Echoes of Unrequited Love ( Hogan Zade )
Chapter 91

Chapter 91

If Hogan got wind of this, wouldn’t he think we were picking on his darling? I’ve got this sneaky feeling something bad was brewing.

Soon, I handed the proposal over to Wallis, who after giving it a read, pursed her lips and said, “I knew it; the dinner issue wasn’t going to be that easy to settle.”

I just stared at her, silent. She looked back at me, her slender fingers tapping the desk lightly, and said, “She’s peeved you stole the show at the party and now she’s throwing a spanner in

the works.”

Sticking to the facts I said, “But if you put it in front of Hogan, he might think the girl is just showing some initiative.”

Wallis saw this too and grumbled, “If she had actually gone through the project brief, she’d know the talented character was already assigned to the male lead in art. I mean, how can you have two Mr. McDreamys in one game? Isn’t she just messing around?”

“Of course, Cecilia wouldn’t bother us with something like overlapping game character images.”

Hearing this, Wallis scratched her head, “We’ve got to give some sort of explanation for this, right?”

We were indeed on the same wavelength.

“Since you brought it up, I guess you’ve thought of a way to handle it?”

Wallis sure thought highly of me. If we outright rejected Cecilia’s those two suggestions, we might end up her causing a scene with Hogan, but if we didn’t deal with it, it looked like we were not taking her seriously as a planning manager. Either way, it was a tough spot, quite the pickle.

“Cecilia probably saw this coming.” Wallis mused, resting her chin on her hand, “The game’s character design and image were set in stone before we even started. She’s overstepping her bounds. To me, it looks like she’s using this as an excuse of defending Rainbow Capital’s image to play power games with us.”

Wallis figured Cecilia was too calculating, and made a decision on the spot, “We both know how pivotal character images are to the game’s overall storyline. It’s impossible to change them. Otherwise, if word gets out, won’t it look like we, the project leads, are being led by the nose by some undergrad?”

I hadn’t thought it through as much as Wallis, but I agreed with her. The issue now was how to tactfully communicate this decision to Cecilia.

“Let’s stall for a couple of days,” Wallis suggested, looking at me, “and see how Cecilia plays it.” I didn’t object, but then Wallis changed tack and asked, “But Xaviera, did you really get

Chapter 91

accepted into Elysium University?”

“Doesn’t it look like it?”

Wallis eyed me, puzzled, “I was just wondering, you love programming so much. It was a golden opportunity; how could you just let it go?”

The scar on my wrist gave a faint throb, and I said with self–mockery, “Back then, I was probably suffering from a severe case of lovesickness.”

“And now?” Wallis picked up the thread.

Now, the sickness was cured.

We wanted to delay, but Cecilia didn’t give us the chance. Just one day later, she found me again.

“Xaviera, how’s the discussion with President Lott going?”

Cool as a cucumber, I said, “Still in progress.”

“Oh, I see,” the disappointment in the girl’s voice was palpable.

All I could do was offer some comfort, “Character images in the game are crucial, Director Irwin; we need some time.”

Cecilia smiled, “Then I’ll wait a bit longer.”

I thought I handled it pretty well, but before lunchtime was over, Hogan’s call abruptly came

through.

He started off on a sour note, “Ms. March, please come to Rainbow Capital with President Lott immediately.”

His tone was all official, but it was clear we were being ordered around. Great, looked like it was probably about that proposal.