Han Na furrowed her brows, intending to refute, but she dared not to confront Zhou Xiaoying directly. She could only lower her head, awkwardly twirling a pen.
Lin Qi nodded as though she understood but didn’t understand.
Right after Zhou Xiaoying left, Han Na turned to Lin Qi with a somewhat unpleasant look and asked, "Lin Qi, you won’t... believe what Ms. Zhou said, right? Although I also work under Ms. Mia, I’m not in the same camp as her!"
Zhou Xiaoying warned her to stay away from Han Na.
Naturally, Han Na wanted to speak well of herself: "I’ve always treated you as a good friend. What about you? Would you consider me a good friend?"
Before Lin Qi could respond, Han Na immediately clarified, "I have no intention of harming you! Look, that day when you argued with Ms. Mia, didn’t I protect you? When Ms. Mia splashed coffee on you, I didn’t hesitate to take your side, even if it meant offending my boss. At that time, I didn’t even know you were Mrs. Huo..."
Pausing for a moment, Han Na suddenly thought of something and self-deprecatingly laughed, "Forget it! It’s redundant for me to ask this. You are Mrs. Huo, and I’m just an ordinary employee. How can I compare with you?"
Lin Qi said, "Han Na, don’t say that. I’ve always considered you a good friend."
She said so, but she still kept the words Zhou Xiaoying said to her in mind.
After all, the heart to harm cannot exist, but the heart to guard must exist!
This week has been uneasy.
On the surface, everything seemed calm, but employees were continually taken away for investigation.
Although the senior management did not reveal any investigation results, presumably, Maeve must be involved in some corruption, thus the investigation team went from individual to the entire project team for a thorough check.
Lin Qi had two days off, and on Monday, as soon as she reached the office, she saw Maeve sitting at her desk, organizing files and belongings.
For the entire week, Lin Qi hadn’t seen Maeve, but Maeve looked much haggard, her hair dry and dull, her complexion wan, her skin had turned much dimmer.
It was rumored during this period that Maeve’s hidden deeds were exposed, not only was she found embezzling public funds, but also evading taxes and violating corporate contracts, resulting in a hefty fine.
According to rumors, Maeve was to lose a substantial amount of money, approximately several million.
Having worked at Huace for many years, she didn’t earn a penny less, with savings easily hitting seven figures. As she didn’t have the eligibility to buy property, she invested in many shares, which now were being frozen, and she had to cough up her savings to compensate the company, which could be described as a dramatic financial ruin overnight!
Lin Qi placed her bag on her desk, then headed to the restroom.
Seeing her enter the restroom, as if possessed, Maeve followed her.
Just after Lin Qi finished washing her hands, she turned around to find Maeve had followed her in, blocking the door, not letting her leave.
She alertly stepped back half a step: "What are you doing?"
Maeve suddenly grabbed her sleeve with a desperate look and pleaded, "Lin Qi, please, can you beg Mr. Huo for mercy on my behalf? I’m already driven to a dead end! The company is demanding that I pay a penalty of 5 million, and the Tax Bureau is still auditing my books... I just can’t afford to pay so much! Please plead with Mr. Huo for me, can we possibly waive the 5 million penalty? I’m begging you, I’m really begging you..."
She cried and pleaded, tears streaming down continuously.
If she really had to pay that much, along with the subsequent taxes and fines levied by the Tax Bureau, she’d probably be deeply in debt!
Lin Qi frowned, "Why do you have to compensate the company so much money..."
Maeve explained with an embarrassed look: "I was foolish... I misused company funds, and then, many of my actions violated the company’s contracts, I signed for a high penalty fee, I really can’t come up with so much money now!"
Lin Qi said, "Isn’t that what you should compensate for? Who made you do such sneaky things?"
Maeve bit her lip, suddenly knelt down with a "thump" and said, "Lin Qi, 5 million might be nothing for the company! But for me, it’s my entire life fortune! I can’t produce that much money now, the legal department warned me that if I can’t pay, they’ll send me to jail!"
Lin Qi shook off her hand, "What use is pleading with me?"
Maeve said, "I was blinded before and offended you, Mr. Huo must want to completely eradicate me because of this! Lin Qi, I really can’t come up with so much money! Over the years, I’ve made some money, but you know... This money, I had partners, I had to share profits with them, honestly speaking, I only have a little over 3 million in my account now, the rest, I sent back home! My parents said they spent the money on buying property, which is restricted from sale and can’t be liquidated..."
Lin Qi didn’t want to listen to her ramble like chanting scriptures: "What has that got to do with me! This is the money you owe the company, how is pleading with me of any use?"
Maeve said, "Please plead with Mr. Huo on my behalf! You are Mrs. Huo, just a casual remark in Mr. Huo’s ear from you is very influential! Even if you can’t get my penalty waived, at least, grant me some grace period! The company is demanding that I pay the penalty within seven days, otherwise, they will sue me and freeze my accounts! Ask Mr. Huo to extend it a few more months for me! I will definitely figure out a way to pay this debt."
Lin Qi scoffed coldly, "Maeve, I admit, there’s personal animosity between us, but I wouldn’t mix private grievances with public duties. Think about it, why do you have to pay so much money, isn’t it because you’ve been morally corrupt and doing these sneaky deeds."
Unnoticed, the restroom was surrounded by employees.
They stood outside the door, watching Maeve kneel before Lin Qi, dumbfounded, thinking something had happened.
Lin Qi raised her head and said to the people outside, "What are you gathering here for? Watching a show?"
The employees were scared and immediately scattered like birds and beasts.
Lin Qi said, "Maeve, get out of the way, I don’t have time to waste on you."
Maeve cried with a trembling voice, "Mrs. Huo! Mrs. Huo... I’m begging you, please help me... Just a word from you to Mr. Huo to plead on my behalf, don’t push me to the brink! I’m truly at a dead end now..."
Lin Qi impatiently said, "Maeve, do you think it’s because you’ve made an enemy with me, so I’m targeting you? You’re wrong, I really don’t care about someone trivial like you. Huace’s investigative team formed against you was because someone reported your misappropriation of public funds and contract violations, it has nothing to do with me! In other words, even if you beg to death, it’s useless!"
Having said that, she pushed Maeve away, bypassed her, and left the restroom.
Maeve slowly climbed up from the ground, looking at Lin Qi’s departing back, raised her hand, wiped the tears from her face, and clenched her teeth fiercely.