Chapter 19 More Important Than Money
Noah’s POV:
The team work solidly on the new product for the best part of two weeks. Their energy is infectious and at the end of the second week, I can’t wait to tell Mrs Clancy and the other managers about our new product. I gather the designs and head out of my office, telling Eden I’ll be back in an hour or so.
She smiles at me a wide, brimming smile. She’s not the only one. I feel like the entire department is watching me. They all know where I’m going and they’re anticipating Mrs Clancy’s reaction just as much as I am.
I don’t want to pre-empt it, just in case Mrs Clancy hates our idea – I don’t think it’s likely but it’s certainly not impossible – otherwise I’d tell everyone that I’ll buy them a round of drinks after hours.
Instead, I leave acting as if I’m completely indifferent to their excitement. By the time I reach Mrs Clancy’s office it’s a lot harder to hide my excitement. Lewis and his uncle, James Artie are standing outside whispering amongst themselves.
I’m automatically suspicious. I don’t trust them.
They’re probably up to something. They usually are.
“Alright, Noah,” Lewis says as I come to a stop outside the office.
“Not bad,” I reply, feigning politeness.
“New project?” he asks, nodding towards the folder I’m carrying.
“Something like that.”
He’s smug. I really don’t like him. I feel like introducing him to Eden. If she met him, she’d understand why I don’t want her anywhere near his assistant, Holly.
Martin, Eliza Clancy’s assistant, opens the door and invites us all into the office. We all come to sit around a large conference table and wait for Mrs Clancy to say something.
“Hello everyone!” Mrs Clancy says, clapping her hands excitably. “Are you all looking forward to the weekend?”
I smile, nodding my head politely. I don’t care at all about the weekend. I’d happily spend the weekend working if it means this project will be a success.
“Do you have plans?” James Artie asks.
“I’m hoping to spend some time with my granddaughter,” Mrs Clancy says. “She’s been so busy with work recently. I’ve hardly seen her.”
There is a murmur of interest, but I’m anxious to get the meeting started. As much as I like Mrs Clancy, right now the only thing I want to talk about is our new rocking bed.
“Artie, you said you had something you wanted to share,” Mrs Clancy says, putting on her glasses. She’s now focused completely on the work at hand. Even if we wanted to distract her, we wouldn’t be able to.
“My team have been working around the clock on a new project,” Artie says. “It’s still very much in the early stages but I was hoping you might give us some feedback, Mrs Clancy.”
‘Suck up!’ I growl internally.
He pulls out several leaves of paper, handing them out to everyone at the table. Looking down at the paper, I clench my fists, my jaw tightening.
There on the paper in front of me is my team’s design.
I don’t understand how this is even possible. We have been so careful. The team all know that they have to keep their designs under lock and key. It’s been that way for months. Unless someone intentionally gave Lewis Artie the design.
But who would do that?
“I love it!” Mrs Clancy says eagerly. “What an original idea! It’s so novel!”
Her words instead of pleasing me, fill me with disappointment. That praise is supposed to be directed at my team. How am I supposed to go back to my department and tell them that their idea has been stolen again?
“I think we might have a bestseller there,” Mrs Clancy is saying. “What do you think, Noah?”
She wants me to applaud Lewis Artie for stealing my team’s work. I can’t do that. I won’t do that! I look down at the design, noticing that it’s not our most recent version. I could insist on seeing their revisions, potentially proving that they stole our design. I put that to the back of my mind for now. I have no intention of reacting now. That’s what Lewis Artie wants. He wants me to get angry and call him a thief without evidence. But I’m not stupid.
“What wood are you planning to use?” I ask benignly.
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
