Chapter 9
790 Words
Jessica's POV
From the moment I entered the conference room, Zander's gaze had been fixed on me.
I glanced at him and met his eyes full of surprise.
It was the first time I'd seen an expression other than indifference or disgust on his face since our marriage had hit the rocks.
A flicker of emotion stirred inside me.
My gaze shifted to Serena, who was standing next to Zander with a suspicious look on her face.
My senses came to me.
If this had been before I discovered his infidelity, I would have been overjoyed, thrilled to have his attention again.
But now it meant nothing to me.
Without stopping at Zander, Lucas and I went straight to Arthur.
"Welcome, you must be the CEO of Alpha Company?" Arthur greeted us with a smile.
"Mr. Blake, this is Jessica, the project manager for Alpha Company," Lucas introduced me.
"Am I late?" I greeted Arthur with a smile and shook his hand.
"No, no, Mr. Harrison just arrived as well," Arthur replied quickly.
Just then, a familiar male voice interrupted us.
"Excuse me, I'd like to speak to Jessica personally," Zander said to Arthur in a low voice.
Arthur immediately stopped talking, nodded and stepped back with a smile.
Then Zander turned to me, took a step closer and whispered, "Come with me, we need to talk.
I took a half step back, and said, "This is inappropriate, Mr. Harrison. We are competitors now."
"Jessica!" Zander yelled in a deep voice, then took a deep breath and softened his tone, "Stop it. I'll give you an explanation, okay?"
"Explanation? What explanation? About your affair with your secretary?" I scoffed.
We kept our voices low. But standing too close, Arthur overheard our argument.
I noticed his expression change to shock, then he lowered his head slightly, trying to hide it.
Zander seemed displeased with my mockery.
He frowned and said, "I NEVER CHEATED."
His explanation just made me laugh.
I had seen it myself, and yet he still stubbornly chose to lie.
"All right, it's not important. Let's not discuss personal matters in a professional setting," I quickly waved my hand and said.
"I said I can explain," Zander repeated, looked at his watch and continued, "I have to get this contract. You are wasting your time."
"Mr. Harrison, I think you still need to learn to respect your competitors," I smiled and said, "You haven't even heard my proposal, how do you know Alpha Company would fail?"
Zander looked at me for a second, his eyebrows raised slightly.
A pleasant curve appeared at the corner of his mouth: "Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure," I confirmed.
"Good," he said nothing more, but moved aside to clear my path.
"Overreaching..." as I passed Serena, I heard her mumble softly.
I immediately turned my head and said to her, "Mr. Harrison, your secretary doesn't seem very professional."
"What..." Serena glared at me, about to say something.
Zander's cold gaze swept over her and Serena's face turned pale and she immediately closed her mouth.
Zander and I sat on opposite sides of the conference room.
With Arthur in the middle, I felt nervous.
I took a deep breath and remembered all the preparation and research I had done.
Then I calmly opened the proposal and began my presentation.
As my presentation went deeper, Arthur became more focused and took notes based on my points.
My eyes glanced briefly at Zander.
To my surprise, he was listening intently.
A fleeting look of appreciation crossed his eyes.
Moreover, I seemed to see love in his eyes.
But love?
No way. How could he still love me?
I quickly looked away, refocused on my proposal. Finally, I said to Arthur, "I know the industry average profit point is 1.5%, so we've doubled it to 3%. This is our sincerity."
"The Harrison Group will offer you 4%."
As soon as I finished, Zander spoke calmly.
Arthur's surprised expression became even more exaggerated, his gaze wavering between me and Zander.
I frowned at Zander, "Is this an evil competition? You will lose money at 4%."
"I told you, I have to win this bidding."
Zander's tone was flat, but I still felt the pressure.
This was a side of him I had never seen before.
Unlike Zander, I am not the president of Alpha Company.
I would never propose a plan that will make a loss.
"How about Alpha?" Arthur looked at me cautiously.
I gritted my teeth and said, "If Mr. Harrison is willing to do charity, of course I have to facilitate. I wish you a happy collaboration."
Then I turned to leave with Lucas.
Just as I opened the door, Zander's voice came from behind.
"Wait!"
- Writer
