful for the opportunity, whether it worked out or not. Things wouldn’t have ended with my father calling me to ask about it.’

Conrad Goodman could tell his daughter was angry. He was even angrier than she was.

"Alright, sweetie, I promise I’ll get to the bottom of this. If it’s not too much trouble, can you give me Cecilia’s contact information?"

Estelle clutched the phone, her cheeks puffed out in a pout. She desperately wanted to be difficult and say "It’s not convenient," but her rational side took over. ’On one hand, it’s my father. On the other, my best friend. If this is just a misunderstanding, it’s better to clear it up. At the very least, Dad should apologize to Cecilia.’

She muttered reluctantly, "I’ll send you her number."

Charles Jennings had been standing nearby the entire time Estelle was on the phone. Although he’d only caught bits and pieces, he couldn’t tell what was going on. But seeing her upset expression, he turned to the instructor and said, "Let’s call it a day, instructor. Thank you for your time."

The instructor let out a deep sigh of relief, nodded, and shot Estelle a conflicted glance before turning to leave.

’He really wanted to tell this young lady to just give up on learning to drive.’

「Meanwhile」

At the Goodman Group, Technology Department Supervisor Felix Lawson and Tech Team One Leader Paul Hudson arrived outside the chairman’s office. Neither man knew what was happening, but being personally summoned by the chairman had to mean it was something important.

"Brother-in-law, I’m a little nervous. I’ve never had to report to the chairman in person before." Paul Hudson’s anxiety was written all over his face, which was deathly pale.

"Don’t be nervous. It might be good news," Felix Lawson said. He was calmer by comparison, but a seed of doubt had been planted in his mind. He quickly ran through all the exceptional projects his team had completed recently.

Paul Hudson pressed his lips together uncertainly. ’Good news, personally from the chairman? Just how good would that have to be!’

Neither of them had a clue what to expect, but it never occurred to them that it might be related to that project where the meeting never happened. Paul Hudson, for his part, had completely forgotten about it.

After a long moment of mentally bracing themselves at the door, Felix Lawson raised his hand and knocked.

"Come in."

Conrad Goodman’s voice drifted out—low, hard, and cold. It sent a shiver through both men, but it was too late for hesitation. Felix Lawson pushed the door open.

"Chairman, you were looking for us?" Felix Lawson asked, feigning composure as he stepped into the office.

Paul Hudson followed silently behind, not daring to speak, trying his best to make himself invisible.

Conrad Goodman was seated on the black leather sofa in the center of the room, his face a mask of cold fury. "Supervisor Lawson, do you have any idea why I’ve called you here?"

The opening gambit caught Felix Lawson completely off guard. "N-No, sir..."

His mind raced, replaying every recent mistake the tech department had made. ’There haven’t been any huge errors,’ he thought, ’just some minor technical hiccups. Nothing that would warrant the chairman personally calling us in to answer for it.’

But the chairman’s expression was thunderous. This was definitely not a sign of good things to come.

"Chairman, has the technology department done something wrong? Please, tell us what it is. We’ll do everything in our power to correct it."

’Whatever it is, just own up to it first and ask questions later.’

Conrad Goodman scoffed at his words, his gaze shifting past Felix Lawson to land on Paul Hudson. "You’re Paul Hudson?"

Startled to be addressed directly, Paul Hudson snapped his head up, his eyes filled with panic. "Yes, Chairman. I’m Paul Hudson, the leader of Tech Team One."

"Why don’t you tell me why I called you here."

Conrad was acting this way because he wanted to see just how far their dereliction of duty went. How could they dare to be so careless—to the point of completely forgetting—about a task he had personally assigned?

Paul Hudson had already forgotten the incident, and his current state of high anxiety wiped his mind completely blank. He just shook his head in confusion. "I don’t know, sir."

"Hah..."

Conrad’s anger peaked, twisting into a humorless laugh. He looked at the two men and nodded slowly. "Good. So neither of you knows."

He rose slowly from the sofa, walked over to Felix Lawson, and stopped directly in front of him. "Supervisor Lawson, before the new year, I personally assigned you a task. A project team was supposed to conduct a code test with the Goodman Group. Do you recall this?"

Felix Lawson nodded repeatedly. "Yes, Chairman, I remember. I immediately assigned the task to Tech Team One, which Paul Hudson is in charge of."

Paul Hudson’s heart dropped. Before he could even process it, Felix Lawson had turned to him. "You never reported back to me about this project. Did you fail to make contact, or did the test not work out?"

"Well..." Paul Hudson’s mouth opened and closed, but he couldn’t think of a plausible excuse. He had to tell the truth. "I never met with them."

"You never met with them?" Felix Lawson was shocked. He looked helplessly at Conrad Goodman. "Chairman, there must have been a coordination issue. I’ll contact the other party right away to set up a meeting."

Paul Hudson lowered his head guiltily as the details of that day slowly began to surface in his memory.

’The other party had been the one to reach out and set the time. But Team One had been proofing a new set of code that morning, so he hadn’t gone downstairs at the appointed time. He didn’t even send anyone to let them know he was running late. Afterward, he never apologized or tried to salvage the meeting.’

’He just let them get offended by the slight and storm out of the Goodman Group building.’

’The matter ended there, with no follow-up. He had assumed that a small eight-person team wouldn’t dare to pass up an opportunity with the Goodman Group. He was sure they’d be the first to cave and come back begging.’

’So he let them go, figuring he’d just wait for them to come crawling back. But in the process of waiting, he’d completely forgotten about the whole affair!’

Conrad Goodman ignored Felix Lawson, keeping his eyes fixed on Paul Hudson. "Paul, you tell me. Why didn’t you meet with them? Did they not show up?"

"Th-They came," Paul Hudson stammered, not daring to lie.

Felix Lawson was stunned again. "They came? Then why didn’t you meet them?" he demanded.

Looking like a child who’d been caught red-handed, Paul Hudson explained in a low voice, "I was busy at the time... I couldn’t get to them right away, so I made them wait. They ended up getting angry and leaving."

He wasn’t exactly lying, but he did conveniently omit many of the less-flattering details.

For instance, the fact that he never told them they would have to wait. Or his completely nonchalant attitude after they left, when he had even said things like, "We gave them a chance and they didn’t cherish it. Who’s to blame? Do they really think the Goodman Group’s project teams have nothing better to do?"

Felix Lawson was rendered speechless, a mixture of panic and fury boiling inside him. "You... Why didn’t you ever mention any of this to me?"

’This was a task assigned by the chairman himself!’

Paul Hudson’s face crumpled, looking like he was about to cry. "I forgot."