Ariel’s voice was calm. It even sounded quite pleasant and soothing to the ear. At the same time, her words were so powerful that they felt like they could easily pierce through one’s heart.
Hence, that simple remark from her packed quite a punch.
Most people were aware that Ariel had become Carlos‘ postgraduate student. Still, they weren’t aware of the exact details, such as the score she had obtained during the postgraduate admissions exam.
A lot of them gasped upon hearing what Ariel just said.
Most of the people there were engineers. They knew very well how impressive it was that someone had managed to get that score during the postgraduate admissions exam.
They all looked at Ariel with awe and bewilderment.
Nancy averted her gaze. Her hands, which were placed on her thighs, balled into fists.
Nancy hadn’t expected Ariel to bring this up suddenly. Moreover, she couldn’t say anything to refute those words.
“What’s the point of her bringing that up now? Ariel is just showing off to everyone by telling them her score Nancy grumbled internally.
“Really?” Zach was briefly stunned. He only knew so much since he hadn’t tried to find out more about th details. He had a look of bewilderment on his face. “Isn’t that the highest score one has ever achieved for Ashford University’s postgraduate admissions exam?”
He couldn’t help but wonder if there were other things he was unaware of.
Chad cast him a glance and praised him. “You’re quite smart today, Mr. Quinton.”
Zach was rendered speechless.
Ariel stared at Nancy expressionlessly. “From your point of view, I’m attacking you when I was simply being frank and stating the facts?
“Ms. Stanton, perhaps you’ve gotten so used to being admired and buttered up that you can’t accept the fact that someone might be better or have more progressive ideas than you do when it involves your expertise? Are you going to dismiss every idea or suggestion that doesn’t align with your stance?
“I’ll offer you a piece of advice then, Ms. Stanton. If your heart is so fragile that you can’t even take any constructive criticism, you may consider going to the club and hiring a few hosts, who’ll agree with whatever you say and constantly shower you with praise.”
Nancy had suddenly criticized Ariel by implying that she was not competent enough and that there were flaws in her plan. So, Ariel decided to bring up what Nancy cared about the most, a person’s actual achievements, to prove her point.
Nancy’s expression hardened after she heard Ariel’s caustic reply.
“Aren’t you overreacting a bit, Ms. Walker?” Nancy had a frigid look on her face.
Ariel remained cool and collected. “Hmm… You can just think of this as me showing off. You don’t really have to pay any mind to what I’ve said.”
Nancy felt as though she had just been forced to swallow a mouthful of sand.
Chad nearly burst into laughter.
Chapter 454
+15 BONUS
Most of the time, Ariel had stayed silent unless she felt the need to say something. If someone happened to tick her off, she had no trouble coming up with sharp, clever retorts to drive that person up the wall. After all, Ariel had experience working in public relations.
Ariel had honed her skills in dealing with people and various matters over the three years of her public relations work. She had also become exceptionally skilled at articulating her thoughts and ideas.
In a way, she had made use of the opportunity earlier to vent her frustration.
Zach stared at Ariel’s face for quite some time, looking absolutely flabbergasted. Suddenly, he realized how much Ariel had held back when she criticized him previously.
Nancy took a deep breath and looked at Hector. She couldn’t be bothered to argue with Ariel anymore. “Sorry for taking up so much of everyone’s time. As for whether the plan will work, we’ll find out once more experiments are conducted afterward. Let’s continue with the meeting first.”
Ariel had no interest in having this debate with Nancy either. She would gladly leave Nancy alone as long as the latter stopped trying to pick fights with her.
Ariel acknowledged that Nancy hadn’t gained her current success simply by chance. Nancy was quick–witte Moreover, she hadn’t lost control of her emotions even when she ran into some difficulties. Nancy still m to keep her composure in these situations. 1
Hector didn’t mind these exchanges. It was fairly common for people to have differing opinions and discuss them during these meetings.
However, there was something strange about the tense atmosphere surrounding Ariel and Nancy. Hector wasn’t exactly sure what it was about.
The meeting to learn about and discuss the Department of Defense’s demands and requests lasted approximately two hours. After that, each company would work on preparing their proposal before submitting it for a thorough
assessment.
The vehicles were all parked outside.
Zach stayed behind since he needed to discuss the materials with Hector.
When Ariel and Chad came outside, they saw a Bentley stopping somewhere opposite their car.
