Chapter 233: Chapter 233: Joanna Sherman Swallows Her Pride Before Vincent Grant for the First Time

Vincent Grant turned to look at Sophia Shaw but didn’t say a word.

Joanna Sherman stood up from her seat. "If Chief Engineer Shaw is truly exhausted, I can continue to lead the team. I’m not afraid of hard work or exhaustion!"

"You can simply check in on our progress whenever you’d like."

Her words sounded incredibly humble, as if she were completely selfless and hardworking.

Levin Sawyer, standing by the door, let out a scornful snort.

’Still trying to throw shade at Faye, implying she’s lazy, even now?’

’Some people never change!’

’Joanna Sherman was obviously trying to sideline his Faye, leaving her as Chief Engineer in name only. Then she’d get all the training for free!’

’She’d shoulder the real work, reap the rewards, and leave Faye with nothing?’

’Dream on.’

’He’d thought that after everything Joanna Sherman had been through, she might have learned to lie low for a while.’

’Clearly, he’d been too optimistic.’

Of course, he didn’t need to intervene in such a minor matter. Levin Sawyer stood to the side, arms crossed, ready to watch the show.

Back in the conference room, Sophia Shaw didn’t rush to argue with Joanna Sherman. She simply raised a hand.

Jacobs, who had been standing quietly in the back, immediately handed her a file.

She spread the file open under the document projector in front of her.

The contents of the file immediately appeared on the screen behind her.

Sophia Shaw’s naturally gentle voice followed, echoing through the conference room. "This is a summary of all the work you have done since the satellite launch failed."

"It’s true that you’ve all been working overtime, but it’s also true that the quality and speed of that work have been nonexistent!"

The air in the room instantly froze.

It was deathly silent, the only sound being the soft whisper of breathing.

Everyone stared at the chart before them, a mixture of shock and shame on their faces.

The contents of the chart were too humiliating to look at.

A single, minor problem was revised over and over, wasting a huge amount of time without ever producing a solution.

Many tasks had been started, but most were initiated and then never followed up on.

Meanwhile, a few other tasks were being pursued by several teams simultaneously, with no division of labor whatsoever!

The only way to describe the whole situation was as "a total mess."

Everyone had felt that things were going badly, but the reality was far worse than they had imagined.

Sophia Shaw asked with the utmost seriousness, "Are you all certain you want to continue doing this kind of pointless, useless work?"

Joanna Sherman never imagined that Sophia Shaw could have grasped their entire work situation so thoroughly in such a short time, let alone compile it into a chart.

This chart was more humiliating than any words could be. Her face flushed, burning with shame.

Beneath the table, her fingers curled into a tight fist.

The three who had just been so agitated also fell silent, too ashamed to make another peep.

Seeing that no one else was speaking, Sophia Shaw continued, "I’m giving you all three days to rest, recover your energy, and clear your heads of any negative emotions. My team has no place for people with low morale or those who are fixated on failure."

No one raised any further objections.

In truth, everyone was exhausted. The so-called "high morale" was nothing but a facade.

"Since there are no objections, let’s move on to the second item: the review." Sophia Shaw brought up another file.

Everyone looked on, once again stunned.

It was a chart outlining the merits and demerits related to the recent launch.

Item by item, the chart listed Zenith’s existing problems and the person responsible for each.

And in the column for the most direct cause of the satellite launch failure, the names of Joanna Sherman, Xander Archer, and Howard Holloway were listed in plain sight.

Joanna Sherman was the one who ignored the data, but the other two were undoubtedly her accomplices!

Everyone’s gazes fell upon the trio in unison. Looks alone were enough to subject them to death by a thousand cuts.

"That explains it," Elias Underwood said coldly. "No wonder they were defending the one who made the mistake. The three of them were in it together all along."

Howard Holloway and Xander Archer lowered their heads in shame, completely unable to face anyone.

Sophia Shaw crisply and decisively announced the disciplinary action against the three.

Howard Holloway and Xander Archer were removed from the project team directly.

Joanna Sherman was also kicked out of the core team.

"I trust you have no objections to these arrangements, President Grant," Sophia Shaw said, only turning to Vincent Grant after making her decision.

Her gaze was soft, as gentle as placid water.

She wasn’t being aggressive, yet her actions were flawless.

"No objections." Vincent Grant looked at her intently, making no move to defend Joanna Sherman.

Sophia Shaw then moved on, issuing verbal reprimands to other engineers listed on the chart for more minor issues.

Of course, she didn’t forget to commend those who had performed well.

Afterward, a new core team was assembled. Elias Underwood’s name, along with those of several other diligent and responsible engineers, was on the list!

’Sophia Shaw had given him a chance!’

Elias Underwood stared at his own name, his eyes turning bright red with emotion. He almost burst into tears on the spot.

’She had given him the opportunity he thought he’d never get in his entire life!’

"Chief Engineer Shaw..." Elias Underwood’s eyes shimmered with tears. He felt an urge to kneel before her.

’He had treated her so poorly in the past, yet she didn’t hold a grudge and was even allowing him to join her team!’

Elias Underwood secretly made a resolution: for the rest of his life, he would only follow her. She was his one and only boss!

Once everything was settled, Sophia Shaw wasted no more time. "Meeting adjourned!"

In just one meeting, everyone was completely won over by Sophia Shaw. The engineers, who had never cared for empty formalities, all rose to their feet in unison, spontaneously waiting for her to leave first before following her out.

Unable to contain their excitement, they began to murmur amongst themselves:

"People really are different. Chief Engineer Shaw looks so gentle, but her judgment is razor-sharp and she’s so decisive. You can’t underestimate her. I’m sold!"

"I really learned something from this meeting today. Her record of five consecutive successful launches was definitely no miracle."

"She’s the type to quietly get things done. So much better than those so-called experts who talk a big game but don’t even understand the basic rules."

"If I’d known, I would’ve gone to Lead Aerospace. I’ve wasted so much time here at Zenith."

"I’ve had it with following an idiot! The heavens have eyes after all, sending Chief Engineer Shaw to save us!"

They didn’t bother to hide their conversations from Joanna Sherman. Stung by their words, her gaze trembled as she hurried a few steps to block Sophia Shaw’s path. "Chief Engineer Shaw, are you happy now that you’ve humiliated me like this?"

Sophia Shaw’s indifferent gaze slid across her face.

Joanna Sherman gritted her teeth. "Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing. You’re using your position to settle a personal score! You’re just using this as an excuse to crush me!"

"Are you even worthy of me using company business to settle a personal score?" Sophia Shaw asked lightly.

Joanna Sherman stared at her, pupils trembling, her mind filled with only one thought:

’Worthy?’

’Worthy?’

’So, I wasn’t even worthy of being the target of her personal revenge?’

’I thought being the target of her revenge was the greatest humiliation, but I was wrong!’

Vincent Grant stood a short distance away, his lips pressed together as he watched the two face off.

Sophia Shaw, completely ignoring his presence, continued, "The humiliation just now was something you brought upon yourself. I had nothing to do with it, so don’t get confused."

"The humiliation I have in store for you is yet to come!"

Joanna Sherman: "..."

’How could she say something like that right in front of Vincent Grant!’

Joanna Sherman instinctively looked toward Vincent Grant.

Sophia Shaw wasn’t in the mood to care what Vincent Grant was thinking. She simply stepped past Joanna.

Levin Sawyer came up to meet her. "Let’s go."

The two of them walked out together.

"Vincent..." Joanna Sherman called out Vincent Grant’s name, her voice low and aggrieved.

She couldn’t swallow this humiliation. Forgetting her usual pride, she opened her mouth to ask for his help for the very first time.

Vincent Grant, however, seemed not to have heard her. He just started walking, following behind Levin Sawyer and Sophia Shaw.