Chapter34 With this thought, Florentino picked up his phone and called up his group of drinking buddies. "Same place as always. Tonight, it's on me." Things hadn't been going well for him lately-he deserved to indulge himself a little. Meanwhile, Courtney had deliberately changed into the latest season's white Chanel dress, getting ready to find Flo- rentino and leave work together. As soon as she stepped into the department, her subordinates swarmed around her, showering her with unabashed flattery and sycophancy like a tidal wave. "Courty, your dress today is absolutely stunning. You look like a fairy descended to earth." "Yes, yes, and that bag suits your temperament perfectly. No one else in the company could pull it off like you do." Courtney thoroughly enjoyed being the center of attention. After responding to everyone with a smile, she made her way to the top floor, to the president's office. However, when she pushed open the heavy solid wood door, the room was empty. Courtney felt a bit disappointed. She was about to call Florentino to ask where he was, when her gare inadvertently swept across the spacious, empty desk. Suddenly, she froze, her heart gripped tightly by an invisible hand. There, under the crystal paperweight at the corner of the desk, was a small photograph. In the photo, a girl wore a simple white T-shirt, yet her beauty was unparalleled. That face belonged to Sandria. How could this woman's photo be on Florentino's desk? The last trace of color drained from Courtney's face, her smile instantly freezing and shattering. Instinctively, she reached out, her fingertips trembling with jealousy, wanting nothing more than to snatch up that eyesore of a photo and tear it to shreds. Perhaps because she was too agitated, her elbow accidentally knocked over a tall stack of files nearby. With a loud crash, the pristine white documents scattered across the floor like a flurry of snow. Startled, Courtney hurriedly crouched down to pick them up. 0.0% 12:29 But a slip of paper stamped with a bright red police seal stabbed at her eyes like a sharp knife. "Public Security Administrative Detention Notice" Detainee: Florentino. Reason: Threatening the personal safety of others. Complainant: Sandria. Each of those three short lines hit Courtney's nerves like a heavy hammer. Her pupils contracted to the size of a needle's tip, sharp and dangerous. She could hardly believe her own eyes. Florentino… the high and mighty, untouchable president of the Burnham Group. He was actually arrested by the police because of that bitch Sandria? How could this be possible. Overwhelming shock and surging jealousy twisted around her heart like two cold, venomous snakes, gnawing at her flesh. She clutched the flimsy detention notice so tightly that her knuckles turned white, nearly crumpling the paper. She couldn't stay in this office for even another second. Courtney put everything back in place, then turned and left. Once outside the company, she took out her phone, her fingers trembling as she dialed a number she knew by heart. The call was answered almost instantly, and a cool, magnetic male voice came from the other end, carrying an innate sense of authority. "Courty?" With just that one word, all of Courtney's pretense and strength instantly crumbled. Her tears fell like broken pearls, large and heavy, her voice thick with grievance and sobs. "Gasty… do you have time now? I want to see you." Half an hour later, in a private room at a top-tier cafe in the city center. The man sitting across from Courtney wore a perfectly tailored black Armani suit, accentuating his broad shoulders, long legs, and upright posture. His features were striking and handsome, but his aura was as cold as frost. A powerful, unapproachable presence radiated from him, as if he were a walking iceberg. 50.2% 12:29 Chapter34 288 Vouchers He was the biological son of the Mosley family, and the current president of the Mosley Group-Gaston Mosley, whose word was law. 96.8 % Chapter35 He glanced at Courtney's tear-swollen eyes, his blade-sharp brows furrowing almost imperceptibly, making the air around them grow even colder. "What happened?" His voice was low, yet carried an undeniable sense of pressure. Courtney shook her head. "It's nothing, I just missed you." The more she hesitated and pretended to be strong, the darker Gaston's deep, unfathomable eyes became. He couldn't stand to see her suffer even the slightest grievance. His long, well-defined fingers tapped the table twice, his voice cold as ice. "If you won't tell me, then I'll find out myself." Though his words sounded calm, they carried an irresistible force and dominance. Only then did Courtney slowly lift her head, her usually pure and innocent eyes quickly filling with crystalline tears, as if they might shatter at any moment. With trembling hands, she took the detention notice, now wrinkled from her grip, out of her Hermes bag. "Gasty, I didn't mean to complain." Courtney sobbed, her tears falling like broken pearls, large and heavy. "I just… I just can't understand, how could Tino…" *** Meanwhile, after a brief moment to process her emotions, Sandria quickly threw herself back into her work. The testing was successful, and it was now down to the final wrap-up stage. She typed in the last line of code, and the words "Test Passed" appeared in green on her computer screen. With that, the collaboration was complete. After sending over all the raw data, Lynette called almost immediately, her voice brimming with barely contained ex- citement. "Sandy! Skyline Technologies has finally agreed-they're willing to discuss the project with us!" A genuine smile finally appeared on Sandria's lips. 0.0 % 12:29 "That's wonderful!" Skyline Technologies was a top tech company in the country. Back then, she had turned down their offer for Florenti- no's sake. Now, she wanted to work with Skyline Technologies, so she had Lynette reach out early on. She hadn't expected it to actually work out. "Send me the address, I'll head over now." "Okay." Meanwhile, at the headquarters of "Skyline Technologies," in the president's office. Fulbert's special assistant, Zackary Lozano, was staring at his boss in shock. "Mr. Ortega, are you saying… we should offer three times the market price to work with an obscure little studio?" Fulbert leaned back in his spacious executive chair, his long fingers tapping the desk absentmindedly. "Is there a problem?" Zackary immediately lowered his head. "No! I'll get on it right away." Fulbert paused, then added another instruction. "Be polite when you talk to their founder." Zackary left the office in a daze, still puzzled. Just who was the founder of this little studio? How could they make his usually ruthless and unapproachable boss offer such a sky-high price and specifically re- mind him to be polite? Following the address, Sandria arrived at a tranquil teahouse. Zackary had already been waiting in the private room for quite some time. He had assumed that anyone capable of developing software of that caliber would at least be a scruffy techie, or at the very least, a thirty-something industry elite. But when the door opened and a graceful, radiant woman walked in, he was completely stunned. "Hello, I'm Sandria." Sandria extended her hand, her face adorned with a perfectly measured business smile. Only then did Zackary snap out of it, hastily standing up and somewhat awkwardly shaking her hand. 42.5 % 12:29 Chapter 35 "Ms. Farley, hello, I'm Zackary from Skyline Technologies." The negotiations that followed went exceptionally smoothly. Zackary barely bargained at all, accepting all of Sandria's terms. He even took the initiative to make concessions on many details. This surprised Sandria a little. But just as the two were about to sign the contract, the door to the private room was suddenly flung open from the outside. A cold voice, laced with heavy sarcasm, crashed down upon them like a blow. "I thought it was someone impressive." Sandria and Zackary turned to look at the same time.