Long after everyone else had left, Shalma Hughes remained at the conference room door. She just stood there.
Thea Grant hesitated for a long time before finally approaching her. "Ms. Hughes, are you really confident you can persuade Mr. Winslow?" she asked, her tone laced with worry.
Shalma looked at Thea and broke into a bright, carefree smile. "Thea, I was just bluffing them earlier. I'm not confident at all..."
Once that man made a decision, it was nearly impossible for anyone to change his mind.
Seeing Shalma's flippant attitude, Thea almost stomped her foot in frustration. "Ms. Hughes, how can you still joke at a time like this? Tomorrow will be here before we know it. You heard them—we only have as much time as it takes to play a few rounds of mahjong."
"Don't panic! I still have you, don't I?" Shalma's out-of-the-blue remark left Thea frozen in place.
"Ms. Hughes... what do you mean?" Thea asked, pushing up her glasses with a guilty conscience.
