Chapter 180
Violet shook her head in disbelief. “That’s impossible.”
In Starfall City, trusting any company besides their own would be a joke.
“Why don’t we try again?” she suggested. “Maybe we can talk to someone close to Mr. Campbell, find out what he likes. If we play our cards right, there might still be a chance.”
No one who could make it in Evermore City was a fool. Stein had come here with a mission-Violet couldn’t believe he’d leave empty-handed.
“It’s no use. He’s already signed a confidentiality agreement with another firm. This afternoon, he’s flying back to Evermore City on a private jet.”
Violet fell silent, unable to argue.
The symposium finally ended, and Victoria went to look for Stein.
Earlier, Yasmine had already received the contract from Stein and left.
The exhibition hall was packed with industry elites, but none of them seemed to matter to Victoria.
“Vicky.”
A low, magnetic voice called her from behind. Victoria turned to meet Stein’s deep, unreadable gaze.
“Hey, big brother.”
She walked over. Stein studied her for a moment.
“Want to leave together?”
Stein was wary of drawing too much attention, so he’d told his team to wait at a distance and approached Victoria alone. She considered, then shook her head. “No, thanks. I heard you’re flying back to Evermore City this afternoon.”
He nodded. After a brief pause, he decided to tell her the truth.
“That husband you’re looking for came to see me. But I turned him down.”
He’d given the military’s big engineering project to Victoria’s newly-founded V&S Group instead.
“I looked over the paperwork your assistant dropped off. She even brought a sample for me to test. I trust your abilities, so there’s no need to consider anyone else. Vicky, do your best. If you need anything, let me know.”
Victoria’s eyes burned with emotion. Stein rarely kept in touch these past years, but when she needed help, he never let her down.
“I know. Thank you, Stein.”
She quickly wiped her tears away. Stein nodded and walked out without another word.
Violet and Yulia happened to be coming out of the restroom at the other end of the hall just in time to witness the scene.
“Was that Victoria?” Yulia asked, blinking. The man with her looked a lot like Mr. Campbell-was she seeing things?
“Yeah,” Violet replied coolly. Today, Victoria’s outfit was simple and unremarkable. If not for her face, no one would have noticed her.
At least she finally got the hint-not dressing up to steal the spotlight anymore.
At events like this, focused on business networking and future tech development, good looks were pointless.
This wasn’t some adult expo-Victoria’s face and figure were useless as eye candy here.
“Why did you let her come? Isn’t she still married to McNeil? As long as she’s Mrs. Langford, you should keep an eye on her. And now she’s working with you at Mr. Garcia’s company-don’t you think she’s up to something?”
Yulia could barely hide her contempt for Victoria. Every time she saw her, she was reminded of Edith-the woman who stole Simms away, leaving her without a husband, and her daughter without a father.
Violet’s lips curled in a dismissive smirk, her gaze distant.
“You mean Victoria? Don’t worry. McNeil doesn’t want her anymore.”
A woman who couldn’t even write a decent game script, who’d cost McNeil billions, and now was trying to cozy up to Curtis-Violet didn’t think Victoria was clever. In fact, she seemed determined to ruin herself.
“You shouldn’t be so sure,” Yulia pressed. “Wasn’t that Mr. Campbell talking to her? The same one from the panel?”
Victoria might be useless, but with a face like that, she could make any man lose his mind. To men, money and brains only matter when they don’t have them. Once they do, all they want is a young, pretty woman on their arm.”