C146 Director Sarah

The next morning at Wood IT Company... The atmosphere inside the conference room was completely different. The large oval table was already filled with board members, department managers and several senior executives. Everyone was quietly discussing today's agenda. Some talked about the completed French project. Others discussed the company's recent losses. A few whispered about Director Kelvin's miraculous recovery.

Outside the conference room... Alicia and I stood together holding a laptop and a small flash drive containing months of hard work. Today... Would most likely be our final working day. Alicia looked at me. "Nervous?" I smiled. "A little." She laughed softly. "I thought geniuses never get nervous." "We're still human." She nodded. "I guess you're right."

Just then... The conference room doors opened. Secretary called us in... we walked inside. Some seats were still empty. Not long afterward... Samantha entered. The moment her eyes landed on us... She froze. For a brief second... Her eyes became moist. She quickly looked away before anyone noticed. Seeing both of us standing there reminded her of everything that had happened over the past few weeks.

The false accusations... The prison... The pain... The sacrifices. She quietly took her vice director seat. A few moments later... Footsteps echoed through the hallway. Everyone instinctively turned around. Kelvin Wood. He looked slightly thinner than before. His face was still pale from spending days in hospital. However... His posture remained straight. Walking beside him... Was Sarah. She carried several files in her arms while quietly following her father.

The entire conference room immediately stood up. "Good morning, Director." Kelvin smiled. "Good morning." Sarah simply nodded politely. Inside the conference room... Only two important seats remained empty. The Director's seat. And the Vice Director's seat. Without thinking much... Sarah walked toward the Vice Director's chair. After all... She believed her father had fully recovered. Her duty as Interim Director had ended.

She was just about to sit down... When Kelvin suddenly stopped her. "Director Sarah." The room instantly became silent. Sarah looked up. "...Dad?" Kelvin pointed toward the large chair at the head of the table. "I think you're sitting in the wrong place." She blinked. "The wrong place?" He smiled warmly. "Your seat is over there." He pointed directly at the Director's chair.

For several seconds... Nobody spoke. Even Sarah remained frozen. "Dad..." "But you're back." Kelvin slowly shook his head. "I may have returned." "But during my absence..." "You protected this company." "You carried responsibilities that even experienced executives were afraid to carry." He smiled proudly. "So..." "The Director's seat belongs to you." Sarah's beautiful eyes widened. "...Me?" Kelvin nodded. "You've earned it."

Every executive inside the room exchanged shocked glances. No one had expected this. Even Samantha looked surprised. Slowly... Sarah stood up. She walked toward the Director's chair. Every step felt heavier than the last. Finally... She gently sat down. For the first time... The chair no longer felt temporary. It felt... Real. A soft round of applause echoed throughout the room. Sarah's cheeks immediately turned pink. She lowered her head shyly.

Kelvin chuckled. "Congratulations, Director Sarah." She smiled awkwardly. "...Thank you, Dad." Only after everyone had settled down did Kelvin look toward us. "Mr. Smith." "Miss Mooney." I immediately stood up. "So..." "I heard your project has finally been completed." I nodded confidently. "Yes, Director." "Would you mind presenting it to Director Sarah?" "It'll help her understand the company's future direction." "Of course."

I plugged the flash drive into the conference room computer.

Moments later... The large projector lit up. A detailed system interface appeared on the screen. I walked toward the front. "The section I'm explaining today focuses on the backend." I clicked the first slide. "The security architecture has been redesigned from scratch." I continued explaining each function carefully. Database encryption. Cloud synchronization. Automatic recovery systems. Real-time monitoring. Board members occasionally nodded in approval. Whenever technical questions were asked... I answered them calmly.

After finishing... I looked toward Alicia. She smiled confidently before standing. "I'll explain the user interface." The next slide appeared. Unlike my technical explanations... Alicia focused on design. She explained how every screen had been simplified. How users could navigate faster. How colours had been selected according to international accessibility standards. She even demonstrated the mobile version. Several shareholders couldn't hide their admiration. "The interface is beautiful." "So simple." "Even beginners can use it." Alicia smiled politely. "That was exactly our goal."

Nearly an hour later... The presentation finally ended. Sarah remained looking at the screen for several seconds. Then... She slowly smiled. "I've only been acting as Director for a few days..." She looked directly at us. "...but today I've realised something." She paused. "My abilities are nowhere near yours." She laughed softly. "I still have a lot to learn." Everyone inside the room smiled. Then... Sarah's expression became serious. "I've also received both of your resignation letters." The room suddenly became quiet.

She looked at us. "Would you mind explaining why you wish to leave?" I exchanged glances with Alicia. Then I stepped forward. "Director..." "My fiancée and I are getting engaged this afternoon." Several board members immediately smiled. "Congratulations." I continued. "The Mooney family recently acquired Lucia Goods." "The company now needs Alicia." "So..." "As her future husband..." "My responsibility is to support her."

Beside me... Alicia's cheeks immediately turned bright red. She lowered her head shyly. Kelvin smiled knowingly. "So..." "You two will become the future leaders of Lucia Goods." Alicia nodded respectfully. "Yes, Director." "My grandfather wants me to officially take over as Director." She glanced at me before smiling. "And my future husband has decided to work beside me." "Not above me." "But beside me." Kelvin laughed happily. "A wise decision."

Alicia then turned toward Sarah. Her playful smile returned. "I hope..." "When Director Sarah gets married one day..." "She'll also allow her husband to help her." "Who knows..." "He might be even more capable than she is." For one brief second... The entire conference room became strangely quiet. Only Samantha understood the hidden meaning. Kelvin laughed loudly. "I completely agree." "A capable partner is a blessing."

Sarah nearly choked. She immediately lowered her head. Only three people inside the room knew the truth. Alicia. Sarah And Mike. She forced a smile before quietly nodding. "...I'll remember that." Everyone laughed again, believing it was only a joke. After reviewing the remaining reports... Kelvin finally stood up. "I have no further questions." He looked toward us. "The French contract was only possible because of your hard work." "You've both contributed greatly to this company."

He smiled warmly. "On behalf of Wood IT..." "Thank you." The entire conference room erupted into applause. I looked toward Sarah. "Director..." "Since today is both our final working day and our engagement day..." "May we leave a little earlier?" "We still have many preparations." Sarah smiled. "Permission granted." She lifted both resignation letters.b"I've officially received them." She looked at us sincerely. "Thank you for everything you've done for this company." "I sincerely hope Lucia Goods reaches even greater heights under both of your leadership."

Alicia and I bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Director." Hand in hand... We quietly walked out of the conference room. Behind us... The applause continued.