CHAPTER 61: CHAPTER 61: DISPLAY OF AUTHORITY? SHE BROKE THEIR LEGS!

Inside the office, there were only Vincent Hawthorne and Cindy Lynn. Vincent had just made a phone call to the garden villa’s butler to check if Old Lady Hawthorne had woken up.

He put down his phone and immediately heard Nina Leslie’s angry accusations, which made him frown in irritation.

It’s Tanya Sinclair again!

Just on her first day back at the company, she’s already given him two ’surprises’!

Early this morning, as soon as Cindy Lynn arrived at the company, she inexplicably received a termination letter from HR, which is why she was blocked from entering in the company lobby.

Vincent Hawthorne inquired with the HR manager and learned that the order came directly from the board, bypassing him as the general manager.

Upon further investigation, it turned out that the order came personally from Old Lady Hawthorne, who hadn’t intervened in company matters for years!

Although Old Lady Hawthorne is now enjoying retirement at home, she was once a prominent figure in the business world.

Zenith Group was built by her and her late husband, Old Master Hawthorne. Even the initial seed funding came half from her family.

Therefore, she holds 17% of the original shares of the group and has significant influence on the board. However, after Old Master Hawthorne’s passing, she had no interest in company affairs, so her eldest son, Father Hawthorne, Theodore Hawthorne, managed her shares.

But it was only a temporary arrangement, and the ownership remained with her.

That’s why she had the authority to directly order HR to fire Cindy Lynn, using her position as a board member.

Previously, at the company, Tanya Sinclair had a disagreement with Cindy Lynn, and Old Lady Hawthorne has always favored Tanya, her granddaughter-in-law.

He didn’t even need to think about it; it must have been Tanya Sinclair whispering in Old Lady Hawthorne’s ear, making her personally act to fire Cindy Lynn!

Furthermore, the current batch of the R&D department, was recruited while Cindy Lynn served as the acting manager. Tanya Sinclair can’t even stand them!

Vincent’s eyes darkened, and his handsome face turned cold.

He couldn’t understand how she could become so jealous and petty!

Cindy Lynn was still defending Tanya Sinclair.

"Nina, Ms. Tanya isn’t that kind of person. There must be some misunderstanding."

Vincent Hawthorne glanced at Cindy Lynn, feeling a tinge of sympathy.

Even though she was being targeted, she was still speaking up for Tanya Sinclair...

"No misunderstanding, Cindy, you’re just too kind, thinking everyone’s as good as you are!" Nina Leslie declared confidently. "I was only holding a routine morning meeting with the department when Manager Sinclair, who hadn’t joined the work group chat yet, wasn’t notified."

Nina sarcastically remarked, "I just didn’t expect Manager Sinclair to act so high and mighty. She had Serena Holloway warn us to return within fifteen minutes, or face the consequences. But during the meeting, no one checked their phones, so when we returned after the meeting, Manager Sinclair locked us all out, wasting both our work time and company resources for the whole morning!"

Nina grew increasingly enraged, "If you don’t believe me, President Hawthorne can personally ask the colleagues in the R&D department; there’s no way all of us are framing her!"

Nina continued with righteous indignation.

Several colleagues nearby exchanged glances and felt a bit guilty.

They all knew that the issue today wasn’t Tanya Sinclair’s fault. They just wanted to give her a hard time, not expecting that she wouldn’t fall for it.

But now, they were already in the same boat as Nina Leslie and had to stick it out.

Cindy Lynn hesitated and looked at Vincent Hawthorne.

Vincent spoke gravely, "Tell them I’ll be there in fifteen minutes."

Cindy Lynn relayed his words, and Nina Leslie was overjoyed. She put down her phone and immediately spread the news.

"Cindy’s bringing President Hawthorne over now!"

Indeed, in President Hawthorne’s eyes, Cindy Lynn was the most important.

Nina glanced at the tightly closed door, a gleam of triumph in her eyes.

Just wait for President Hawthorne to come, and see how he’ll deal with that little witch, Tanya Sinclair!

...

In the laboratory, Tanya Sinclair had been busy all morning and finally took off her glasses.

She rubbed her stiff neck and casually picked up her phone, seeing four missed calls from Vincent Hawthorne, the latest one just three minutes ago.

Tanya Sinclair was contemplating whether to call back.

Serena Holloway rushed in, flustered, having just received a threatening text from Nina Leslie.

"Boss, it’s bad. Nina really complained to Cindy Lynn, and now Cindy’s bringing President Hawthorne over, they’re almost here!"

"Hmm, I know."

Tanya Sinclair remained completely unfazed as she calmly removed her lab coat and headed out, momentarily preventing Serena from following her.

"You don’t need to come. I have something I need you to do."

Serena Holloway was a bit worried, "But boss, you alone..."

Tanya Sinclair smiled, "Would adding you make us stronger?"

"Probably not," Serena acknowledged her own limitations, "I can’t outfight or outtalk them, but at least if you’re bullied, I can share half of the burden with you!"

Tanya Sinclair looked at Serena’s earnest face and smiled, touched.

"Don’t worry, from now on, I won’t let myself endure any more grievances or bullying."

In the past, for Vincent Hawthorne’s sake, she always endured and gave way, he was her biggest weakness.

But now, she had forcefully and painfully cut Vincent Hawthorne from her heart!

...

When Tanya Sinclair reached the entrance, Vincent Hawthorne and Cindy Lynn had not yet arrived.

Outside the glass door, Nina Leslie was waiting with a crowd of R&D department colleagues.

When she looked up and saw Tanya approaching, she smirked disdainfully.

So that’s how it is, pretending to be so impressive, and yet as soon as she hears President Hawthorne’s coming, she rushes to open the door, groveling.

Through the glass door, Tanya Sinclair glanced at the people outside.

She had briefly reviewed their resumes before; indeed, none of them were usable.

Without ability and unwilling to obey her, Tanya Sinclair had no intention of keeping them.

As soon as the door opened, before Tanya could speak, Nina jumped out to loudly accuse her.

"Manager Sinclair, you’ve gone too far! Just because we were having an early meeting and didn’t reply to your messages immediately, you locked us all out for the whole morning, only opening the door when I complained to President Hawthorne!"

Tanya Sinclair ignored her barking, casually looking at the R&D employees behind Nina.

Most of the employees lowered their heads, too guilty to meet her gaze.

Tanya Sinclair glanced at the time on her watch, "There’s five minutes until lunch break. I’ll keep it simple. This morning, you are all marked absent, docked one day’s pay. According to company policy, three incidences of tardiness equal automatic dismissal. You’ve to submit a 200-word handwritten self-reflection to my desk by end of the day. If anyone has objections, you can submit your resignation now, and I’ll sign it immediately."

Her tone was calm, yet each word carried a commanding presence that instantly silenced the room.

The R&D employees were panicking; they had intended just to teach her a lesson, but now, this woman had metaphorically broken their legs!