Chapter 153

“You mean Mr. Schwartz?” Queenie’s face brightened, then fell into thought. “But we don’t have his number.”
“Uh… I do.” Qadir glanced around, scratching his head as he lowered his voice. “The other day, Principal Salma had me move some water coolers for her, and I happened to glance at her phone’s contact list. It was just a coincidence, but Mr. Schwartz’s number was right there on the screen. I memorized it.” He never thought it would actually come in handy.
“Okay, then.” Queenie hesitated for a second before nodding decisively. “Call him. Quickly.” After the call, they had to rush back to the exam. If they missed it and Juniper found out, she’d chew them out. When she got angry, she was terrifying.
At the Schwartz Group headquarters, Shanley sat in the conference room, his well- defined fingers resting on the arm of his chair. His deep-set eyes were slightly narrowed, and a thin layer of frost seemed to coat his handsome features.
“Mr. Schwartz, that’s the general plan for the second half of the year,” an executive reported, cautiously looking up at the man at the head of the table after finishing his presentation.
“Regarding the jewelry line Shanley began, his forefinger tapping idly on the table as he lifted his gaze. His voice was low and magnetic.
“Yes, Mr. Schwartz?” The executive shot to his feet, his legs trembling. He had no idea what was wrong with the jewelry proposal.
“There’s nothing wrong with this plan,” Shanley said, the icy demeanor on his face softening slightly. “The J-Five Studio is promising. I want you to reach out to them and see if we can arrange a collaboration for a co-branded jewelry line.”
J-Five Studio? The executive was taken aback. The company had never had any dealings with them before. Why the sudden interest?
“Mr. Schwartz, the thing is,” the executive began, bowing his head slightly in a respectful but earnest tone, “J-Five has never collaborated with any corporation. The one exception was for a charity event, and their fees were quite high.”
If the goal was profit, it didn’t make much sense, especially since the Schwartz Group had its own successful jewelry brands
Moreover, the owner of J-Five was notoriously difficult to work with.
“I see,” Shanley mused, his voice a low, drawn-out hum. “Then approach them from
a charitable angle for the collaboration. As for the money, give her whatever she asks for.”
Whatever she asks for? The other executives in the room looked up in unison, their faces etched with surprise. With so many other options, why was Mr. Schwartz so insistent on J-Five?
Just as they were pondering this, the shrill ring of a cellphone cut through the silence of the conference room. All eyes turned to the man at the head of the table.
“Boss, it’s for you,” Felton said, holding out the phone as he leaned down respectfully. “It’s a private call, an unknown number.”
An unknown number? Shanley paused in his review of the documents, his eyes fixed on the phone screen. Very few people had his private number family, friends, Juniper, and her school.
“Should I hang up, boss?” Felton asked tentatively.
“Give it to me.”
It could be Juniper borrowing someone’s phone. He couldn’t risk missing it.
Shanley took the phone and
answered. Before he could say a word, a torrent of frantic speech erupted from the other end. He
quickly pieced together the net
key
information: the caller was one of Juniper’s friends, saying that Juniper had scored perfectly on her
Literature and Math exams, but the
teachers didn’t believe her and were
accusing her of cheating. She was
currently being held in the dean’s office.

Cheating? A shadow of darkness crossed Shanley’s eyes, and the temperature in
the room seemed to drop several degrees.