The reception area fell into a collective, uneasy silence. Alexander Stone stood to the side, his gaze fixed piercingly on her.
The desk phone transmitted the man's voice with crystalline clarity. The faint hum of the current lent his tone a magnetic quality, carrying a hint of—though Diana wondered if she was misinterpreting it—playful flirtation:
"And which 'dear little sister' of mine is this?"
"..."
What on earth? If this hadn't been the official landline for Cloud Shield, Diana would have suspected she'd dialed the wrong number.
Keeping her expression neutral, she instinctively covered the mouthpiece and turned her back to the room.
Summer, quick to catch on, immediately "dutifully" dragged Alexander further away, shouting loudly, "Director Stone! Eavesdropping on someone's private call is seriously classless!"
As heads turned toward them, Alexander's expression flickered with embarrassment. He shook her off, snapping, "What are you yelling for?"
Diana spoke into the receiver: "I am Diana Bell."
There was a heartbeat of silence on the other end, followed by a soft, nasal hum. "Sending what?"
The tiny spark of hope Diana had harbored—that he might help for the sake of an old acquaintance—instantly vanished. She hadn't expected Jasper Sterling to not even remember her name. Left with no choice, she played the only card she had: William Knight.
"Diana," she enunciated clearly. "William's sister."
"Looking for your brother?" The man's tone remained casual and detached, devoid of any warmth. "He's not here with me."
Diana bit her lip, forcing down the surge of awkwardness in her chest. "I'm looking for... you."
The silence on the other end lasted for three beats.
Then, Jasper's voice came through, lazy and low: "Wait there."
Five minutes later, Jasper Sterling's Chief Assistant personally came down to fetch her. He escorted Diana into the elevator with practiced deference. "Miss Bell, this way, please."
To say Alexander's face looked terrible would be an understatement.
Summer, who hadn't truly expected Diana to succeed, felt a surge of hope rising from the ashes of her despair. "You actually know President Sterling? We're definitely going to win this time!"
"Don't pop the champagne at halftime," Diana whispered, shielding her mouth with her hand. "He and I... aren't exactly close."
In fact, she usually went out of her way to avoid him.
President Sterling had requested to see Diana alone, leaving Summer in the lobby. Summer watched eagerly as the elevator doors slid shut, catching a reflection in the polished metal: Alexander's face was tense and distorted, a far cry from his arrogant confidence just moments ago.
The sight was instantly gratifying.
"Director Stone, you look awful," Summer teased. "Don't get yourself sick just because you're angry, hahaha!"
Alexander glared at her. Ignoring the verbal jab, he hurriedly pulled out his phone and hissed into the receiver, "Find out for me exactly who Diana Bell is."
He never expected Jasper Sterling would actually agree to see her. Start had poured immense effort into just getting a foot in the door through a mid-level manager at Cloud Shield. Alexander had visited the company countless times, yet he had only ever dealt with a minor head in Technical Development; he hadn't even seen a single hair on Jasper Sterling's head.
If she really knew Jasper Sterling, the partnership between Start and Cloud Shield was as good as dead.
Diana, however, wasn't nearly as confident.
Jasper was William's friend. Logically, with the Knight family connection, securing this small liquid hydrogen drone contract should have been a given. But among William's circle of friends, Jasper was the one Diana had interacted with the least—and feared the most.
Her few impressions of Jasper Sterling could be summed up in one word: Wicked.
It was a sense of danger—the aura of a predator—hidden beneath an exceptionally beautiful exterior.
When they reached the top-floor executive suite, the assistant knocked. A cool, detached voice drifted from inside: "Enter."
It was a sharp contrast to the playful tone on the phone, now sounding solemn and forbidding. The assistant opened the door and made a polite gesture for her to enter.
Diana took a long, deep breath, her bangs fluttering with the exhale. Steeling herself, she stepped inside.
Jasper's office was decorated in a cold palette of black and grey. The harsh lines and metallic accents mirrored the owner's perceived lack of sentiment.
She hadn't expected him to have company.
Several men in business suits were seated in the lounge area, seemingly locked in a high-stakes negotiation regarding precision component procurement. The atmosphere was thick with tension.
It wasn't that Diana meant to ignore the others, but Jasper was simply too prominent to miss. Unlike William's scholarly, refined handsomeness, Jasper's face had a heavy "bone-deep" presence—dark brows, deep-set eyes, and a high bridge to his nose. It was a beauty that felt aggressive.
He sat on a black leather sofa with his back to the floor-to-ceiling windows. His shoulders were broad and straight, tapering down to a lean waist and long legs clad in ink-black trousers.
As the door opened, he lifted his gaze.
Those eyes were sharp and narrow, as if scrutinizing an intruder in his territory. That single look alone made Diana feel a crushing sense of pressure.
Jasper's gaze swept over her and moved on instantly, as if she were a mere speck of dust; he likely hadn't even registered what she looked like now.
Diana didn't understand why he'd let her in if he was in the middle of a meeting. Discretely, she took a seat in a far corner, lowering her head to flip through her documents and trying her best to disappear.
After nearly twenty minutes, the discussion concluded. The other executives bowed out deferentially and departed.
Once they were gone, Diana stood up and approached the lounge area.
Jasper remained in his seat, looking down as he flipped through a thick risk assessment report. His fingers occasionally tapped the pages, looking for all the world as if he'd forgotten she was even there.
Diana recognized this as a classic power play—ignore the other person until they lose their composure.
She pinched her palm and, seizing the moment he turned a page, quickly stated her purpose.
Jasper didn't even look up. The scratching of his fountain pen against the paper was the only sound. His fingers were long and powerful, his handwriting bold and decisive, echoing a cold, ruthless efficiency.
Diana briefly outlined Snow's latest progress on the liquid hydrogen drone project, emphasizing breakthroughs in flight range and low-temperature interference resistance. Halfway through, she noticed a shift in the atmosphere.
Looking up, she found that Jasper's attention had drifted from the documents to her.
The blue folder lay open on his lap. He leaned his head against his hand, staring at her unblinkingly with a playful glint in his eyes, as if watching a clumsy yet novel performance.
His eyes were sharply shaped, the irises a deep, fathomless black. Diana couldn't tell if he was listening intently or mocking her.
"The liquid hydrogen drone project is the result of two years of R&D by Snow. Start's methods for obtaining those results were... less than legitimate. It happened because the two founders had a disagreement—"
"I don't manage lovers' quarrels," Jasper finally spoke, his voice magnetic but chillingly thin. "I want the technology, not their 'love child.' Whether the kid takes the father's name or the mother's makes no difference to me."
"It does make a difference," Diana said, her back straight as she met his gaze. "Aurora Brooks is a graduate student in Aerospace Engineering. Alexander Stone studied finance. The technical core of Snow's R&D has always been Aurora. What Alexander stole was merely a static blueprint, but Aurora possesses the ability to iterate. More important than the technology is the talent that creates it."
She paused, then added tentatively, "Since you've been watching this project for so long, President Sterling, you must understand that buying a blueprint is a one-time deal. Investing in talent is the long-term play."
Jasper's brow twitched slightly, a flash of amusement crossing his dark eyes. "Your eloquence has improved. What, you're not calling me 'Brother Jasper' anymore?"
You were the one pretending not to know me on the phone, Diana thought. But under his gaze, she could only lower her eyes submissively. "...Brother Jasper."
Jasper studied her for a few seconds, as if inspecting a long-lost collectible. "Why are you the one pulling strings for Snow? Does William know you've come to beg me for someone else's project?"
Diana wanted to say she hadn't come specifically to "pull strings." She had only intended to support Aurora in her legal battle; she hadn't known Jasper was the mastermind behind Cloud Shield until she got there. But then she realized that if it could help Aurora, she might as well use the connection.
"President Brooks is my senior. She's currently in the hospital and couldn't come herself. I'm here as her representative."
"You're the first person to try the 'back door' with me." Jasper seemed to find it interesting. He sat up, crossing his long legs with a casual air of absolute control. "I suppose I could make an exception for you."
Diana's eyes brightened, but before she could offer her thanks, he added coldly:
"Start's offer was a total transfer of technology for only five percent of the royalties. If you want to sign, use that as your standard. Schedule a time with my secretary."
Diana's brow furrowed. The hope that had just flared up was instantly extinguished.
"The terms Start offered are practically giving it away for free just to establish a connection with Cloud Shield. Since Alexander stole the project, he has zero costs and doesn't care about the money. But it's different for Snow. Snow invested all its capital and two years of sleepless nights into this."
If they signed away the project under such "indemnity" terms, Snow wouldn't just fail to break even; it would go bankrupt.
Diana tried to negotiate, her voice carrying a trace of a plea she didn't even realize was there. "Can we discuss the terms further? Snow needs reasonable compensation for the R&D..."
Before she could finish, a meaningful smirk curled onto Jasper's lips.
The top two buttons of his black shirt were undone, revealing a glimpse of pale skin at his collar. With that smile, the image of the rigorous CEO vanished, replaced by a decadent, dangerous playboy who toyed with people's hearts.
He spun the pen between his fingers. When he spoke, his voice was light and lazy, dripping with a superior, almost flirtatious condescension:
"Little Princess, you don't have that much face with me."