Ivor had saved Toby’s number long ago. If Floyd had not reminded Ivor about it, the latter would not have remembered that.
“All right, I’ll call Toby and ask him where’s Bonnie.” Ivor searched for the number and dialed it.
Meanwhile, Toby was in his place sipping tea when his phone rang. He was stunned when he saw Ivor’s name on the screen. Then, he recalled what Bonnie told him and everyone else at the research institute.
‘Ms. Bonnie said she’d be away from Pyralis for a long time. She also said her husband might call to ask about her whereabouts. We’re supposed to say she’s busy conducting research. No matter what Mr. Ivor asks, we must tell him that to stop him from discovering the truth.’
With that in mind, Toby composed himself and answered the call, “Hello, is that you, Mr. Ivor?”
Ivor’s charming voice sounded, “Yeah, it’s me.”
After some silence, Toby asked, “How can I help you?”
“Where’s Bonnie? She isn’t answering my calls. I’ve called her more than ten times now,” Ivor sounded displeased. He thought it was strange because Toby was Bonnie’s assistant, yet he could answer his call, but Bonnie could not.
Toby felt a little guilty when he detected the displeasure in Ivor’s voice. The former gathered himself and lied, “Ms. Bonnie has been working on a massive project recently, but she thinks the noise at the research facility will distract her.
“She took a team of researchers to another institute that could provide her a quieter environment.” Toby’s words only made Ivor more suspicious.
The latter squinted and said coldly, “If it’s a massive project, why aren’t you, her assistant, involved?”
Tony deliberately sighed to sound helpless, saying, “It’s a long story, Mr. Ivor.”
“Then make it short,” Ivor might have sounded calm, but his tone was imposing.
Toby felt intimidated and wiped his nervous sweat before saying, “It’s nothing spectacular. I’ve just been working on a thesis, so I must juggle my work and studies. Eventually, it got so bad that I messed up some data.
“Although it was insignificant data, Ms. Bonnie has always been stringent with these things. It made her think I couldn’t juggle work and study. That’s why she didn’t want me involved in this research. She told me to straighten out at the university before she could reconsider things.”
Ivor instinctively took Bonnie’s side as he listened. Then, he spoke on her behalf, “That’s just how she is. She’s pretty forgiving about most things but is brutally strict about research. That said, I bet she did it for your benefit.
“You’re working on a thesis but want to be involved in a significant project. You can botch your thesis and Bonnie’s research if it’s more than you can handle.”
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