Next Man, Better Plan novel Chapter 119

Of course she did. Three whole years of research, countless days and nights poured into it. It was like her own child.

Stephanie accepted the plate from the waiter, giving a slight nod.

She said softly, "A child has to leave the nest eventually."

The project had been iterated on for three years, and the technology was actually quite mature. The data from the lab was very stable.

All that was left was to place the orders with the factory for mass production. Zachary wanted her back simply to have someone on hand to fix any technical issues that might arise later.

But she had left Sapphire Group partly out of disappointment with the company, and partly because she wanted to try something new, to see what else she was capable of.

Sapphire Group's main focus was on new energy battery research and development.

Recently, several related companies had called Stephanie to try and recruit her, even promising to pay the penalty for her non-compete agreement.

After careful consideration, Stephanie had turned them all down.

What was the point of jumping from one supplier to another? She wanted to be the client calling the shots.

An old classmate of hers, an HR manager at a leading car company, had called her a couple of days ago. Her boss wanted to offer Stephanie a position as a purchasing manager.

This role was focused on electric powertrain components. In other words, she would be responsible for the technical oversight of the company's powertrain systems, specifically dealing with and evaluating various battery suppliers.

The job required not only professional expertise but was also not restricted by her non-compete agreement. It was practically tailor-made for Stephanie.

She had already accepted her friend's offer and was due to start in a few days.

When Nydia heard that Stephanie was about to become Sapphire Group's client, she burst out laughing.

"Oh my god, I can just imagine the look on Zachary's face when he runs into you at a business dinner. It's going to be priceless. So satisfying."

She couldn't afford that amount, even if she sold herself.

Stephanie replied coldly, "Mr. Gonzalez has his own reasons for doing things. Besides, aren't you carrying Quennel's child? Go ask him to help you."

At the mention of the child, a flicker of guilt crossed Victoria's eyes.

Quennel had absolutely no say in the Gonzalez family right now.

Because of this incident, Ternence had warned everyone at Verdant Grove Capital that anyone who gave Quennel special treatment would be fired immediately.

The vice president who had helped them was fired by Ternence and permanently blacklisted from the industry.

Ternence was making an example of him, showing everyone that he would not tolerate Quennel disrupting the company's operations, even if he was his own son.

This was why Verdant Grove Capital had grown so rapidly in just over a decade, becoming one of the top conglomerates.