Chapter 501
Ariel didn’t take Evelyn’s little stunt to heart.
She never believed Evelyn was truly on her side anyway. The only reason Evelyn had turned up was that the Nancy she had once favored hadn’t lived up to her expectations, and recent events had led Evelyn to reconsider.
On Monday, Ariel went with Chad to a meeting near the World Trade Center.
They had just wrapped up the deal and were heading to the car when they saw a car pull up across the street. Nancy stepped out in heels, clearly having business in the area.
She looked put together again.
The moment Nancy spotted Ariel, the warmth in her eyes iced over. Her gaze lingered on Ariel for a beat. The corner of her mouth curled into a sharp, mocking smirk.
Without saying a word, she turned and walked into the building across the street.
As Ariel noticed the place Nancy disappeared into, a flicker of suspicion crossed her eyes.
Nancy’s reaction was different this time.
In the past, whenever they crossed paths, Nancy’s attitude had been nothing but disdainful indifference. Now, though, there was something sharper, deliberate, and confrontational.
Ariel thought to herself that Nancy’s mindset had completely shifted. People wouldn’t show such clear attitudes without a sense of crisis.
“Looks like she’s cleaned up her mess. I heard she’s already covered the penalty with Westvale Gallery,” Chad said. He knew plenty of people in the industry and always caught wind of these things.
Ariel wasn’t surprised. When the issue first came u, she had already considered the possibility of Jayson stepping in.
Veyo Solutions had already taken a huge hit from the previous leak and infringement. Nancy had probably already had to cover part of it herself.
But the dispute with Westvale Gallery had nothing to do with Veyo Solutions. If Nancy really had to pay the full 50 million dollars out of pocket, it wouldn’t be easy.
For Nancy to have resolved it so quickly in such a short time, Ariel couldn’t think of any other possibility besides Jayson stepping in.
“She has a clear head handling all this. Even after such a huge scandal, she’s kept Veyo Solutions running without missing a beat. That shows she’s pretty strong inside,” Ariel said matter–of- factly.
Chad also understood that things might have gone differently with anyone else.
1/4
Chapter 501
+25 BONUS
“But if she didn’t have someone to bail her out, it’d be a whole different story,” he said with a smirk, finding it rather ridiculous.
Ariel knew exactly what he meant. She lowered her gaze and said nothing.
After making sure all the necessary paperwork was in order, Nancy headed back to the hospital.
Sarah had just learned Nancy had settled Dylan’s penalty. She was surprised. “Did Jayson cover it?”
If it wasn’t him, it wouldn’t have been handled so quickly.
Nancy paused, then went back to peeling her apple. Don’t worry. I handled it,” she said flatly.
She didn’t elaborate.
Sarah already knew about Evelyn’s visit. After thinking it over, she said with a cold expression, ‘ You need to understand something. If Mrs. Larkin had the power to make decisions for Jayson, she wouldn’t have come to you at all.
“I’m guessing she and Jayson have already had a blowup and couldn’t come to an agreement. That means Jayson has probably defended you. If that’s the case, then you’re in a good position. There’s no need to bring it up to him. When the time’s right, just mention giving the house back. He’ll understand, and he’ll deal with Mrs. Larkin.”
Nancy caught her meaning. She handed Sarah the apple and said, “Jayson cares about me. I don’t need to play games with that.”
Sarah frowned. “This is a critical moment. We can’t afford even the smallest slip. We also need to settle the lawsuit as cleanly as possible.”
Dragging it into the open would only hurt Sarah.
And she still wasn’t sure how many charges Ariel was planning to throw at her. The uncertainty gnawed at her.
Nancy frowned, irritation flashing in her eyes. “I know. Jayson’s already got a lawyer on it. I’ll sound Ariel out first.”
The next day, Ariel got a call from Nancy’s lawyer. Nancy wanted to meet in person to “negotiate
terms“.
Ariel shut it down immediately.
She only said one thing, “I’ll see her in court.”
The lawyer didn’t push it. They were probably off coming up with another plan.
Still, Ariel found it strange. Ever since the incident the art museum, Jayson hadn’t come to talk to her, nor had he discussed any terms regarding Nancy and Sarah.
2/4
Chapter 501
+25 BONUS
She had thought he would come for her first.
But if he wasn’t showing up, all the better. She didn’t need to waste energy dealing with him. After all, he wasn’t easy to handle.
That afternoon, Ariel and Chad headed to Nexura Solutions.
The two companies had been working closely together, integrating operations. Everything was going smoothly so far.
Nexura Solutions‘ affairs needed Ariel’s regular oversight. Day–to–day management was handled jointly by Tom and the management team she had assigned.
While Chad went to check on the 3D modeling work, Ariel went upstairs to review Nexura Solutions ‘latest business reports.
Tom brought her the quarterly report summarizing Nexura Solutions‘ major affairs and finances from the past six months. “Ms. Walker, you’ll need to review these. They need your final approval.”
Ariel’s brows twitched at the sight of the pile of documents.
Running a company this size was no small feat. Every detail needed her review. Since she had taken over Nexura Solutions only recently, she had to work through the backlog from scratch.
“Alright, I’ll get to it in a bit.”
She had been so tied up with Faye Technologies lately that Nexura Solutions had taken a back seat.
After all, she had sent trusted people over to manage alongside Tom, so there shouldn’t be any
issues.
When Chad came back upstairs, Ariel was still frowning over the reports.
He walked over. “This is why Nexura is Nexura. Some of these project operations and reports are so complex. They can really give you a headache.”
Taking over midstream always came with extra work.
Ariel sighed. “Looks like I’ll be stuck here until the end of the day today.”
Chad sat down at the table without hesitation, ready to help. “Just tell me what you need. I’ll stay Jate with you.”
Ariel’s lips curved into a small smile. “I’ll buy you dinner.”
Chad was in his element with this sort of work.
But after a while, Ariel suddenly froze. She flipped back to one of the documents and scanned it from start to finish.
When she pieced it together, she couldn’t hide the shock in her eyes.
3/4
