Zora smiled. "Of course I know. You're overthinking it. Mr. Stone has a girlfriend. He's friendly because SummitCore's product is solid, and maybe there's a bit of that old school connection. But that's all. He doesn't have any other intentions." Zane frowned, not convinced. She had no idea how captivating she was. He was so sure because he recognized the look in Bex's eyes—it was the same way he looked at her. He sighed. Zora hugged his arm, shaking it gently. "Don't sigh. After we win the bid, I'll have my team handle the follow-up. I won't deal with him personally anymore, okay?" Faced with her coaxing, Zane was powerless. He nodded, though he felt uncertain. "Will we win it?" "Of course! Bex told me privately that he's most impressed with our product. He even gave me a heads-up about the pre-sales requirements today." Zane felt a wave of relief. "That's good." Thinking this deal relied entirely on Zora's personal connections, he felt a pang of distress for her. "From now on, let others handle these messy networking tasks. You focus on R&D and management." Zora belonged on a pedestal, admired from afar. The thought of her descending into the mundane world of favors and obligations pained him. ... The ringing phone finally pulled Darcy's gaze away from the world beyond the glass doors. "Ms. Gale? Ms. Gale?" Cade waved a hand in front of her face, pulling her back to reality. Darcy started, finally noticing her phone vibrating on the table.She picked it up, her expression turning serious when she saw the caller ID. "Hello, Mr. Steele?" It was the CEO of Easemark Ventures. "Darcy! So sorry," he said cheerfully. "I was in back-to-back meetings. Just saw your missed calls. What's up?" Darcy thought for a moment. "Mr. Steele, sorry to bother you. We had an appointment with your IT Manager's assistant for a POC this afternoon, but when we arrived, the receptionist couldn't reach the assistant. I was worried he might be unwell or had to take the day off." She deliberately framed it as the receptionist being unable to reach the assistant, trusting he would read between the lines. "Is that so? Are you and your colleague still downstairs?" "Yes, we're waiting in the lobby café." "I see. Give me a moment."After hanging up, Darcy looked outside again. The Maybach was gone. She lowered her lashes, her eyes unreadable. Five minutes later, a young man hurried towards them. Darcy's intuition told her he was here for them. She stood up. The young man nodded. "Hello. Are you Ms. Gale and Mr. Holt from Stratagem Tech?" "Yes, I'm Darcy Gale, and this is my colleague, Cade Holt." Darcy proactively extended her hand. The young man was momentarily surprised by her approachability. The truth was, this whole situation was his boss' idea. His boss had said that Zora's company, SummitCore, had a superior proposal and listening to others was a waste of time, so he was told to find an excuse to turn them away. He'd already successfully dismissed two other companies without issue. He hadn't expected Stratagem Tech to be so persistent. When he got the call from the CEO questioning him, he'd immediately reported to his boss. Bex had waved him off impatiently. "Fine, just bring them up. We'll go through the motions." He'd expected to face some hostility when he came down, but instead, Darcy was shaking his hand, her face showing no resentment, only a smile. He felt embarrassed. "Please, follow me." With the assistant leading the way, Darcy and Cade entered a meeting room without any further issues. "Please, have a seat. I'll be right back." While the assistant went to get Bex, Darcy and Cade took out their laptops and connected them to the display screen. Cade turned to her. "Ms. Gale, do you want to present, or should I?""I'll do it," Darcy said. She had led this product iteration and had a deeper understanding of what Easemark truly needed. She was the obvious choice. A few minutes later, Bex entered the room. He began with an apologetic smile. "My apologies to you both. The receptionist made a mistake. I've already had HR speak to her. I'm sorry for the inconvenience." Everyone in the room knew this was a lie, but no one called him out on it. There was no point in attacking someone who was being polite, even if it was an act. If he wanted to play a role, Darcy would play along. "You're too kind, Mr. Stone," she said. "Anyone can make a mistake. I'm just glad it's cleared up." She picked up the remote, advanced the presentation to the first slide, and looked at him. "Shall we begin?" Mr. Stone smiled broadly. "Please, Ms. Gale. The floor is yours." For the first ten minutes, Bex listened attentively, nodding along occasionally. But soon, his focus wavered. He lost all interest in listening and started looking at his phone.