Neera received a call from abroad. She immediately answered after glancing at the caller ID.
"Mr. Hanson, is that you?"
A familiar voice of a middle-aged man greeted her, "Neera, it feels like ages since we last met. How's everything since you returned?"
Obadiah Hanson was an influential man. He was Neera's mentor from abroad and was renowned in the medical field.
After a brief exchange, Obadiah got down to business.
"I'm reaching out as I require your help with a particular set of reagents."
These reagents were crucial to his ongoing work. The study was advancing at a snail's pace, but he was pressed for time. He turned to Neera for support because he lacked the manpower.
"You can count on me!" Neera readily agreed.
Obadiah had been a great help to her over the years. She owed him a tremendous amount of gratitude.
His guidance was crucial to her achievements in ancient medicine research.
As a result, she couldn't refuse Obadiah's request for a favor.
"Haha, you're still the same, always as enthusiastic as you were when you first started. I'll have to thank you in advance," Obadiah said cheerfully.
He went on to say, "I'll arrange for a few people to fly over and assist you in the next couple of days."
Neera replied with a smile, "Sure."
She temporarily set aside her personal feelings and concentrated on the task at hand.
In the evening, she told the triplets about it.
"Anyway, Mommy will be busy for a while and may not have much time for all of you. I hope you can understand. I'll spend more time with you after I finish my work."
This was nothing new for the triplets. Instead, they consoled her.
"It's all right, Mommy," Harvey assured her. "Proceed with your work. I'll look after my siblings."
"We're not going to cause any problems."
"Mommy, even if you're busy, you need to take care of your health. We'll get worried if you overdo it."
Witnessing the empathy of the triplets, warmth filled Neera's heart.
She lovingly accepted their advice and kissed each of them on the cheek.
...
Obadiah acted swiftly. The crew arrived at Kingsview the next afternoon.
Neera personally greeted them in the reception area.
There were three people in total, and Neera knew all of them.
One of them was Obadiah's assistant, Luigi.
Osbert Moody, a junior fellow student, was another.
Thora Hanson, Obadiah's daughter, was the last.
Neera subconsciously frowned when she met Thora, not exactly happy to see her.
The two of them had never really gotten along during her years abroad. Thora was always looking for ways to compete with her, not only professionally but also personally.
Therefore, seeing Thora now brought Neera no joy.
Conversely, Osbert greeted her with great excitement and gave her a big hug.
"Neera, it's been so long!" he exclaimed excitedly. "I've been thinking about you! Why didn't you call us as soon as you got home? I was worried you'd forgotten about us!"
Neera beamed and gave him a polite hug in return.
Osbert was like a younger brother to her and one of the people she trusted the most.
"When I got home, I was preoccupied with the business. I wanted to contact you after I had settled down, but you beat me to it," she laughed.
She then gave Luigi a polite greeting.
"Ms. Garcia, long time no see," Luigi said politely.
When it was Thora's turn, she smiled less and merely called her "Ms. Hanson."
Thora dismissed her. She boldly looked around Neera's workspace.
"I thought you rushed home to do research," she berated with contempt.
"It turns out you traveled all this way to manage a company. Well, a businessman is always a businessman. A businessman is a businessman, after all. You can't escape the stench of money no matter how much pretense you put on as a person of culture."
As soon as she started speaking, sarcasm was evident in her words.
Neera was used to her attitude by this point. She didn't seem to care. She couldn't hold it against her; after all, a cracked bell never rings well.
"I'm able to handle both. You shouldn't worry about it," she calmly retorted.
Thora continued to attack her.
She sneered and said, "You think I care about your problem? I'm warning you; my father values this research. Any errors that you cause will not be tolerated by me."
Neera raised her eyes, her once-gentle eyes turning piercing.
She countered, "Unlike you, I don't make careless mistakes. You might want to heed your own advice given your previous "glorious records." Please don't mess up the data and make us all redo everything overnight."
Though she had shown patience for the sake of Obadiah, she wasn't always able to put up with Thora's behavior.
With that rebuttal, Thora's face grew gloomier.
Neera ignored her and talked about plans with the other two.
"I made hotel reservations for you. I'll have someone take you there to check in. Your flight must have left you exhausted. You ought to get some rest. Tonight, I'll treat you to dinner. We'll visit the research institute tomorrow."
The two made no protests.
Thora had strong feelings about this. She couldn't stand how bossy Neera was and the way she took charge.
Neera was always praised and held up as a role model by her father at home. He constantly made comparisons between the two.
She was clearly outstanding as well, but she frequently felt overshadowed in Neera's presence.
Consequently, she couldn't help but be irritated with Neera whenever she encountered her.
"Why should we listen to you? I am the one in charge of this research. When did it become your place to give orders?"
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This is the same as: 1. Suddenly There Are Three 2. Super Mommy and her Triplets...