“You’re still hesitating?” Leon looked at her, speechless for a moment. “Why wouldn’t you just say yes?”

Abigail gave him a straightforward explanation.

Leon stared at her, his expression unreadable. “You’re that short on cash?”

He thought, "Otherwise, she wouldn’t be asking about the salary. Most people would’ve just jumped at the promotion."

“I want to buy a place. I don’t have one yet,” Abigail said, not seeing any reason to hide it.

Leon’s gaze grew more complicated. “Ambitious. Being a team leader is a lot of work, but yeah, the raise is decent—more than decent?”

Abigail nodded. “Thanks.”

Leon chuckled, “If you really mean that, then tell me who wrote the program yesterday.”

He still didn’t believe Abigail had written it herself. He thought, "She’s way too young to be that good!"

“I’ll tell you when I get back,” Abigail said before heading to the office. She walked in and got straight to the point. “I’ll take the team leader job.”

Timothy wasn’t surprised. He smiled and replied, “I’ll stop by later to assign your team.”

Abigail nodded and returned to the Development Lab. She could feel eyes on her the moment she walked in.

Leon was chewing someone out nearby, practically growling, “You better stop eavesdropping before I lose my patience and teach you a lesson.”

The guy quickly nodded, still scared.

Leon let go of him just as he spotted Abigail. His face relaxed. “You’re back.”

Abigail sat back down in her seat. “Why are you so curious about who wrote the program?”

She didn’t come out and say it was her. After all, Leon had made it pretty clear he didn’t believe it was.

Leon gave her a weird look. “With that kind of skill? Who wouldn’t want to meet the genius behind it?”

“Just meet them?” Abigail had assumed he wanted her to help. “Well, now you’ve met her.”

Leon froze for a second, then looked at her, speechless. “Wait, are you trying to say you’re the one who wrote it?”

Abigail didn’t respond. Leon thought for a moment and figured, "That genius might be Abigail’s secret weapon. I came right out asking to meet them—no wonder she’s being so guarded."

“Alright, I believe you,” Leon said, choosing to let the matter drop.

Abigail had no intention of explaining either. And just like that, a misunderstanding took root.

Soon after, Timothy came over and officially announced Abigail as the new team leader. The Development Lab instantly buzzed with discontent.

Everyone in this department had real skills. Naturally, they weren’t thrilled about taking orders from someone else—especially a young girl like her.

Someone muttered, “She’s only on her second day. Sure, she solved a problem for the department, but that doesn’t mean she’s qualified to lead a team. She’s way too young. Does she even know how to manage people?”

Another voice chimed in, “Exactly. Mr. Neyman, I don’t agree with this. You’re being way too rash.”

Chapter 307

“I’m not working under her, that’s for sure,” someone else remarked.

The complaints came one after another. Leon glanced at Abigail, worried she’d be upset, only to realize his concern was misplaced. It turned out that Abigail was eating snacks.

She hadn’t planned on eating them. She only opened the bag out of curiosity to see what was inside. But the moment she took a bite, it was like discovering a whole new world.

Abigail thought, "How can a snack taste this good!"

“Are they good?” Leon leaned in, clearly eyeing the food with interest.

“You’ve never had them?” Abigail looked at him, confused.

Leon nodded. “I just asked my sister what to buy.”

Abigail didn’t hold back. She handed him a bag without hesitation. The two of them crouched there, quietly sharing snacks like a pair of sneaky kids, completely ignoring the protests around them.

Abigail ended up eating three bags in a row. She couldn’t stop.

Before the Gibson family found her, Abigail could never afford snacks like these. Even after they brought her back, the Gibsons were too busy catering to Daniella to care about Abigail.

No one ever asked what Abigail liked to eat. Everything on the table was what Daniella preferred, and Abigail just ate whatever was there. Abigail didn’t like any of it.

Abigail used to think all snacks tasted the same. It turned out that she just hadn’t tried the good ones.

“This one’s pretty tasty too. Try it,” Abigail said.

The two of them were happily munching away when an icy voice suddenly cut in through gritted teeth, “Leon, is it good?”

Leon instantly tried to hide the snacks, but it was too late. He looked a bit embarrassed as he glanced at Timothy. “Wanna try some?”

“Try my ass. You think I don’t mean what I say? Get your snacks and get the hell out,” Timothy snapped.

Leon stood up at once. “Got it.” But then he looked at Abigail and his eyes suddenly widened.

He thought, "Damn. She looks all proper now, like she wasn’t just snacking like crazy a moment ago. Great. Now I get to take the fall for this."

“Abigail. Over here,” Timothy called. Then he shot Leon a glare and grumbled, “What are you still doing here? Out.”

Leon gave Abigail a betrayed look and walked out.

“These are your assigned teammates,” Timothy said, looking slightly awkward.

Abigail glanced at the three people now standing in front of her and nodded. “Alright. What do you want me to lead them on?”

Seeing that she didn’t seem upset, Timothy finally let out a breath. “There’s a small program that needs to be done. Your team can take some time to get to know each other.”

With that, he walked off.

Abigail glanced at the three of them and asked, “Where are you guys sitting?”

All three team members were guys, all fairly young. One of them looked visibly defiant and completely ignored her.

“Ms. Gibson, the three of us sit over there,” said another, a soft-spoken guy with glasses. He had delicate features and looked shy.

Chapter 307