“Essential oil?” Nathaniel paused for a moment. “Didn’t we send some stock over this morning? Are those not enough?”“Mr. Hall, that batch of essential oil’s quality is subpar, so we can’t use it!”“Subpar? We got it directly from the lab. You’re telling me that we can’t use it now?” Anxiously, Nathaniel walked back and forth in the living room. “Was it a mistake on your side, and you’re trying to push the blame on us now?”“We would never do that. There has been an increase in orders, so my workers are all working overnight to complete the job. We adhered to the process closely and completed our factory assembly line work. It’s unlikely for us to be the problem here. Why don’t you come over and see for yourself?”The factory’s manager was helpless in this situation too. After all, something went wrong and affected the order’s completion time, which would delay production and bring dire consequences.“Okay, I’ll be right there.” After hanging up the phone, Nathaniel immediately go
Melanie cleared her throat and rephrased herself, “I mean, there’s nothing wrong with the formula, so it’s not my problem either.”Then she turned to look at the factory’s manager. “We produce everything in the lab strictly according to the formula. If there were something wrong with the formula, we would have discovered it long ago. It must be the factory’s problem. Have you checked all the other ingredients? Have you checked if your workers made a mistake? Don’t just think about pushing the blame on others whenever there’s a problem here.”“Ms. Thayer, be careful with your words. What do you mean we’re pushing the blame? We are merely reporting the problem to Mr. Hall soon after discovering it. We just want to find out why, and after checking earlier, we think the problem lies within the essential oil. If you disagree, help us find the root of the problem, as you are a professional in this field. It will help us start manufacturing the products as soon as possible.”His words rile
On their way over, Nathaniel told Melanie to get everyone who worked at the lab to gather there. By dawn, everyone rushed to the lab, not knowing what had happened, but they could guess it was something huge from the urgency.Knowing that it was an important matter, Melanie became severe at work. She repeatedly analyzed the components of the essential oil she brought back from the factory and compared them to the formula. There was just one thing she could not understand; the reason the finished product differed so much from the previous batches.Although Melanie had been unconcerned about work for the past two years, she still had the basic skills and knowledge it took to be a perfumer. From the analysis, she was sure there was nothing wrong with the essential oil components. Where was the problem from then?Nathaniel did not mention the problems with the essential oil and finished product to the lab’s employees. He just told them the company had received a new order, and he had to
Olivia looked at Nathaniel and then at her watch, “I’m not late. It’s still early!”“The company had notified all staff members to gather in the laboratory immediately. Where have you been?” Nathaniel asked with a livid face and stern tone.“I was sleeping at home,” Olivia said assertively. “What notice are you talking about? I didn’t see any. Also, I don’t read work notifications during non-working hours.”“How dare you talk back when you’re at fault? Everyone is working hard for the company. What about you? Do you think I won’t reprimand you because you’re a senior staff member? It seems like Lily has…” Nathaniel abruptly stopped speaking as if Lily’s name was taboo in the company. “Forget it. Go and check on the essential oils in the laboratory. See if there is any difference compared to before. If you do it well, I won’t hold you accountable for being late.”After some thought, Nathaniel felt that only Olivia would know the reason behind this matter apart from Lily. Olivia ha
“Alright!” Nathaniel pondered for a while and agreed. However, his call could only go through when he used a borrowed phone as Lily had blocked his and Melanie’s numbers.Meanwhile, Lily had obtained all the research and analysis data and prepared a detailed report, so she only needed to hand it to Jenny. Lily completed her task ahead of schedule since it was not a big deal for her. After all, she had talent. Also, she practically lived in a laboratory over the years and had grown accustomed to it.Due to her job’s nature, the laboratory included a shower room. She took a much-needed bath and got dressed before wiping her hair when her phone rang. “Hello?” Lily answered while wiping her hair, putting the call on the loudspeaker. “This is Lily speaking. Who’s calling?”She could not hear well as she had a big towel on her head. She smelled herself all over to ensure no odd smells lingered because she did not want Alexander to smell anything weird on her again.‘She must be doing thi
“Thank you,” she said politely. Lily was confident that she had done her job well, and there was no need to be modest about it.Jenny smiled when she saw Lily’s confident expression. She leaned against the lockers and turned to face her, “Honestly, I thought you were the one who had plagiarized MN Inc.’s work.” Lily raised an eyebrow, unsure how to react to Jenny’s comment. When they first met, she knew of Jenny's untrust and disdain toward her. The way Jenny looked at her was so obvious. She practically had the words “You’re a plagiarizing thief!” inked across her forehead.Lily did not bother explaining herself because words could only do so much when others already had certain assumptions about her character. She could only prove herself through her capabilities and dispel those rumors with time.Jenny noticed Lily remaining silent and continued, “After all, Melanie Thayer was quite well-known in our industry. She was a dark horse that won numerous awards. Besides, most conside
Lily smiled silently. So, Jenny decided not to push the subject, “Okay then, miss secretive! Since you have your knight in shining armor to pick you up, I won’t be your escort then. I’ll take my leave. See you!”Lily nodded and parted ways with Jenny at the entrance of the building. As Jenny was backing out of the car park, she turned her head and saw Lily still standing there. She was about to ask Lily why she was still there when she saw Lily dashing across the other direction.Out of curiosity, Jenny slowed down her car to look at Lily. She saw Lily running toward a black sedan and hopped in. Then the car drove off. The sedan windows were dark, so Jenny could not see the person sitting inside.“Gosh! I’m just too nosy sometimes!” Shaking her head, Jenny smiled. As she stepped on the accelerator, the black sedan overtook her and sped off. “W-Was that a Maybach?!” Jenny felt dizzy when she noticed the brand of the car Lily was in.…“You smell good today. Did you just shower?” Al
Lily had not expected him to kiss her so suddenly, and she could only stare at him with her eyes wide open. Could he please give her a heads-up next time? Alexander did it in the heat of the moment, but after coming in contact with her lips, he knew he wanted more. He deepened the kiss, and it lasted longer than they expected. Lily gasped for air when they pulled away while leaning against his shoulder. This made Alexander laugh lightly. “You need to learn how to breathe,” he said, smiling while his hands caressed her back. Lily was such a silly girl. She would stop breathing whenever they kissed. Alexander was pleasantly surprised to learn this, as it meant she had little experience kissing.Nathaniel was an id*ot. How could he not appreciate such a gem when he had her? It made Alexander dislike the man, maybe just a little less now. Lily was still busy recovering, getting as much oxygen back into her lungs as she could. When she heard what Alexander said, she cho