Chapter 120
Stephen raised a brow.
“Nothing much. I just had a chat with Stellar about yesterday and helped her get rid of a particularly persistent nuisance.”
His tone was casual, but there was an unmistakable hint of smugness beneath it.
To Shane, it was downright irritating.
He was convinced Stephen was taking a jab at him on purpose, and it nearly sent his blood pressure through the roof.
With a sharp movement, he got up, strode over to Stephen’s desk, and slapped a thick stack of documents down in front of him.
“These projects are all yours. I’m heading overseas for a few days. Don’t bother me unless it’s urgent.”
With that, he turned on his heel, ready to leave.
“Where to?” Stephen asked lazily.
Shane’s lips twitched before he forced out a tight–lipped response. “To Ashfield for recovery.”
He had expected at least a few words of sympathy, maybe even an attempt to make him stay.
Instead, Stephen simply lifted a brow and waved him off.
“Take your time. I’ll handle the Riverside project in the meantime.”
Shane was speechless.
His chest tightened.
With an audible bam, he slammed the door on his way out.
he truly was
He finally saw Stephen for what he He finally saw Stephen for what self–serving man who never put friends above his own interests.
Meanwhile, Stellar wrapped up her day at the lab and returned home to find Claude waiting for her, his face full of pride.
“Stellar, I reviewed the Brighton Group project. You did an outstanding job. You secured an additional ten percent in profit for Riverside. It’s all thanks to your expertise. No one else could have pulled it off.”
The more he looked at his niece, the more impressed he became.
Even the tech specialists hired by their company probably weren’t as capable as she was.
“You trust me, Uncle Claude, so of course I couldn’t let you down,” Stellar said with a small smile.
Claude nodded in satisfaction. “That said, we still need you to handle the next round of technical discussions.”
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“No problem. I’ll coordinate with Mr. Howe and make sure everything runs smoothly.”
“Alright, then I’ll prepare a little gift for you later…”
The moment Stellar heard “little gift,” she shot up from her seat in alarm.
+20 Bonus
“Uncle Claude, you don’t have to do that! You’ve already given me too many things. I can’t even use them all! I’m heading upstairs to get some work done. Bye!”
She turned and hurried upstairs, pulling out her phone to send a message to Shane:
“Mr. Howe, when would you be available tomorrow to go over the technical details?”
However, by the time she wrapped up some of her tasks, thirty minutes had passed–and still, no response from Shane.
Stellar frowned.
Did he miss the message, or was he caught up with something else?
She debated whether to call him when another notification popped up.
She checked her phone and saw a message from Stephen.
“I’ll handle the project coordination with you tomorrow.
Stellar was taken aback.
Stephen was never involved in this project before, so she assumed he wasn’t interested.
She typed back out of curiosity and asked, “Where’s Mr. Howe?”
His reply came almost instantly.
“He had to leave on a last–minute business trip.
“I’ll be handling everything from here on out.”
The speed of his responses left no room for doubt.
Stellar hesitated for a second, but considering she was familiar with Stephen, working with him wouldn’t be an issue.
Besides, Shane had been acting a little too obvious with his intentions lately.
Maybe this was a good thing–it spared her from any unnecessary awkwardness.
“Alright, see you tomorrow.”
After a brief pause, she added a sticker of a bunny cupping its cheeks in an adorable smile, just to avoid seeming reluctant.
Meanwhile, in the villa across from hers Stephen stared at the sticker, and for some reason, an image popped into his mind: Stellar smiling sweetly at him, her hands cupping her face just like the sticker.
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His lips curled slightly in amusement.
Without thinking, he pressed down on the sticker and saved it to his favorites.
With their meeting set for the next day, things on Stellar’s end were progressing smoothly.
But on Yvonne’s side, things had already spiraled into pure desperation.
