Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 118

Zachary's face stiffened. He hadn't expected Stephanie to make such an outrageous demand.

This wasn't a negotiation; it was a deliberate attempt to make things difficult.

Sapphire Group was the company Zachary had built from the ground up. There was no way he would hand over the chairman's seat to her. It was pure fantasy.

He knew she was saying this to make him back down.

Zachary's expression darkened.

Stephanie paid him no further attention. She hailed a cab on the street and drove off.

As the taxi disappeared, Zachary put a hand on his hip, paced in a small circle, and spat on the ground, muttering curses.

"She really thinks she's all that, doesn't she? Who does she think she is? If Verdant Grove Capital didn't insist on this technology, would she even be qualified to be Deputy Director? I'm the chairman, for crying out loud, old enough to be her father, and she has the nerve to act so high and mighty in front of her elder? Pfft, classless brat!"

"I don't believe it. A company as big as Sapphire Group can't function without one Stephanie? There are plenty of talented people in this industry! Lots of people were involved in this project. Troy, go back and have someone else take over for now!"

Troy Cooper, the R&D director, had come with him.

But he had been standing by the whole time, unable to get a word in.

Today was an eye-opener for Troy. He never thought he'd see Mr. Wright acting so deferential to Stephanie.

And now that Stephanie was gone, he was here cursing at thin air?

Why didn't he say all this just now? What a hindsight hero.

Though he thought this, Troy still nodded. "I'll go back and see who's suitable to take over the project."

In reality, it was a hot potato. Whoever took it would be in for a world of trouble.

As the two men were about to leave, a security guard emerged from The Obsidian Circle.

The guard looked at Zachary with a hint of disdain. "Spitting on the ground, that's a 50,000 fine."

Zachary was stunned. "How much?"

...

The next few days, Zachary didn't bother Stephanie.

However, Nydia kept her updated on the gossip at Sapphire Group.

One day, Stephanie was shopping near Sapphire Group, and the two met for lunch at a casual restaurant.

Nydia chattered on endlessly.

"After you rejected Zachary, he's been scrambling to find your replacement. He can't find anyone from outside who understands the project, so he has to look internally. And you won't believe it, he actually tried to get me to take over."

Nydia took a sip of juice. "I only participated in the testing phase. I don't know the first thing about the core technology. He probably saw that we were close and was hoping I'd ask you for help."

Stephanie smiled. Zachary was a cunning old fox, always trying to leverage personal relationships to his advantage.

"But speaking of which, are you really not coming back? This was your project from the very beginning. You went through so much to get it here, and now that it's time to reap the rewards, you're just leaving it all behind? Don't you feel bad about that?"