He Never Noticed Me Until I Loved Someone Else novel Chapter 63

Stella nodded evasively. "Yeah. Just messing around."

Jarrod cast a brief glance at the White Jade Peace Knot Amulet in her hands but didn't press the issue. He turned and headed into the bathroom.

After breakfast, they walked out the door together.

Jarrod didn't offer her a ride, but instead asked, "You don't have a driver's license?"

She absolutely did.

Back when she got married, George Quinn had purchased a Maserati as part of her dowry just to keep up appearances.

But Stella found the car far too flashy, and the insurance and maintenance costs were exorbitant.

On her modest salary, it was a financial drain she couldn't justify.

And if she asked George to cover it, Sylvia Quinn would undoubtedly make a fuss behind her back.

So, Stella let the sports car gather dust in the garage while she took cabs.

Whenever she had enough time, she simply rode the subway.

At Jarrod's question, she offered a polite smile. "I'm just a terrible driver. I don't really like being behind the wheel."

"Should I assign you a chauffeur?" he offered.

Stella felt like Jarrod was talking entirely too much today.

He was actually offering her a private driver?

"Thank you, Mr. Fuller, but that won't be necessary."

She was just a mid-level team leader. If she started showing up to the office in a chauffeured luxury car, the rumors would be unbearable.

"I have to get going, Mr. Fuller. See you."

With that, she hurried away.

...

At work that day, Stella engaged in another grueling round of negotiations with the channel partners. Progress was practically nonexistent.

It was the first time Chloe had spoken directly to her since the disastrous celebration dinner.

"Director Huxley, you wanted to see me?" Stella asked, maintaining a professional tone.

Chloe cast an arrogant glance at the plain wedding band on Stella's finger, then slammed a folder onto the desk.

"Stella, I put you in charge of negotiating with the channel partners. It's been days. What exactly have you been doing? They are incredibly dissatisfied with you, and now their complaints have reached my desk!"

Stella frowned. She picked up the file and flipped through it. It was filled with outrageous demands—modifying core gameplay mechanics, shrinking the install package size, and demanding the lion's share of the revenue. There was zero room for negotiation.

She looked up, meeting Chloe's gaze without backing down. "Director Huxley, I have gone back and forth with them on every single one of these points. They absolutely refuse to compromise. I have documented every step of the negotiation process and uploaded it to the shared drive. You can review the logs yourself."

"What good are negotiation logs? I want results!"

Chloe's voice rose sharply. She swiped her hand across the desk, sending the folder crashing to the floor. "You didn't even try, did you? You're deliberately trying to sabotage this project!"

Her voice carried clearly through the open office door, drawing the attention of several employees outside.

Stella swallowed her frustration and kept her tone steady. "Director Huxley, my hands are tied by their impossible demands. I have done everything in my power. If you are dissatisfied with my performance, perhaps you should reassign the account to someone else."