Chapter 170
A cold sweat broke out on Chloe’s forehead, and she was scared so much she could barely hold the phone.
She left Alice’s seat in a flurry.
Luke was in her way.“Answer my question. What were you doing?”
Chloe dared not meet Luke’s gaze, her hands shaking.
Menu
She stammered, “I… I was trying to help Ethan win the project. The Maple Company is now his major competitor, and I wanted to help him.”
“You can help Ethan, but what you did was illegal! And what you did would hurt Alice! Do you know that?”
Luke could not believe that Chloe would do such a thing.
He recollected what Noah had said before.“Was the security footage from the cafe real?”
“Luke, no…”
Luke refused to listen to her explanation. He grabbed her arm and said, “Go apologize to Alice now.”
He indeed had conflicts with Alice, and he even tried to dissuade her from joining the Blitzkrieg Team just now.
However, he would never do something like this!
Chloe was terrified, pleading, “Luke, I did it under Ethan’s order. Please don’t tell anyone else.”
She would be screwed if Alice found out.
According to Alice’s personality, she would never forgive those who betrayed her.
Luke found it incredible.“Are you saying that Ethan asked you to steal Alice’s data?”
“Yes. Why else would I risk it? It doesn’t benefit me.”
In her panic, Chloe used Ethan as a shield.
Luke was stunned. He didn’t expect Ethan to order Chloe to do this.
He knew Ethan well. It was possible for the latter to do such a thing, especially given his recent resentment towards Alice.
He had even spoken of destroying the Maple Company.
Seeing Luke waver, Chloe added, “Noah invested half his fortune in this project, hoping to do a career in Washington. If we fail, Noah will suffer a huge blow as well!”
“But you shouldn’t resort to such despicable means! Why can’t we play fair? Does Ethan really want to destroy Alice?”
Luke still felt something was wrong, but he wasn’t sure what it was.
Chloe said, “Luke, Ethan doesn’t want to destroy Alice. He just didn’t think she was fit for business, especially now that she had offended the Garcia family. The latter will not let her off easily.”
“If she fails this time, she’ll focus on her studies and won’t cause trouble again.”
Luke fell silent.
Chloe continued, “Alice is so famous now, and she disregards the Welch family. She even wants to join your rival team, Blitzkrieg Team. She clearly doesn’t take you seriously.”
“Ethan wanted to teach Alice a lesson and let her know how kind the Welch family treated her.”
“Maybe instead of joining Blitzkrieg Team, she’ll join your team.”
15:39
37.9%
< Chapter 170
“After all, we’re family!”
Luke seemed to be convinced by Chloe’s last sentence. Would Alice at last join his team?
“What are you two whispering about?”
Alice suddenly appeared.
Menu
Chloe freaked out, explaining quickly, “Nothing! Luke and I were talking about teams. You’re now the leader of the Harvard Team. Do you still need to join Blitzkrieg Team?”
“Why not? Blitzkrieg Team is a strong team, and it can offer me great benefits and a bright future.”
Alice returned to her seat and cast a glance at her laptop. A cold smile came into her face.
She looked up.“You two touched my laptop, didn’t you?”
“No, Luke and I were chatting. Maybe someone else touched it. Is that right, Luke?”
Chloe looked at Luke, her heart beating violently.
She thought, “Don’t say anything! Please!”
Luke vaguely nodded.
He looked earnestly at Alice.“Ethan wants this project, no matter the cost. You are only an employee. You don’t need to compete with him so seriously. Why don’t you leave early?”
“I’m not just an employee. If the Maple Company wins this project, I’ll get stock options and shares in the company.”
At Alice’s words, Chloe put on a shocked expression. Was the Maple Company so generous?
No wonder Alice was so eager to get Ethan’s data.
Chloe couldn’t help feeling jealous. She thought about the photos she’d taken and was determined to prevent Alice from succeeding.
Luke had a mixed expression.
Chloe was right. Alice was increasingly successful and thus she ignored the Welch family more and more.
If Alice failed and faced difficulties, she would realize the value of the Welch family.
By then, he could help her.
She would thus return to the Welch family and his team.
Luke felt deeply regretful and wished for a chance to start over.
This might be it.
Seeing that Luke did not reveal what she had done, Chloe said anxiously, “Luke, let’s go. Ethan should be here soon.”
Luke said nothing in the end and left with Chloe.
Alice sat down at her laptop, glanced at the presentation on the screen, and closed it.
Soon, the representatives of the Maple Company arrived.
The person in charge looked at Alice and said, “Mr. Yates said he had something else to do and thus didn’t come over. If there’s something wrong, we can handle it ourselves.”
“Okay.”
Alice found it odd that Andrew didn’t appear, especially since it was he who had invited her yesterday.
She didn’t think too much, assuming a work emergency.
15:39
37.9%
< Chapter 170
Soon, others arrived.
Menu
Ethan entered with a large group, exuding confidence.
Alice looked at Chloe, whose eyes flickered nervously.
Ethan walked up to Alice.“I heard the Garcia family stopped sponsoring the Harvard Team. As the new team leader, you will have to cover the team’s expenses. How much money do you have?”
“It’s none of your business.”
Ethan placed his hands on Alice’s desk and said coldly, “Let me give you a chance. If you apologize, I’ll take the place of the Garcia family to sponsor your team. How about that?”
Alice raised her head.“Keep your measly money. Don’t embarrass yourself.”
Her expression was cold and defiant.
Ethan stared at Alice.“Well, you are indeed stubborn. I’ll teach you a lesson and make you admit defeat this time.”
“We’ll see who wins.”
Alice raised her eyebrows, her gaze sharp and arrogant.
Ethan returned angrily to the seat opposite Alice and glared at her as if he wanted to beat her.
Alice remained calm, seeming to ignore Ethan completely.
Those from the Maple Company, who were next to Alice, were shocked.
They’d investigated their competitors. The Welch Group was influential in Washington and much more powerful than the Maple Company.
Faced with such a formidable opponent, Alice was not inferior at all.
The person in charge whispered to Alice, “Alice, were you a little too arrogant? They’re a strong company.”
“Do you know Mr. Welch? Did you have a history with him?”
Alice nodded. “That’s right!”
Did Ethan want her to surrender? No way!
As the officials arrived, they began to ask companies to show off their Al projects.
The Welch Group went first.
Ethan made the presentation in person. As the president of the Welch Group, he was professional, captivating the
audience.
However, those from the Maple Company changed their faces at Ethan’s presentation.
“Alice, their presentation is almost identical to ours!”
Alice stood up and interrupted in a loud voice, “The Welch Group stole our ideas!”
< Chapter 171
