Better Late, But Never His Again novel Chapter 72

The next morning, Hazel arrived at the Apex Research Division right on time. The bright sunlight struck her face, making her squint.

She took a deep breath, pushed the doors open, and walked in. A few people glanced her way and offered greetings; Hazel nodded slightly in return.

There were already people in the lab. Audrey was sitting at her desk, flipping through a thick stack of documents spread out in front of her.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up. The corners of her mouth twitched into a cold smirk, a sly glint flashing in her eyes as a malicious idea formed in her head.

"Dr. Garrison is here?"

Her voice drifted over, slow and dripping with sarcasm. "Perfect timing. These files need to be sorted today. I'll leave them to you. After all, you just sit there all day with barely anything to do. I'm just helping you increase your workload. No need to thank me."

She stood up and shoved the heavy stack of paperwork in front of Hazel, raising an arrogant eyebrow. It was a subtle exchange only the two of them could fully grasp.

Hazel looked down at the dozens of pages filled with dense data and charts. Under normal circumstances, this was three days' worth of work. Even at a frantic pace, it would take at least two to finish.

She looked up at Audrey, her expression blank. "It's impossible to sort all this in one day."

Audrey paused, clearly not expecting such a blunt refusal. Quickly slipping back into her innocent victim persona, she sighed with feigned helplessness.

"It's not my fault. Mr. Thornton gave us a really tight deadline. We aren't trying to make things difficult for you, Dr. Garrison. Just be a little understanding. After all, none of us are as capable as you. You're the specially recruited expert, while we're just lowly employees of a small research division."

The lackey choked on her words, her face flushing crimson. It took her a long moment to squeeze out a defense. "Watch your mouth! Apologize to Audrey right now!"

Audrey waved her hand, forcing a smile and adopting a tone of fake magnanimity. "Forget it, it's fine. Don't worry about it. She's right. I'm clearly not as capable as her, otherwise Mr. Thornton wouldn't have brought in an outside expert."

She turned to walk away, her eyes brimming with dramatic disappointment. She walked agonizingly slow, waiting for someone to stop her.

"You're right about one thing," Hazel's voice drifted smoothly from behind. "You might not have any other redeeming qualities, but at least you're self-aware."

Audrey's steps faltered, her spine going rigid for a split second before she stormed off without looking back.