Polly drove to the main industry without delay. When she arrived, she walked in through the glass door, and all the employees at sight lowered their heads in a respective bow.
Their greetings were not important, and Polly headed towards the elevator. When she arrived at the production floor, Emily as always was diligently awaiting her presence, and she could see the relief in the young lady's blue eyes when she showed up.
"What exactly happened?" Polly inquired as she stepped into the production room with Emily. Workers were scurrying about, and others inspected the new batches of radiant glow with furrowed eyebrows.
Polly knew that a code red in her industry could only mean one thing– a potential catastrophe with the latest product, and to sum up her conclusion, Emily nervously adjusted her glasses and said..
"Miss, it seems someone has tampered with the new radiant glow products." She informed her as they approached the quality control station, "there were mentions of tampering, contamination, and potential legal ramification. I had to call you right away!"
"This is why it's always crucial to test every batch made, if I hadn't requested the details, none of these reports would have been detected." Polly could feel a headache creeping in, and she asked, "were the products subjected to both clinical trials and patch tests?"
"Yes." Emily nodded, "it was tested twice, both yielding the same result. Those who were involved claimed the product made them sick, and the laboratory supervisor claimed that the products had been sabotaged with an unknown substance. Based on our findings, it's clear someone is responsible; twenty percent of the batches were contaminated."
Twenty???
Polly was bewildered, as well as displeased by the news.
She was glad she had delegated the testing to Emily today, else, who knows what would have happened if those products had been distributed without proper check? At the same time, the realization hit her hard— the twenty percent of products now amounted to nothing but waste, with the money she invested in them gone!
It seemed as though nothing was going her way in this universe, and on top of everything she's gone through so far, she has to deal with the industry facing a shocking sabotage.
Why couldn't things ever go according to her plans? Even if it's just once? Or is she truly cursed like the rumors had said?
Not only is she targeted, but her company is targeted as well.
Who is so hell-bent on ruining her life??
"Emily"
"Yes, Miss?"
"Bring a sample to my office, and tell everyone to pause. No one should make further products until a thorough investigation is carried out, and the culprit is found."
"Right away, Miss." Emily nodded and immediately went to do as told.
As Polly awaited the tainted products in her office, she reflected on the manufacturing process of the radiant glow.
Her skin care products are meticulously crafted in their state-of-the-art facilities. Each step of production is overseen by skilled technicians, ensuring that only the highest quality of ingredients are used, and that the final product meets the company's exact standard.
Even with all the thorough procedures, someone has managed to breach their defenses, threatening not only the reputation of her company, but also the trust of loyal customers.
"Who could it be?" Polly's eyes burned, she was in a very foul mood, but no matter what, she would stop at nothing to uncover whoever tried to sabotage the integrity of her business.
It took about two hours before Polly could round everything up in her office. She was exhausted, and when she felt her brain no longer seemed to cooperate, she decided to call it quits for the night. Thankfully, no one was harmed, and for the meantime, everything will be kept on hold until they can ascertain the nature of the substance and how it got into her product.
Stepping out of the building, Polly glanced at the time in her watch to see it was 11pm. She sighed wearily, hoping to get some much-needed rest once she returned home.
A convenience store was a couple blocks away from the building, and Polly was dying to have something watery. Her throat felt dry, and she decided to grab a drink from the store before heading home.
Going on foot, Polly made it to the convenience store and did her purchase. She grabbed an iced tea, paid for it and stepped out of the store.
Quenching her thirst and refreshing her system, Polly halted at the store's entrance after running into a familiar face, and if she had taken any step further, they would have collided.
The shock in her eyes was evident, but she recovered quickly and tried to brush past the unwelcomed being.
"Polly."
Andrew grabbed her wrist before she made any attempts to walk away from him. His handsome face softened momentarily when Polly turned around to look at him, but the coldness in her piercing green eyes did not escape his notice.
"How many times must I warn you not to touch me?" She demanded.
With a swift movement, she freed her wrist from his grasp, wiping her hand against her oversized coat. "Stay away from me." She warned, her tone firm. "This is the last time you'll try to stop me. Don't get in my way."
"Listen, Polly, I understand that I've made a huge mistake." Andrew pleaded with his eyes, trying to reason with the cold woman, "I know what I did to you is unforgivable, but that won't stop me from apologizing to you either. I acted wrongly, treated you wrongly, and I'm truly sorry. If you can just–"
"I don't need your apology, nor do I want to hear it," Polly interrupted, her tone flat and indifferent. Her eyes conveyed a sense of disinterest. "If that's all you have to say, then I must go before reporters spring out of nowhere! There are people who are genuinely concerned about my safety, and I can't keep them worried."
"Polly, wait." Before Polly could take another step, Andrew's hand shot out, gripping her delicate arm like a vice. He pulled her towards him, and his lips crashed against hers in a forceful kiss that took her by surprise.
Polly's eyes widened.
Unknown to Polly, a hired reporter hiding in the shadows had captured them.