Tang Nannan arrived at the office at 7:30 AM, as usual.
She planned to familiarize herself with the day's work in advance, then make a steaming cup of coffee for President Ma to kick off the day.
However, as soon as she sat down at her desk, President Ma, flanked by several senior executives, approached with stern expressions and an imposing demeanor.
"What's the word from the other side?"
"It's already been reported. There's no chance for correction. We're in big trouble this time."
As they spoke, they arrived in front of Tang Nannan.
Tang Nannan's desk was located just outside President Ma's office. While using her fingerprint to unlock her office, President Ma instructed her.
"Immediately convene all personnel involved in the Tianxing project for a meeting. Everyone must be here within ten minutes. Hurry up."
Not knowing what had happened, but seeing the leaders so tense first thing in the morning, Tang Nannan dared not slack off.
She quickly called everyone who had participated in the Tianxing project, urging them to go to the conference room.
Ten minutes later, before everyone had arrived, the meeting began.
President Ma, standing at the head of the table, angrily slammed the project proposal onto the desk and scanned everyone.
"Take a look, everyone. Give me a reasonable explanation. What's going on? I pay a bunch of you to work here, are you all useless?"
"To do work like this, you still have the nerve to come to me every few days asking for a raise? What do you take me for? A fool?"
Being thoroughly berated first thing in the morning, no one dared to make a sound.
The Vice President of Sales, closest to President Ma's position, picked up the project proposal after her outburst and flipped through it, quickly finding the loophole.
"This project proposal has gone through the entire process from start to finish. It shouldn't have had any problems..."
President Ma interrupted him, "Stop the nonsense. What do you mean 'shouldn't have had problems'? It has now. Can you say something constructive?"
The Vice President of Sales said, "What I mean is, since the process was completed, and no one noticed any problems from beginning to end, it's possible one or two people are useless, but it's unlikely the entire company from start to finish is. Perhaps..."
His implication was that since you stamped and signed it, you couldn't possibly be calling yourself useless, could you?
How come no one found any issues? Could it be that someone within the company was playing dirty and replaced the correct project proposal at the last moment?
Everyone understood his unspoken meaning, and President Ma heard it clearly.
She lifted her chin and said to the Vice President of Sales.
"Since you suspect there's internal foul play, go through it from the beginning. Identify who was responsible for each process and have them come out to explain."
Soon, the people responsible for the initial stages were found.
It wasn't until they reached the President's office that he discovered that for such a large project, the stamp wasn't President Ma's personal signature, but rather a special "Special Case Approval" stamp from the President's Office.
This meant that the matter had bypassed President Ma, and Tang Nannan had directly made the final decision.
Everyone was shocked that a newcomer who had been with the company for less than a month dared to make such a significant decision.
All eyes turned to Tang Nannan, filled with doubt. Despite her heart pounding, she elegantly stood up to explain.
"The situation is like this, I can explain..."
Four days ago, the project proposal was sent to the President's Office by the head of the final quality inspection process for President Ma's review.
At that time, President Ma was on a business trip to Jiangcheng, so the project proposal sat on Tang Nannan's desk for two days.
Later, due to the client's tight deadline, many processes could not be delayed further. The sales and production departments jointly came to urge for progress, and Tang Nannan called President Ma.
President Ma had a video conference with Tang Nannan and asked her to read the project proposal content line by line to confirm its accuracy.
Afterward, she instructed Tang Nannan to proceed with the "Special Case Approval" process.
If she hadn't mentioned it, how would Tang Nannan, a newcomer with no mentor, know about the "Special Case Approval" and how would she get the stamp?
That stamp was clearly locked away with the Finance Manager.
Before she could even finish her explanation, President Ma slammed her phone onto the conference table with a "bang," glaring at Tang Nannan with fury.
"How dare you, a new employee who hasn't even passed her probation, make such a big decision behind my back. Tang Nannan, are you out of your mind?"
Tang Nannan was stunned.
Since that day at the hospital, President Ma's attitude towards her had been one of utmost respect.
Tang Nannan wasn't greedy, thinking she could gain enough experience in three to five months to find a better job, so she was dedicated to her work every day.
What was going on today?
Was President Ma denying the video conference they had by not giving her a chance to explain?
With such a significant problem in the project, did she want to deny her own mistake and let Tang Nannan bear the consequences alone?
The error was too large, involving too much money, for Tang Nannan to be solely responsible.
President Ma might have amnesia, but the Finance Manager who personally gave her the stamp couldn't have amnesia too, right?
So, after President Ma finished scolding, Tang Nannan tidied her thoughts and prepared to speak again.
However, as soon as she uttered President Ma's name, she was interrupted with a furious roar.
"Don't say anything else! Report it! Before it's too late, salvage as much loss as possible!"
"Tang Nannan, after the meeting, come to my office. You will explain to me thoroughly why you had the audacity to do this!"
With nothing else for them, everyone dispersed like startled birds.
As everyone left, Tang Nannan finally understood what was happening.
Hu Jiasheng had slapped her face so hard at the hospital, yet she still greeted her with a smile.
She had thought it was out of respect for Mrs. Gao and Hu Jiasheng, forcing her to tread carefully.
Now, it seemed she had been too naive.
It turned out she had been saving her big move for this moment.
Revenge is a dish best served cold; Tang Nannan finally understood this saying today.
However, what she didn't do, she didn't do. No matter how meticulously she was framed, she would not admit to it.
Their eyes met. President Ma put away her recent fury and panic, replacing them with a sinister smile.
"I'm 42 years old this year, and I've been in the workplace for a full 20 years. You're the first person to cause me such a great loss."
"For a young girl like you, I've apologized, made concessions, and kept you well. Tang Nannan, do you know how I feel?"
Tang Nannan answered without addressing the question.
"So, you'd rather lose this huge project just to deal with me. Is it worth trading tens of millions for a small figure like me to bow and admit fault?"
President Ma sneered.
"Whether it's worth it or not is for me to decide, not you. You just need to remember that this time, you're finished, completely finished."
"Embezzlement, selling company secrets, colluding with rivals, no one can save you now."