"Then why was I not informed?"

The receptionist was not clenching her teeth in anger as well.She was not the one who deserved this shouting.But she dare not take the a.s.sistant's name lest anyone a.s.sume that she was playing the blame game.The a.s.sistant had been working here with Mr Long for many years whereas she was new and relatively unimportant,so she bent down her head and prepared to take the dresing down while hiding the expression.

But Neil was and had always been an accurately observant person.He could judge from the blink of an eye what the other person was thinking.Calming down,he went to sit on his chair and turned it towards the girl standing with her head bent.In a soft voice,he uttered just one word,"Who?"

The girl looked up in confusion and her face showed that she did not understand his question.Sighing,he repeated himself,"Who did you inform?"Neil already had an inkling of who had done this but he needed to hear the words.The receptionist just shook her head and said in a small voice,"I am sorry sir.I did not inform you.I should have followed the company protocols.I will be more careful in the future."

Irritated with her insistence and misguided loyalty,Neil's voice turned lethal,"What is your name?"

The girl bit her lip anxiously and said in a small voice,"Yu Dani."

"Ms Yu,while having loyalty for your clooeagues is admirable and something we encourage,covering for their mistakes will harm you and them in the long term.What you have done today is a breach of the company's code of conduct for it's employess.Though it is an unwritten rule,it is enough for me to give you an official warning letter.The same thing goes to the person you are protecting.A warning letter will be given to the one who is responsible.Both my a.s.sistants have been working with me for a while.Them receivig a warning letter will be nothing compared to the negative effect it will have on you,who had not been here for very long.So this is your last chance,are you still going to plead guilty.Be warned,even if you take the blame I will find the truth and then the consequences will be bad for the both of you.Your loyalty should be towards the company rather than a person."

Though everything Neil said had been true,the undertone of threat made Yu Dani s.h.i.+ver.After gulping and taking a deep breath she said,"I informed Ms Ping Wan of your guest's arrival explaining that the lady had a small child with her and was here to see you on personal business.Her reason was urgent and therefore she could not wait to get an appointment.I also repeated that Ms Onita had specifically mentioned that her name be mentioned to you since you may recolllect her and agree to see her.?"Yu Dani had finished her explanation in a rush and without stopping for a single breath.Looking indifferently at the woman,Neil then asked her to sit so he could continue his interrogation.

Yu Dani had thought that she would be free to go if she confessed everything but this was even worse.Why was she being asked to sit?Ms Yu,what did my a.s.sistant say to that?"

Oh...so that is what he wanted to know."Umm, she said that you were busy and did not have time to see just anybody.She told me to send them packing or keep them waiting until they were tired and ready to leave on their own.I did try to get in touch again just before the lunch break and request but she insisted that you had been informed and did not recognize the person.So I had no option but to let them wait..I was about to go ask them if they wanted to eat something but before that..."

She left that hanging and agian bent her head in shame.She too felt guilty when she realized that the woman had fainted due to hunger.Having extracted the truth,Neil let the girl go and started to think..Getting up he peeped into the room to see that little Alicia was sitting near her mother's head and playing with her hair quietly.The little girl seemed content and peaceful..

Huh..Life was full of surprises...Sigh...Going back to his cabin,he picked up the phone and made a call to his Personal Incestigator.Once the call was answered,he said concisely,"Onita Dew and Alicia Dew.Country of Origin is Country A.Find if they are in any trouble with the law and I want the report yesterday.Understand?"

He then opened his laptop and typed out an email.Suspending someone was the most serious job that he hated to do.But this is what it was about.Typing out a one week suspension notice of Ping Wan for not following the company's code and ethics,he posted it to the company's common dashboard for all employees.

After giving this decision,he turned off the phone and locked his office and left a message at the reception saying that "Should Ms Ping Wan try to look for him when she comes back from lunch,please repeat the words she said in the morning."

With that Neil went inside and saw the folder and bag that hs staff had brought upstairs when he s.h.i.+fted Onita here.Not caring about the privacy or Onita's opinion,Neil started to go through the papers.