Thousands of Brilliant Stars: You Deserve the Best!-Chapter 70: You Want to Frame Her? Keep Dreaming!
Iris Crawford was eager to attend the meeting, not thinking too much about it. The PPT she’d worked on all night was on her USB drive, and she’d probably have to screen it for everyone to see. To perform well, Iris looked a few more times at her printed report before arriving just on time at the entrance to the meeting room.
A few executives were already waiting at the meeting room door. Iris was surprised to find the supervisor who had had disagreements with her the other day was also inside. When he saw her, he sneered, his look seemingly issuing a warning of "fend for yourself," which made Iris frown.
Instinctively, she glanced at her USB drive and thought about Roxanne Young, who had been lurking around her workstation earlier, her gaze sinking.
The time was approaching, and the door to the senior meeting room wasn’t usually opened easily, but a few people helped open it, then stepped aside to make way for Lachlan Wyatt.
Lachlan stepped forward to enter, expecting to be the first, and was jostled unexpectedly from behind.
He was shoved aside on his seat.
Lachlan turned in surprise to find Iris rushing in, muttering to herself, "Open the door, open the door—if you won’t go in, move aside—I’m going in," then dove in ahead of everyone, claiming a prime spot.
Once seated, she adjusted her chair position, then looked up at the seemingly bewildered crowd outside, greeting them, "Why are you all just standing around? Hurry up and come in and sit down!"
"..."
Having been with the company for so long, it was Leo Langdon’s first time witnessing Iris’s audacity; the senior meeting room wasn’t filled by the president first, but by Iris! And she had even shoved Lachlan aside to get inside!
Goodness gracious, who do you think you are?
The executives immediately had complaints, thinking to express themselves in front of Lachlan, yet Lachlan was suppressing his anger, the veins on his forehead jumping, as he sat down beside Iris.
Leo Langdon also sat on Iris’s left, having brought his laptop, speaking to Iris after he sat, "How could you be the first one to go in?"
Iris paused, twirling a pen, "Huh? What’s wrong?"
"At this type of meeting, the leaders must go in first no matter what," Leo said, deliberately lowering his voice but speaking seriously to Iris, "The hierarchy in the company needs to be clear! The president hasn’t sat down, how can we sit down?"
Iris laughed out loud, "That’s absurd, for meetings you have to act like an emperor ascending the throne; does Lachlan treat meetings like royal court sessions?"
"..."
Leo was taken aback by Iris’s retort but persisted, furrowing his brow, "You might not understand, but there’s always a reason for these social customs to exist. You’re drawing unwanted attention by not restraining yourself, effectively making enemies in the company."
"Yes, yes." Iris nodded, unclear whether she truly comprehended, "I just need to get my work done, that’s all. Time for the meeting! Did you bring the printer?"
"No, but there’s one in the meeting room..." Leo looked puzzled at Iris’s sudden mention of the printer, before realizing there was no time to ponder, as the supervisor sitting opposite announced the start of the meeting, specifically mentioning Iris’s name, calling her to the stage for her report.
Iris stood and greeted everyone, to the sound of murmuring beside her.
"Why is it a woman..."
"No idea, she’s new."
"Lachlan used to always have Leo beside him, now Leo’s sitting next to her, really have to make way for her."
"Who knows if there’s some sort of relationship... Let’s listen and see what she’s capable of." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎
Leo’s laptop was connected to the screen, and Iris handed her USB to Leo, "The PPT is in here, please project it on the big screen for me."
"Alright."
Leo inserted the USB into the laptop, only to find it completely blank.
Wait a minute... He had gone over Iris’s excellent PPT with her that morning; how come now, it was entirely empty?
Realizing something amiss, Leo’s face changed dramatically as he tugged at Iris, "Did you grab the wrong USB?"
"How could I grab the wrong one," Iris hadn’t realized the situation yet, "I’ve shown it to you."
"I... I wouldn’t have the time or inclination to delete your content," Leo quickly explained, "I didn’t do anything, but your USB is actually blank now, this—this is a problem!"
Iris’s face changed dramatically, as she leaned down to look at Leo’s computer, her pupils shrinking in surprise, "What’s going on?"
Realizing their commotion, some curious executives nearby also started paying attention, "Is something wrong?"
"Weren’t we supposed to have a summary? We’ve been waiting for a while; is the information incomplete?"
"Could it really be an eleventh-hour effort?"
"I said this woman wasn’t reliable, too ostentatious, heard she’s been quite disruptive at the company before..."
The chatter naturally reached Lachlan’s ears, who glanced over to Iris and Leo, both engrossed at the computer’s forefront, their expressions serious. Lachlan instinctively realized something had happened, could someone have deliberately set a snare for Iris...
"Can it be restored?"
"No," Leo took a glance, "There’s no record at all."
Iris grabbed the laptop, attempting recovery of the files she learned to excel at with James Chesterton, only to discover that this USB wasn’t her original one, so data restoration wasn’t possible—her USB had been swapped from the start!
Iris drew in a sharp breath, racking her brain for who had the opportunity to act, cyclically concluding only Roxanne Young, who would’ve left that time because her malicious act had been completed, ready to watch the repercussions!
"What’s going on? Ajax information and it’s been ages, are you capable or not, don’t waste our time."
"Exactly, the company won’t harbor freeloaders."
The voices became increasingly grating, prompting Iris to shut her eyes, realizing she was completely set up by Roxanne, her painstakingly crafted PPT couldn’t be presented!
There’s nothing Iris detested more than those who destroyed others’ hard work!
Biting her teeth hard, Iris Crawford stood up straight from her seat, then handed the report in her hand to Leo Langdon, "I’m sorry, there was a slight mishap, I’ll make some copies of the paper documents for everyone now."
Fortunately, she had a backup plan, printing out the necessary information. Now she had to make a few more copies for everyone to review. Although it wasn’t as direct and efficient as a ppt, it could somewhat save the situation.
A few executives watched as Iris Crawford walked to the printer, crossed their arms and laughed, "Oh, didn’t she prepare anything at all?"
"Who knows, just pushing a duck onto the shelves, I guess."
Hearing Iris being mocked, Lachlan Wyatt squinted his eyes.
He recalled the night before when this young woman was staying up late working on the computer, yet now she started printing materials for everyone... Could the ppt be gone?
Was it maliciously deleted, or... was her stuff swapped?
Smart as Lachlan, he quickly guessed what happened. Iris probably offended someone in the company, resulting in her materials being swapped to deliberately embarrass her during the meeting...
But how could someone as proud as Iris tolerate being framed by others?
Iris distributed the printed documents into several copies and handed them out to everyone present. Someone took a look and then mocked, "The summary is quite professional, isn’t it your achievement?"
"Who knows who helped though."
"Didn’t even prepare a ppt for the meeting?"
This comment hit Iris’s sore spot directly. She raised her head, her fingers clutching the paper tightly, then said, "My USB was swapped, so the ppt is missing."
"Hahaha, that’s a good excuse, acting as if someone wanted to harm you, when you actually weren’t prepared at all, right?"
Iris’s eyes were red, and at this moment Leo Langdon, who had been watching the computer, looked up and said, "There’s no need to say such harsh words. I saw her ppt just this morning, it was well done, I don’t know why the USB is empty now. If someone in the company is playing such cheap tricks, I believe our company cannot accommodate such employees!"
Leo Langdon’s words shocked everyone around.
Leo was one of Lachlan’s most reliable hands, fair and sharp-minded, and since he stood up to speak...
Iris cast a grateful glance at Leo, who maintained his formal demeanor, while Lachlan beside him lifted the corners of his lips.
This worked well, saving him from having to speak himself. Leo often represented Lachlan, and with him saying this, naturally no one dared to have any more thoughts.
After handing out the materials, Iris stood in the center, took a deep breath, and cast aside the matter of the swapped USB—including whoever aimed to defeat her with this tactic—flatters themselves!
Wearing a gracious smile, she began to speak, "I apologize for the inconvenience caused due to the ppt loss, but since I’ve also prepared paper documents, please allow me to continue the report."
Neither humble nor arrogant, going as it should.
Her demeanor at work was not pretentious at all.
Lachlan’s gaze fixed on Iris, surprised to discover she could recite those figures backwards, not needing a ppt, managing to support an entire meeting report by herself, an impressive feat of memory!
Being swapped wasn’t the scariest part; the scariest part was how Iris had already memorized it all!
Sitting there, even Leo felt his hair stand on end, as Iris needed barely any glance at the text to skillfully inject her thoughts and perspectives, guiding everyone into discussion and analysis, like a leader thoroughly prepared and familiar with everything in the company, reviewing it daily.
After five minutes of speaking, some in the audience still showed disdain.
When Iris had been speaking for twenty minutes, Leo first pushed his glasses, the eyes behind them filled with admiration.
Some below nodded, "To remember these reports, clearly she did her homework!"
"No ppt, but her words were clear and concise! Plus the well-written paper documents, this newcomer performed remarkably!"
"Young Master Wyatt really found a gem!"
As the atmosphere grew warmer and closer to Iris, seeing her chat knowledgeably with the older executives, Lachlan pressed his forehead and chuckled softly.
Truly... a woman who plays by her own rules.
The meeting lasted two hours, where Iris and the executives discussed everything from company matters to national affairs, from politics to cosmic science, and began debating the ends of philosophy—Theology!
As they left the office, the executives looked at Iris as if she was a god-like figure, while Lachlan felt a mix of amusement and consternation. He planned to challenge Iris by having her, a newbie, host a meeting, yet she instead went straight to the top!
Some of the veteran executives couldn’t even hide their praise for her!
However, the moment Iris left the meeting room, the smile on her face immediately drooped.
A nearby executive still said, "Iris, why not give me a fortune-telling next time...?"
"Wait for me, I’ll just visit another department."
"What for?" The executive looked at Iris, "Better do the fortune-telling, it’s not like you belong to that department..."
"Just settling a score."
Iris said expressionlessly and headed straight to Roxanne Young’s department, not caring about those following behind, striding in her high heels.
Those left behind exchanged puzzled looks.
Roxanne was still engrossed in gossip with her colleagues when she suddenly sensed a murderous aura behind her. She turned her head and saw Iris standing there.
Before she could recover, Iris raised her hand without changing her expression, landing a backhand slap across her face!
