Chapter 111 Arrange a Scene
Rachel forced a bitter smile and shook her head. "It's not that simple. Twenty people are gunning for five spots. The initiator gave us a test question and asked us to submit a proposal. The cooperation spots will be determined based on the quality of the proposals."
John's thoughtful voice came through the phone. "That seems fair."
Rachel rubbed her temples, feeling the weight of the task. She sighed. "But I'm so stressed out. I know nothing about the energy sector, not even the terminology. How am I supposed to write this?"
Outside the door, Michael's hand froze as he was about to push it open. He overheard Rachel's words and stopped in his tracks.
"Mr. Smith..." David, following closely behind, started to speak. Michael raised his hand to silence him. David wisely kept his mouth shut.
John laughed lightly through the phone. "What's so hard about that? Just leave it to the planning department. That's their job."
Rachel shook her head, her voice firm. "No way. A lot of people in the group are on Frank's side. If I let someone else write the proposal, Frank will definitely sabotage it. He doesn't want me to win. I have to do it myself."
"You're right," John agreed, scratching his head. "I'll help you write it. I may not know much about this field, but I can still be of some help."
Rachel nodded lightly, feeling a bit more at ease. "Alright, I have to go now. I need to visit the hospital."
"Okay," John said, his voice filled with concern.
Outside, Michael turned around, his expression unreadable. "Let's go," he said quietly.
David looked puzzled. "Mr. Smith, aren't you going to get your things?"
Michael pressed his lips together and said, "No need. Have the hotel send them to the Smith Manor."
Since he had already decided, David had nothing more to say. At the elevator, David pressed the down button. Suddenly, Michael instructed, "Arrange a scene."
David was puzzled. He asked, "What kind of scene?"
Michael's eyes shifted slightly as he explained what he wanted. David broke into a sweat after hearing it. He suggested, "Mr. Smith, if you want to help Ms. Williams, why not just tell her directly?"
"She won't accept my help. This is the only way," Michael said in a deep voice, staring at the elevator doors. He thought, 'Rachel is avoiding me right now. How could she possibly accept my help?'
David was momentarily speechless. After a while, he coughed twice and agreed. "I'll get right on it." Michael nodded.
On the other side, Rachel walked out of the meeting room with her belongings. After a few steps, she overheard a conversation about energy.
The conversation caught Rachel's attention, and she instinctively stopped and turned toward the source of the sound.
A pair of college students, a male and a female, were standing not far away, chatting and laughing. The girl asked the boy, "Have you finished your energy paper?"
The boy sighed. "Not yet. It's too hard. If I hadn't heard that Smith Corporation developed new energy technology, I wouldn't have ventured into this field at all."
The girl said, "Well, if you don't write it, you won't get into the Smith Corporation's research department. Hurry up. I'm almost done. Let me recommend a few books to you. Read these, and writing should be easier. They cover a lot of energy knowledge and terminology."
The girl then listed a few book titles. The boy repeated them and left with the girl. Rachel listened to the recording on her phone. Although she was surprised by the coincidence, she didn't think much of it and felt grateful to the two students.
She had recorded their conversation and planned to look for those books after visiting Catherine. This way, her proposal writing would become much smoother.
Thinking of this, Rachel smiled and put away her phone, heading toward the elevator. Unexpectedly, as soon as she stepped out of the elevator, she ran into the last person she wanted to see.
Michael was standing with his back to her, talking on the phone. From the other end, David said, "Mr. Smith, Ms. Williams has already witnessed their act."
Rachel couldn't hear the conversation clearly. She intended to use this opportunity to sneak past Michael, pretending not to see him.
To her surprise, Michael suddenly ended the call and turned to face her. Seeing Rachel, he showed no surprise, merely nodding slightly in greeting.
Since he had already greeted her, Rachel felt it would be impolite not to respond. After all, he was the initiator of the cooperation, and if she wanted to secure a spot, she couldn't afford to offend him.
With this in mind, Rachel took a deep breath and put on a distant yet polite smile. "Mr. Smith."
"I was waiting for you," Michael said calmly. Rachel was taken aback. No wonder he wasn't surprised to see her. He had been waiting for her on purpose.
"Mr. Smith, is there something you need? Are you planning to remove me from the candidate list because I clashed with Mr. Brown at the meeting?" Rachel asked, her eyes narrowing as she stared at him.
Michael frowned. "Rachel, can you not be so sharp with your words? And don't think of me as so despicable."
Noticing his suppressed anger, Rachel lowered her eyes slightly with a faint smile. "Mr. Smith, I'm sorry. That's just how I am. When facing someone on the opposite side, I always have this attitude."
'Opposite side?' Michael clenched his fist secretly. So, she still saw him as an enemy. He couldn't help but wonder, 'Is it because of Mandy that she sees me as an enemy, or is it just me?'
"Don't worry, I won't remove you from the candidate list. I guarantee this cooperation will be fair and just," Michael said, rubbing his temples, his tone returning to calm.
Rachel lightly flicked her hair and replied calmly, "Oh? Then what do you want from me?"
"To accompany you to the hospital to see Grandma," Michael replied, concise and firm.
Rachel was stunned, thinking, 'Just for this?'
"Mr. Smith, there's no need. I have a car and can go by myself," she declined flatly, her tone leaving no room for doubt.
Michael frowned slightly, about to speak when the sound of the arriving elevator interrupted his thoughts. A row of trolleys loaded with boxes appeared before them.
The boxes were stacked so high that they almost blocked the trolley pusher's view. Similarly, the pusher couldn't see ahead and was heading straight for Rachel.
Michael's eyes widened as he urgently warned, "Watch out!"
Rachel looked confused, not understanding why. The next moment, a huge force hit her from behind, causing her to fall forward. And in front of her was Michael.
"Move away!" Rachel exclaimed, her face pale, shouting at Michael. But Michael didn't move an inch. If it weren't for his calm expression, she would have thought he was scared stiff.
Rachel fell into Michael's arms, and he held her tightly. Her impact was so strong that Michael was forced to take a few steps back until he hit the wall and stopped..
Rachel took a breath and quickly broke free. She asked, "Are you okay?"
Michael shook his head slightly, his voice a bit hoarse. "I'm fine."
"Are you hurt? Your voice is off." Rachel frowned, full of concern.
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