Chapter 1675
[ 530 words ]
Ulysses stared in disbelief.
The agency had run countless scenarios regarding her reliability, but none of them factored in the possibility that she would simply say no.
They had been wildly overconfident!
Ulysses had called Claire on speakerphone, right in the middle of a room full of senior officials.
Everyone could hear the clear rejection in her voice.
An executive who had opposed outsourcing from the start scoffed. “This amateur is the genius you were all raving about?”
“She’s just a cowardly little girl!”
One of the female directors immediately bristled at the derogatory term.
She shot the man a withering glare. “We wouldn’t be begging for outside help if your people were actually competent!”
“It doesn’t matter who she is, as long as she gets results.”
“Exactly, Raymond. We know you’re the tech authority, but even your top student couldn’t crack this. Bringing in a consultant is our only viable option.”
“Adrienne, don’t waste your breath arguing with Raymond. The priority is getting Claire to agree.”
The others quickly chimed in, trying to diffuse the escalating tension.
Every person in that room, young or old, was a heavy hitter in the intelligence community.
The clash of colossal egos was an everyday occurrence.
They practically brawled over routine matters, let alone over the indignity of begging a teenager for help.
“Right. Let’s not tear each other apart just yet. We need to persuade her.”
A chorus of voices agreed to keep the peace.
Every eye in the room pivoted back to Ulysses.
“Ulysses, tell the girl she’ll be handsomely compensated, and we’ll guarantee her safety.”
Arthur Garrison finally spoke up once the bickering died down.
Arthur was Walden’s most trusted protégé.
Naturally, he was entirely on Claire’s side.
After all, he was one of the few who knew Claire had saved Walden’s grandson.
Ulysses hurriedly relayed Arthur’s offer over the phone.
“I don’t have the clearance. Working on FIB headquarters core secrets is a massive violation of protocol, isn’t it?”
Claire politely but firmly declined again.
Ulysses was practically ready to drive to her apartment and beg in person.
Arthur suddenly had an epiphany. “Clearance isn’t an issue. We’ll simply bring her on as an official consultant.”
“Her fiancé, Dane, already operates as an external asset for us.”
“Recruiting Claire as an active consultant is perfectly justifiable.”
A consultant position wasn’t just handed out to anyone!
Raymond Vance, whose pride had already taken a beating, stiffened his neck in furious opposition.
But his protests fell on deaf ears.
When Arthur gave an order, arguing was utterly pointless.
Wasn’t it obvious?
Arthur was completely backing the girl.
Adrienne Byron was the first to voice her support.
bet
“I second that motion. Ulysses has all the charm of a brick wall anyway, so let’s pull him off this I handle the onboarding myself.” .net>
Ulysses’s face darkened. “Director Byron, that’s entirely uncalled for!”
Since when was she so cutthroat?
Was she seriously stealing his recruit right in front of him?
“Oh, please. You lack the tact to
cate properly, and you
you
clearly aren’t reading between thes lines of what the girl actually wants.
“Her fiancé has a title, so she wants one too. It’s romantic!”
“You’re completely clueless!”
Adrienne was a devastatingly beautiful woman who had retired from active field duty after
jet
sustaining severe injuries, restricting her to a desk job.
But even in a bureaucratic role, her sheer lethality rivaled her days in combat.
“I…” Ulysses highly doubted her logic.
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