Chapter 543

Ariel had just stepped out the door when she immediately heard that. She had accidentally walked right into Nancy’s “proposal” scene.
After failing last time on Jayson’s birthday, now it came out much more bluntly, without any preamble.
The crowd here wasn’t very dense, but the way the exit was set up made it impossible not to brush past each other. Ariel really didn’t want to witness this. It would just be awkward.
When she looked over, Jayson lifted his gaze to meet hers.
Of course, Nancy knew that Ariel had come out. But when she looked over, a faint sneer appeared on her face.
“Ms. Walker, maybe you should step aside,” Nancy said coldly.
These words came across more like a signal of determination, carrying hints of warning, provocation, and mockery.
She was perhaps the only one who dared to make the wife step aside to propose to her husband.
Jayson gave Nancy a faint side glance.
Only when Nancy spoke did Ariel glance at her. She realized that Nancy no longer seemed like her old self- both in attitude and in the way she carried herself. 2
She replied calmly, “Ms. Stanton, given your sense of shame, do you really need anyone to step aside?”
Ignoring Nancy’s even icier expression, she turned and walked away.
She hadn’t paid any mind to the earlier “proposal“. She left without so much as a glance back, as if they were just strangers.
This was their private matter, and she had no desire to pry. 1
Ariel didn’t know what Jayson had said in reply. She had come out to pick up Janice.
Once she got Janice back to their room, she saw a text from Samson. “I just reached the hotel. Want to grab
dinner later?”
Ariel thought for a moment and replied, “I can’t today. Maybe another time.”
Janice laughed at her response. “Mr. Pryce still hasn’t given up on you, huh?” Official source is.net
She knew Ariel had turned down Samson and found it rather intriguing, “I’m sure there’ll be a spot reserved just for a genius like him. Given that he now holds a managerial position at Yeager Group, joining the national research engineering team would be right on time. I think the only reason he has taken part is because of you. ”
If he got in, his chances of interacting with Ariel would increase.
Janice realized that Samson was rather calculating
Ariel didn’t reply. She still found the cruise incident strange.
Luckily, Samson had behaved decently that night. Nothing uncontrollable had happened, especially since
Chapter 544
Janice had been the one staying in her room.
+15 BONUS
The next day, Ariel was in good form. She took her medication before Janice got up.
Arriving at the stadium, she noticed familiar faces in the audience.
Matt was chatting with Perry and Zach.
While the competition mainly served to recruit talent for the government, it was also a chance for companies to poach talent.
A number of tech companies were present.
Ariel saw many influential figures from the industry. It wasn’t every day that so many big names gathered in one public venue.
As she stepped into the inner area, she spotted Gary and Cedric.
Gary waved at her with a smile. “Ariel, today’s your chance to shine.”
He then lowered his voice. “Some department heads are attending today as well. It’s still confidential. After the competition, you can go meet them and discuss what projects you want to get involved in.”
Ariel couldn’t help feeling nervous but nodded. “Understood.”
Cedric glanced at her. “I’d like to see if you’ve slipped over the years and whether Carlos made a mistake in judging you.”
Ariel froze.
Gary raised an eyebrow at Cedric. “Mr. Warbrooke, you know who Ariel is…”
Cedric knew she was the U.N2 developer, so why the sharp tongue?
“Come here. Don’t waste words with irrelevant people, Carlos said to Ariel, giving Cedric a cold glance as he approached.
Ariel nodded and moved over.
Seeing that, Cedric snorted in irritation and turned to take his seat.
Meanwhile, Gary shook his head. These two had been at each other’s throats since they were teenagers. When would it ever end?
Samson came over to greet Ariel. “Feeling nervous?”
Ariel shook her head. “Not really.”
He glanced toward the judges‘ table. “You’re close with Mr. Warbrooke too?”
He had just seen Ariel speaking with Cedric. There weren’t many people Cedric would even bother with.
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Chapter 545