After the meeting, as Darcy was about to leave, someone pushed the door open. "Jethro, I'm parched! Do you have any sugar-free iced cola?" The newcomer was a young woman dressed in a chic white Chanel-style suit. She had large, round eyes that gave her a cute, bubbly appearance. Darcy quickly deduced this must be Jethro's sister, Cindy. Cindy recognized her too. She blinked. "You're... Darcy?" "Cindy, this is Ms. Gale." Jethro stood up, introducing them. "This is the sister I told you about—the one who loves my passenger seat, is notoriously unreliable, and has a serious play streak." "Jethro!" Cindy stomped her foot. Did he have to embarrass her in front of a stranger? Darcy smiled faintly and extended her hand. "Hello, Cindy. I'm Darcy Gale. It's nice to meet you." Cindy, however, latched onto a key detail from her brother's description. "So, you've ridden in his car?" she asked. Darcy paused. "Yes, I have." Cindy's eyes widened playfully. "You're the first woman who isn't family to ride in his precious car." Um, so what was the implication? Darcy wasn't sure what to make of that comment. Jethro sighed, running a hand over his face. His unpredictable sister was at it again. He shot her a look. "It's work hours. No personal talk. Have Rowan get your cola, then go back downstairs and find time to report to Ms. Gale." Cindy raised a brow, crossing her arms. "I have business to discuss with you." Darcy took the hint. "I'll get going then. I won't disturb you two."Once the office door closed, Cindy flopped onto the visitor's sofa like a boneless snake. Jethro frowned with mild disgust. "What kind of posture is that!" Cindy stared directly at her brother. "Do you love Darcy?" Jethro glared at her. "Don't talk nonsense. I purely admire Darcy's professional abilities. She's highly capable. You should learn from her." "Purely professional admiration?" Cindy tried to detect any hint of a lie on his face but found nothing. "What else would it be?" he retorted, annoyed. Cindy thought for a moment. Okay, maybe she had misread the situation. Still, part of her hoped her brother would get involved with Darcy. Frankly, she hoped he'd get involved with any woman who could capture his interest. As long as he was willing to date again, it would mean he'd moved on from the past. After finishing her cola, Cindy got up to leave. Jethro tapped his long fingers on the desk. "Be respectful to your superior. The future of Stratagem Tech rests on her." "She's that good?" "Yes." Cindy stopped and sat down opposite him. "Where did you find someone so capable?" Jethro didn't look up from his papers. "Poached her from a competitor." Cindy's eyes went wide. Poaching! You sly businessman! ... Downstairs, Cindy went straight to Darcy's office and knocked. Darcy looked up, slightly surprised to see Cindy. "Miss—" She caught herself. "Cindy. What can I do for you?""I'm here to report on my business trip results." Cindy was an Account Manager, a sales-related role, but she wasn't responsible for acquiring new clients, only maintaining existing ones. In truth, Stratagem Tech had no new clients; they were all old contacts Jethro had secured through personal connections when the company was founded. These clients were stable and renewed their contracts with Stratagem almost every year. But if the company wanted to grow, relying solely on existing clients wasn't enough. They needed new business. The moment Cindy heard about acquiring new clients, she pouted. "New business? That's hard. You have to deal with rejection, maybe even get thrown out. I don't want to do it." Darcy knew the person sitting across from her wasn't a regular employee. She was the Blackwood daughter, raised in privilege and comfort.Asking her to go out and hunt for new clients was indeed a tall order. Darcy didn't plan to force her. "That's alright. If you find it difficult, I'll handle the new client acquisition. You can focus on maintaining the existing relationships." Cindy blinked. "You, the CEO, are going to run around doing sales?" "Yes." Cindy was astonished. "Aren't you afraid of being rejected? You're the CEO. What if word gets out? Wouldn't that be embarrassing?" She remembered liking a boy once and confessing to him on his birthday, only to be coldly rejected. He said she was spoiled and willful, not his type. The experience had hit her hard. She'd sworn off having crushes on men ever since. Faced with the high probability of rejection, Cindy preferred to avoid it altogether. Darcy smiled. "I'm not afraid. I'm used to it.""Used to it?" "Yes. I've been in sales for several years. I've met very agreeable clients, and I've faced cold shoulders and eye-rolls. But it's precisely because of that I've developed a thick skin."