Chapter 287

After her deadpan response, Juniper put her hands primly on her knees and stared intently out the window. As long as she wasn’t embarrassed, the embarrassment was someone else’s problem. As long as she didn’t admit it, she wasn’t J-Five. J- Five was J-Five. What did that have to do with Juniper?
A call alert chimed. It was Luella.
To break the awkward silence, Juniper answered it.
“Juniper! I heard Schwartz Group sent the contract over to J-Five Studio? You scammed him out of tens of millions last time and he still hasn’t learned his lesson. He can’t be too bright. You should ask for more this time, at least a few hundred million! That guy Shanley is loaded. Don’t go soft on him. We really need the money right now!”
Juniper hadn’t realized her phone was still on speaker. Luella spoke so quickly that she didn’t have time to hang up. The phone’s high-quality speaker broadcast every word with crystal clarity throughout the car.
“Juniper? You there? Why aren’t you answering me?” Luella asked.
Juniper couldn’t answer. Twice in the span of a few minutes. She couldn’t show her face.
Felton and Flint couldn’t hold it in any longer. They both turned around, their mouths agape, wide enough to fit an egg.
What? Ms. Payne was J-Five? That notoriously difficult designer who scammed their boss out of millions was Ms. Payne? And she’s planning to do it again?
Shanley, however, simply maintained the gentle curve of his lips, his handsome face full of adoration. His deep eyes twinkled with amusement as he watched the girl’s little performance. Her acting could use some work.
Juniper picked up her phone to send Luella a voice message. “You’ve got the wrong person.”
Luella replied with a question mark, but Juniper had already turned off her data and powered down the phone, continuing to play dead.
“So many wrong numbers today,” Shanley remarked with a soft laugh. He opened a bottle of water and handed it to her. “Here, have a drink.”
“Yeah, a lot, Juniper said, turning to face him. She felt a twinge of guilt, but her expression was defiant, as if to say, “So what if I’m J-Five and I took your money? What are you going to do about?”
Shanley paused for a second, then the smile on his face widened, spreading across
his features. His heart felt like it was melting. The car filled with the sound of his low, captivating laughter.
Juniper held the water bottle, her face scrunched up in an annoyed glare.
Shanley reined in his laughter, leaning back lazily. “So, Juniper, what do you think is a fair price?”
“You’re asking me?” Juniper looked at him, her clear eyes sparkling like stars. A sly, fox-like grin played on her lips. “Well from
Five’s
perspective, the more the better of
course.”

“Done,” Shanley said, a distinct smile touched his lips. “Felton, contact J-Five. Triple the price.”
Felton’s eyelids twitched. The boss’s
initial offer was already incredibly generous. Tripling, it would bring the total to peanly a billion a billion. Felton w Felton was lost in thought, the sheer numbers making his head spin.
“Wait,” Shanley said suddenly, before Felton could recover from his shock.
“Yes, boss?”