Shadows Between Us (Stella and Sebastian) novel Chapter 137

Chapter 137

It was a private place people really shouldn’t talk about.

55 vouchers

John thought, ‘So, did something happen between Mr. Gray and Ms. Carter while the elevator was out?

‘A good subordinate knows when to act like they’re blind, deaf, and dead.’

John silently gave himself a mental high-five for his professionalism.

The elevator went straight to the top floor.

The presidential suite was in total chaos. With less than ten minutes before the online procurement meeting, the translator’s sudden walkout had been a huge setback for Levi and his team.

“It’s less than ten minutes, there’s no way we’ll make it,” one assistant said.

“Dozens of pages, all packed with technical jargon. How are we supposed to handle the online meeting?” Another one said.

Everyone was pessimistic about the meeting, and as time slipped away, nobody had a clue what to do.

They were basically in full-on despair mode, just letting things fall apart.

Levi said, “I’ll take responsibility for this. Once we’re back, I’ll file my resignation with the higher-ups.”

He’d already resolved to shoulder all the blame himself.

“Levi!” The assistants were visibly upset. They all knew Conrad was sabotaging them, putting his own interests ahead of the country. ‘Why should we just take this hit lying down?’ they thought.

Someone knocked on the door.

“Sorry to interrupt, but there are still a few minutes left. You guys really not even gonna try?” Stella stood there, arms crossed, leaning lazily against the door. No one knew how long she’d been eavesdropping.

Everyone was speechless.

‘Who is she?’ they wondered.

“Hey, kid…” Levi was caught off guard as Stella sauntered in, looking completely relaxed, with John pushing a poker-faced Sebastian behind her. The whole crew made quite an entrance,

Stella kept her cool. “Wanna bet? You got the guts?”

Levi stammered, “…Bet on what?”

Stella replied, “Let’s bet. After today, will you still be sitting pretty as the director of Kinetic University Tech

Research Institute?”

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Chapter 137

Levi was left speechless.

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Levi was totally thrown off by her aura and couldn’t get a word out for a while. But Stella had already wiped all expression from her face, grabbed a pencil from the table, and unhurriedly twisted up her long hair.

Her delicate jawline was on full display.

In an instant, her badass aura exploded. Her gorgeous face was totally blank. He said, “Let’s get started.”

Levi and his team were left speechless.

*****

Two minutes later, several laptops were spread out on the table, and Levi just stared, dumbfounded, as Stella switched into work mode, her fingers flying over the keys. She was typing out all the product details they’d need today, straight from memory.

She was ridiculously fast!

She didn’t even look down at the keyboard.

Levi was totally floored. “Wait, you actually memorized all that?” He couldn’t help thinking, ‘Didn’t she just glance at Victor’s files for a second?’

By now, Stella’s screen was covered in lines of text. As soon as she finished a page, the printer beside her churned out another. “You guys get your stuff ready. Meeting starts right on the dot.”

She didn’t even glance up, and her commanding voice sent chills down everyone’s spine.

The team, which had been floundering just moments ago, snapped into action. After all, it’s not like things could get any worse.

Levi was left speechless.

He watched in disbelief as Stella shrunk dozens of pages down to a punchy summary, highlighting the essentials and tagging each device by priority. Compared to this, their old translations looked like a total

mess.

Meanwhile, Sebastian sat nearby with the plain plant resting on his lap, his eyes locked on Stella’s profile as she worked, his gaze a little darker than usual.

John felt silent.

Even as a bystander, John felt his cheeks flush just from catching that look on Sebastian’s face.

He thought, ‘So what the hell did Mr. Gray and Ms. Carter get up to in that elevator?

‘Should I tell them there are security cameras in there?

‘Should I go wipe the footage right now?’

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Chapter 137

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Sebastian’s cold, slender fingers gently stroked the plain plant, making it perk right up, completely lost in

ecstasy.

“This feels so good,’ the plant thought.

“The signal is coming in,” the assistant warned Levi and the others. They were using the hotel’s conference system, with a massive LED screen standing tall in the presidential suite. Everyone was on edge, hearts pounding in their chests.

Stella hit the space bar, finishing up..

At the same time, the freshly reorganized files landed in everyone’s hands, down to the very second!

The big screen lit up!

The multi-national online procurement meeting officially kicked off.

The international delegates started with some polite small talk.

Levi, having just blitzed through the new files and finally feeling ready, settled in with a serious look on his face. His signature suit made him look all business, no trace of the earlier meltdown.

With her part done, Stella spun her pen with a bored look, her face expressionless as she stared at the conference screen.

As she glanced at the delegates, her deep amber eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of calculation flickering in them.

From a spot out of the camera’s view, she gave Levi’s assistant a discreet signal, tapping her ear, and shot Levi a look that clearly said, ‘Don’t move. The assistant quickly muted the mic, and the connection went silent for

a moment.

The next second, Stella and Sebastian said in unison, “They’re about to jack up the price!”

Levi was left speechless.

Glued to the camera, Levi finally understood exactly how Victor felt earlier. He was silently swearing up a storm inside.

Levi thought, ‘It’s gotta be Conrad!

‘He must’ve secretly leaked what we are willing to pay. If those companies decide to drive the prices up on purpose, this whole online procurement meeting is toast!’

The folks on the other end caught on fast, kept chatting away, all smiles, while signaling to Levi that his mic

was still off.

Levi was left speechless.

Maybe it was just the hotel air-conditioning cranked up too high, but cold sweat broke out all over Levi’s back.

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Chapter 137

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As soon as his assistant switched the mic back on, he felt like he was about to have an out-of-body experience. On the outside, he was cool as ice, negotiating with the delegates, but inside, he was screaming.

He thought, ‘They have the exclusive hookup for this equipment, no substitutes anywhere on the market. Our budget is already maxed out, and if they held firm and wouldn’t drop the price, what can I do?’

Sure enough, after the usual formalities, the equipment company came out swinging, demanding a 20% price

hike.

That kind of jump was basically highway robbery!

Levi’s crew went at them one after another, arguing till they were practically red in the face, but the other side just held firm at that 20% mark, no matter what.

Nobody said a word.

The online procurement meeting just ground to a halt.

Everyone on Levi’s side instinctively glanced at Stella, but she just kept twirling her pen, sprawled out on the couch, looking totally chill. Nobody had a clue what was going on in her head.

Her pretty face was shrouded in shadow, fading in and out of the light.

Suddenly, Stella gave a quick smile and motioned for Levi to swap seats with her.

Levi didn’t even blink. He got up right away. The company rep on the other side, who’d been full of himself, stared in shock as some girl he’d never even heard of took his spot.

She looked young, but she had serious boss vibes. Unhurried, she sat down in a sleek black Dior dress from the latest collection, her skin pale as snow, drop-dead gorgeous.

The company reps thought, ‘Swapping out the lead negotiator halfway is breaking every rule in the book.’

The company reps were stunned for a moment, clearly not happy about it. But what Stella did next left them speechless!

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