Rowan offered a modest nod. "Thank you."
He had actually just expressed gratitude on behalf of his girlfriend.
Mr. Yates looked visibly flattered by the response.
The elevator doors pinged open just then, and Mr. Yates stepped aside to let Rowan out first.
As the group walked out through the corporate lobby, Lyra watched Jasmine's half-million-dollar sports car glide smoothly to a halt by the curb. Jasmine rolled down the tinted window, flashing a bright smile. "Rowan, Mr. Fairchild..."
She completely ignored Lyra's existence.
Caleb gave a brief, polite nod.
Rowan opened the passenger door, slid in, and the car roared away down the avenue.
Left standing on the curb, Wesley cleared his throat. "I'll have our legal team draft the formal contracts. I'll see you when they're ready for review."
"Sounds good," Caleb replied.
Once Wesley was out of earshot, Caleb turned to look at Lyra, who had just been aggressively treated like thin air. "Lyra, what are you in the mood to eat?"
Lost in her own strategic thoughts, Lyra just shook her head absentmindedly.
Two days passed in a blur.
Wesley arrived at Fairchild Holdings carrying the finalized contract.
Rowan hadn't bothered to show up this time.
As Rowan's senior executive assistant, running high-stakes errands was standard protocol for Wesley.
Lately, Wesley had even been pulling strings to secure lucrative partnerships for Jonathan Ford behind the scenes.
Sitting in her sleek office, Lyra shot Wesley a freezing glare. She skimmed the contract, closed the folder with a sharp snap, and tossed it back across her desk. "Rejected."
Wesley blinked in stunned silence. He was never treated with this level of disrespect.
He had watched her look at the pages for barely three seconds before throwing it back. He was absolutely certain she was just throwing a petty, entitled tantrum. Letting out a mocking scoff, he sneered, "Miss Fairchild, perhaps you should actually read it before dismissing it?"
Wesley didn't dare call to rush her. He sat in the waiting area until 2:00 PM. Lyra finally walked in, shrugging off her light wool trench coat. She read through the revised document one more time, and firmly pressed the corporate seal onto the signature line.
Neither of them spoke a word.
Wesley hesitated, a strange feeling creeping up his spine. The heiress's entire aura felt drastically different than he remembered.
Noticing he was still standing there, Lyra raised an eyebrow.
The moment their eyes met, a chill shot through Wesley's chest. "I'll be taking my leave now. Looking forward to a successful partnership."
Lyra gave a curt nod. She didn't bother returning the polite closing, nor did she spare him another glance as she turned her attention back to her dual monitors.
Taking the hint, Wesley hurried out of the office...
A few days later, the massive contract was officially cemented. Since Caleb hadn't formally taken the reins of the empire yet, Arthur signed the final paperwork.
Lyra had reviewed every single page of that final draft. It was flawless.

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