Chapter 256
You’ll have a three-day probationary period where you only get a flat rate without bonuses.
You get one day off a week, and working through it earns you overtime. During the official holidays, that overtime pay doubles p>
“That’s amazing. Thank you so much! Once I get my first paycheck, I’m treating you to dinner there p>
“Deal. I’ll hold you to it p>
While Mira hardly needed a free meal, she wasn’t about to crush the girl’s genuine gratitude.
Mira’s winter break swiftly settled back into a grueling, four-point routine: martial arts, apothecary arts, vocal training, and the corporate office. She took her lessons in the mornings and handled business in the afternoons.
Under Master Ellis, Mira successfully earned her red belt in Taekwondo. However, securing her certification in advanced pharmacology required passing a brutally rigorous exam.
“You’re the master. If you say I pass, I pass. Why do I have to take a test p>
“My master was my own father, and I still failed his test three times before I finally passed p>
“You must have been really dense,” Mira blurted out instinctively.
“Excuse me? What did you just say p>
“I said, he must have been really strict p>
“If we aren’t strict, it ruins the legacy of our discipline. Our standing in this world relies on flawless execution and ironclad rules p>
“Right, right. Let’s do the test, then p>
“We can’t do it today. The exam takes half a day, and I still need to prep the botanical ingredients p>
“Just let me know when you’re ready p>
“Do not underestimate this apothecary exam. It is notoriously difficult.
Your grasp of the theoretical chemistry is solid, but you sorely lack hands-on experience p>
Seeing how casually Mira was taking it, Master Ellis felt compelled to issue a stern warning.
“Got it. I’ll put more hours into it. Actually, I won’t do anything else today—I’ll just focus on my pharmacology p>
For the rest of the day, Master Ellis painstakingly drilled Mira on synthesizing compounds and refining botanical extracts.
Even though Mira had already memorized the theory from the dense tomes he’d given her, putting it into practice was a completely different beast.
Mixing the formulas was straightforward enough-just measure the ratios-but several of the compounds required complex heat extraction.
And the refinement process required an absolute mastery of timing and temperature control.
“Theoretically, you’re more than qualified, but to become an advanced apothecary, you must master the physical execution p>
Mira was already drowning in her senior year studies, and building a corporate empire from the ground up consumed massive amounts of her time and energy. Her bandwidth for mastering these apothecary arts was dangerously thin.
Fortunately, she possessed relentless drive, a photographic memory, and a terrifying level of
comprehension. She had already devoured every advanced,
pharmacology text required.
With her companies operating smoothly and no immediate crises, Mira decided to
skip the office for a few days and pour all her focus into passing this exam.
These skills were nothing to scoff at. In life-or-death moments, an encyclopedic knowledge of toxins and antidotes was the ultimate trump card.
She could obviously just take the finished compounds from her master for now, but he would grow old eventually. Sooner or later, she had to rely entirely on herself. That evening, while Mira was heading home, Ethan called her.
“Mira, that steakhouse chain you’re endorsing? They had a massive issue with today’s supply run p>
“What happened? How do you know about that p>
“That entire truckload of spinach your locations bought wholesale this afternoon… someone spiked it before it changed hands.
I don’t know exactly what chemical they sprayed on it.
My men were tailing some operatives from Porter Entertainment and stumbled onto
it by accident. Have your people investigate it immediately p>
The Mercer family had deep-seated bad blood with the Porters, so it was perfectly natural that Ethan had surveillance on their operations.
Looked at from another angle, the previous scandal that crippled Azure Skillet had been orchestrated by the Mercer Group. No one wanted to see Porter’s restaurants crash and burn more than they did. ‘
“Understood. Regardless of whether we find anything, you gave me the heads-up. Consider this a favor owed, and I will repay you when the time comes p>
Acknowledging him as her brother in this lifetime, however, remained an absolute impossibility.
The moment she ended the call, Mira locked eyes with Ronan Creed in the driver’s seat. “Ronan, turn the car around. Get us to the nearest branch immediately p>