Chapter 232: Chapter 232: Trouble for Sophia Shaw

Vincent Grant frowned and said nothing.

His intention had been to ask Sophia Shaw about her relationship with Chad Jennings in person and to close the distance between them.

But it seemed things hadn’t gone as planned.

The stubborn look on Sophia Shaw’s face as she threw away his bouquet replayed in his mind, and Vincent Grant laughed silently.

’So this is the real Sophia Shaw?’

In their six years of marriage, everything he had learned about Sophia Shaw didn’t add up to what he’d discovered in the past few months.

Vincent Grant raised the privacy partition and made a call. "Help me look into the matter between Sophia Shaw and her father as soon as possible."

"Alright."

The person on the other end said nothing more.

But Vincent Grant didn’t hang up right away. He mulled it over for a moment before asking, "Sophia Shaw said she only married me because she loved me back then. Do you... believe that?"

The person on the other end chuckled. "Why wouldn’t you? If you were bald and in your seventies or eighties, would she still have pulled that move?"

"Vincent, she might have schemed against you to strike at the Eldest Miss Sherman, but her feelings for you were definitely real."

"But no matter what, the relationship isn’t pure, and your heart isn’t with her. If you ask me, just divorce her and be done with it."

"Hasn’t the Eldest Miss Sherman returned? You two should go your separate ways and let everything go back to how it was supposed to be..."

Vincent Grant hung up silently before the other person could finish.

He rested his elbows on his knees and slowly lowered his head.

Joel Hale studied Vincent Grant in the rearview mirror, unable to make sense of what was going on between him and Sophia Shaw. His heart was pounding with uncertainty.

「Monday.」

It was the day Sophia Shaw officially joined the Zenith project team.

At the entrance of the Zenith rocket launch base, a long red carpet had been rolled out. Countless red balloons lined both sides of the carpet, stretching all the way to the main gate.

A huge banner hung above the gate, reading: "Welcome, Rocket Genius Sophia Shaw, to Zenith Base."

It was an unusually high-profile display.

Joanna Sherman got out of her car, her eyes bloodshot and a haggard look she couldn’t hide etched between her brows.

"This Sophia Shaw is being a bit too ostentatious, don’t you think?" Joanna Sherman’s assistant said with displeasure as she followed beside her, taking in the scene.

"We brought her here to solve problems. And what does she do? Puts on such a grand show, as if she’s afraid people won’t know she’s a ’rocket genius’!"

"If you ask me, she’s deliberately targeting you."

Joanna Sherman snorted coldly. "We’re here to work. Don’t bother with such trivial matters."

She lifted her leg, stepped around the red carpet, and walked inside with her head held high.

The assistant shook her head.

’Making such a scene right from the start. She really can’t keep her composure.’

’And here I thought she was some big shot. Turns out she’s nothing special.’

Vincent Grant was very generous with Sophia Shaw, having already assigned people to clear out a large space for her office.

It was located diagonally across from Joanna Sherman’s office.

The two offices faced each other through a glass wall.

Its area was several times larger than Joanna Sherman’s.

But inside, it was completely empty.

The assistant glanced down at her watch.

"It’s almost nine, and there’s still no sign of her!"

In this regard, Joanna Sherman was much better than Sophia Shaw. At least she arrived at the company by eight-thirty every morning.

Joanna Sherman just sneered again, opened her tablet, and began studying technical materials.

Her assistant had seen how hard she’d been working recently and suddenly felt that, in comparison, Joanna Sherman was far more reliable.

’Sophia Shaw is so lazy. The only reason she could get by at Lead Aerospace was because Levin Sawyer had her back.’

’In this new environment, not as many people will be coddling her. Who knows how much trouble she’ll cause next.’

’But that’s good, too. When she can’t handle it, President Grant will definitely put Ms. Sherman in charge of the engineers again.’

’It’s only a matter of time before Ms. Sherman is recognized again.’

This was what the assistant was thinking, and even more so what Joanna Sherman was thinking.

The more problems Sophia Shaw revealed, the more advantageous it would be for her.

’When the time comes, I’ll use the opportunity of our collaborative work to learn her techniques on the one hand, and rebuild my prestige at Zenith on the other.’

’Returning to the public eye will be just around the corner.’

Joanna Sherman hadn’t commented on Sophia Shaw’s high-profile antics precisely to lay the groundwork for this day.

The lower she positioned herself, the more low-key she acted, the more shocking her eventual rise to the top would be!

Time ticked by, second by second. By ten o’clock, Sophia Shaw still hadn’t made an appearance.

Many engineers were waiting outside her office to meet her. It was her first day working with them, and they were all hoping to make a good impression.

As time passed, the excitement in their eyes gradually turned to impatience, and finally to irritation.

The assistant asked Joanna Sherman for instructions twice. "Should we call President Grant?"

Joanna Sherman replied coolly, "Chief Engineer Shaw is responsible for all of Zenith’s operations now. What would it look like if I called him? Like I’m tattling on her?"

The assistant sighed.

"If you ask me, President Grant was a bit hasty with this decision."

It wasn’t until the scheduled eleven o’clock meeting that news finally came from Sophia Shaw.

An announcement was sent through the intranet, notifying everyone of the meeting.

The assistant, long past annoyed, brandished her phone. "Showing up at this hour. That’s just like her!"

Joanna Sherman, as if she hadn’t heard, got up and walked toward the conference room.

Outside the conference room, Vincent Grant arrived with Joel Hale.

Joel Hale spoke as they walked, "There was no sign of Chief Engineer Shaw. I was just worried, so I called you."

As he finished speaking, he met the eyes of Joanna Sherman, who was walking toward them.

Joanna Sherman quickly averted her gaze, nodded at Vincent Grant, and entered the conference room.

After sitting down, she took out her laptop again and started reading the latest research papers.

Seated among a group of engineers, her focused demeanor set her apart from the others, making her particularly conspicuous.

Just as Vincent Grant was about to follow her in, he saw Sophia Shaw and Levin Sawyer walking over, side by side.

The two were chatting as they walked, the atmosphere relaxed.

Sophia Shaw even smiled from time to time, her face—which had been so cold toward him recently—now full of gentle warmth.

Vincent Grant’s eyes darkened silently.

Joel Hale sighed under his breath. "Chief Engineer Sherman has been enduring hardships and diligently studying the work, while this one finally shows up when the sun is high in the sky."

"President Grant," Levin Sawyer said when he saw Vincent Grant.

For once, he didn’t make a snide remark upon seeing him.

He patted Sophia Shaw on the shoulder right in front of Vincent Grant. "Go on in."

Sophia Shaw nodded at Vincent Grant, her gesture polite but distant.

Then she entered the conference room.

Levin Sawyer didn’t leave. He stood at the doorway, his gaze fixed on her, deep and tender.

He made no effort to hide it from Vincent Grant.

With a dark expression, Vincent Grant walked past him and entered the conference room.

"Let’s start the meeting," he said, looking at Sophia Shaw.

Sophia Shaw stood up. "Starting today, you’re all on leave for three days."

Everyone: "..."

"Chief Engineer Shaw, are you kidding me? We’re on a tight schedule, and you’re giving us a three-day leave?" The first to stand up was Howard Holloway, a veteran figure at Zenith.

He had always respected Joanna Sherman and was considered one of her staunchest supporters.

"Exactly! It’s bad enough she waltzes into work late, but now she’s dragging everyone on vacation with her! I don’t think Chief Engineer Shaw is here to help Zenith; she’s here to tear it down!" said Xander Archer, another of Joanna Sherman’s staunch supporters, his face full of defiance.

Joanna Sherman’s assistant, Isabelle Lawson, couldn’t be as direct, but she also chimed in, "Chief Engineer Sherman has been working overtime constantly, and under her leadership, everyone’s morale has been very high. Doesn’t giving everyone a sudden vacation just deflate that morale?"

"If Chief Engineer Shaw wants a vacation, she can take one herself. We have Chief Engineer Sherman watching over things here anyway. You can just pop in occasionally when you’re in a good mood!" Howard Holloway snorted.

Seeing this confrontation, Joel Hale’s heart sank.

’Causing a public outcry on her very first day... This Chief Engineer role is going to be tough for Sophia Shaw.’

He couldn’t help but look at Vincent Grant.