Chapter 258: Fusion Dynamics Corporation Jekyll Family
Sophia glared daggers at Gabriel as she typed forcefully on her phone.
"Taking unauthorized leave results in performance deductions."
Gabriel remembered that there was indeed such a policy, with attendance being a small factor in performance assessments.
He gave Sophia a rather handsome salary. Even if she lost a point for taking a day off, it wouldn't amount to more than a few hundred dollars.
Was she really in need of those few hundred dollars? Neglecting her own health?
Sophia couldn't figure it out; Gabriel seemed to be a different person towards her.
Probably just a delusion.
The guy was a wolf in sheep's clothing, through and through.
Sophia left the conference room behind Margaret.
Gabriel was the last to leave. He stowed his phone and said to Alex on the side, "The performance for Flora has improved. Let's give all the Flora staff a fifty percent bonus."
"Yes, I'll talk to the administration department right away," Alex responded.
Alex wasn't surprised. His boss always made a clear distinction between rewards and punishments. Those who performed well received generous bonuses, while those who faltered found their bonuses and performance pay cut without mercy.
Sophia returned to her office and received a call from Colin.
"Mr. Colin, do you have a plan?" she asked hopefully.
Colin gave a resigned chuckle. "Not yet."
"Oh," Sophia said, her voice tinged with disappointment.
"Don't worry too much. You can also pay more attention to Sam's behavior in your daily life."
"Alright."
"By the way, my mother would like to invite you to dinner."
"Your mother?"
Why would she want to invite her to dinner? Sophia wondered with curiosity.
"Yes, she's on a business trip to City B. She mentioned that she wants to thank you for taking care of my grandmother over the holidays. She'd like to treat you to a meal."
"It was nothing, just a small favor..."
"Don't turn it down, or she'll keep nagging me to invite you again."
"Okay, fine."
She agreed to meet Colin for dinner that evening.
"Miss Kelly," Alex approached.
"What is it?"
He handed her something that looked somewhat like a lipstick, but it was larger than the usual size.
"This is a mini stun gun; it's not very powerful, but it can incapacitate someone for a short time, giving you a chance to escape."
Such a stun gun was perfect for carrying around.
However, since stun guns were considered dangerous items, they were almost impossible to buy online.
"Did Gabriel ask you to give this to me?"
It couldn't possibly have been Alex's own idea.
"Yes."
Right now, a means of self-defense like this was invaluable to Sophia. She had no reason to refuse.
"Tell him thanks for me."
She was a person of clear likes and dislikes. Someone had saved her and now provided her with a stun gun for protection; it made no sense to not even express her gratitude.
"Also, do you have any more? I'd like to have two."
"There should be," Alex said.
Not long after, Alex delivered two more of the same model.
Finally, Sophia instructed, "Tell Gabriel to make sure Sam gets one too."
"Don't worry, the young master's got it."
The two additional stun guns Sophia asked for were for Ethan and Emma; it made perfect sense for her to request them.
"Sophia, is Alex chasing after you?" Larry asked with quite a bit of gossip in his tone.
"No, I just bought something from him."
"Oh? What'd you get?"
"Something for self-defense."
"I want one too," Larry said immediately.
Sophia looked at him as if he were a fool.
"Boys also need to protect themselves when they're out," Larry said with conviction.
"But I thought you knew Judo."
"Hehe, actually, I wanted to give it to my little goddess, Emma."
After what happened last night, Gabriel had an epiphany, and he arranged for a gift to be sent to Emma, with strict instructions not to let her harm herself.
In comparison to this stun gun, Caroline suddenly felt that all the self-defense stuff she'd bought online was quite useless.
Sophia went straight to the restaurant she'd arranged to meet Colin at after work.
Stark Arya and Colin were already there. Sophia got stuck in traffic for a bit, and as she walked in, she apologized.
"Sorry, I'm late."
"No worries, we've just arrived," Colin stood up to greet her.
"Oh, it's you!" Stark Arya recognized Sophia immediately—she was one of the contestants.
She even thought Sophia bore a striking resemblance to her mother-in-law when she was younger.
"Mrs. Arya!" Sophia was equally astonished, not sure where to put her hands and feet.
She'd never expected that Colin's mother would be Mrs. Arya!
Right, she remembered now—the founder of Fusion Dynamics Corporation was a Jekyll!
This was quite the coincidence.
Colin's "Jekyll" was the "Jekyll" of Fusion Dynamics Corporation.
Could it be that Jekyll's grandmother was the current helmswoman of Fusion Dynamics Corporation?
Sophia was a bit stunned; she'd unknowingly cooked for such a top-tier magnate and even celebrated the new year's eve dinner together.
Stark Arya was already fifty but looked after herself so well she appeared to be in her late thirties. However, due to recent lack of sleep, fine lines had developed around her eyes, which became more pronounced when she laughed.
She said warmly, "Come over here and sit down, young lady."
Sophia snapped back to reality and sat down beside Stark Arya.
She suddenly became very reserved, especially reserved.
"Don't be so formal, today I'm not a judge, I won't be grading you, come on now, let's order."
Sophia replied, "Please go ahead, I can eat anything, I'm not picky."
Stark Arya decisively ordered a dozen dishes in one go.
"Mrs. Arya."
"Just call me Mrs. Arya."
"Mrs. Arya, you actually didn't have to go out of your way to treat me to dinner, Mr. Colin is my son's psychologist, he's helped my son a lot, it should be me treating you."
Stark Arya looked at this young woman, and she rather liked her, but... considering she already had a child and was divorced, she always felt that it wasn't quite right for Colin to step into the role of a stepfather.
If Colin knew his mom was stealthily sizing up Sophia as a potential future daughter-in-law, he'd roll his eyes so hard they might get stuck.
What's the deal, wasn't he entitled to have a little sister figure in his life?
"Of course, it's only proper," Mrs. Stark said as she clasped Sophia's hand, politely inquiring about trivial family matters.
During the holiday season, Mrs. Stark had had a sudden illness and was hospitalized in the city of B. She and her husband were supposed to fly over, but Mrs. Stark didn't let them come, insisting she was fine. Only later did they find out from Colin just how serious it had been.
They were deeply grateful for Sophia's help at that time.
Mrs. Stark's face would light up with a smile whenever she mentioned Sophia, and her words hinted that Colin was quite fond of the girl.
As a caring mother, she felt it was her duty to vet her son's potential partners.
Sophia answered all of Mrs. Stark's questions honestly – they were all fairly mundane, and she had nothing to hide.
But why did it feel like a nervous bride meeting her in-laws for the first time?
Had to be her imagination.
"Mom, don't you think you're asking a bit too much?" Colin noticed too.
He wondered if his mom had gotten the wrong idea.
"Alright, alright, let's eat," said Mrs. Stark, not wanting to make Sophia uncomfortable. She then switched the conversation to fashion, and Sophia gradually relaxed, chatting amicably with Mrs. Stark.
Mrs. Stark's gaze softened as she began to appreciate Sophia's conversation.
After the meal, the trio walked out of the private dining room together.
"Mrs. Stark!"
Randall did a double-take, not expecting to see Mrs. Stark and Sophia there in the flesh.
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