Chapter 135: Chapter 135: Joanna Sherman’s Skills? Launching a Basketball Is More Like It.

Sophia Shaw watched their twisted smiles and gave a faint, cold smirk.

Seeing them mistake a fish eye for a pearl and act so self-satisfied, Jacobs snorted in disgust. "I guess their eyesight is failing them."

She had personally compiled her boss’s proposal materials.

’To be honest, I’d done my homework and thought I knew my boss inside and out. It wasn’t until I saw these documents that I realized what I knew wasn’t even a tenth of her true capabilities!’

’A bunch of old fools. They don’t even read the proposal materials, yet they have the nerve to act so high and mighty!’

"Watch what you say!" Since Jack Holloway looked down on Sophia Shaw, he naturally disdained her assistant as well, and he criticized her directly. "These professors are all leading figures with distinguished accomplishments. It’s not your place to pass judgment."

’Distinguished accomplishments?’

Jacobs nearly burst out laughing.

’Compared to her boss, their pathetic achievements weren’t even worth mentioning.’

’And they had the nerve to come here and throw their weight around.’

Jacobs nodded pointedly. "Yes, to not even read the proposal documents—truly a distinguished accomplishment."

"You!" Professor Lane sputtered, bristling with anger. "Miss Shaw, get your subordinate under control!"

"The fish rots from the head. Look what kind of subordinate you’ve trained!"

The handful of experts were convinced Sophia Shaw was just coasting on Levin Sawyer’s coattails, so they felt no goodwill toward her whatsoever.

"Professors," Joanna Sherman began, "this is the project proposal I’ve prepared. Since Dale Jacobs isn’t here yet, perhaps you could take a look and offer me some guidance."

Joanna Sherman took out several thick binders and handed one to each of the experts.

Her tone was respectful and polite.

The previously stern-faced professors instantly broke into wide smiles. "Ah, Miss Sherman is truly in a class of her own. We knew we weren’t wrong about you."

Sophia Shaw paid no mind to the experts fawning over Joanna Sherman. She simply took her laptop from Jacobs and went back to her own work.

’This project was supposed to belong to Lead Aerospace, but Zenith snatched the lead position away.’

’It was frankly humiliating.’

The gazes from several of the business leaders held a mix of sympathy and blame for Sophia Shaw.

’If only she and Levin Sawyer had taken this project seriously, none of this trouble would have happened.’

Two of the executives took the opportunity to hurry over to Joanna Sherman. "Ms. Sherman, hello. I’m the head of SwiftLink. We hope to work with Zenith moving forward."

"We at Interlink would also like to cooperate with Zenith."

Jacobs watched these executives digging their own graves and had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.

’With Joanna Sherman’s abilities? Maybe she could launch a basketball. But a satellite?’

’What a joke.’

SwiftLink and Interlink were the two largest telecommunications companies in Cathan. Seeing them flock to Joanna Sherman, the other firms, not wanting to be left behind, also rushed over to pledge their support.

Only the head of the recently founded SwiftShift Corporation remained still. He approached Sophia Shaw and offered her his business card. "Miss Shaw, I look forward to working with you."

Sophia Shaw glanced at him.

’He was quite young and handsome, but aside from seeing him at a few meetings and banquets, they’d never had any dealings.’

"Alright." She accepted the card.

The man observed her elegant features and the completely unflappable way she accepted the card, then pulled out his phone to message someone.

"Are you sure this Miss Shaw is the real deal?"

The reply came back: Don’t doubt her.

The man: "..."

Sophia Shaw stopped paying attention to the others and returned to her work.

Jacobs, on the other hand, had nothing to do, so her eyes darted around the room.

There were still three empty seats in the conference room.

’One is for Representative Jacobs. Who are the other two for?’

The seconds ticked by.

Finally, the doors swung open again.

Representative Jacobs walked in, leading two men.

The man on the left was in his forties, with an athletic build. He walked with his head held high and his chest puffed out.

He wore a military uniform and had an extraordinary presence.

The man on the right was in his twenties, tall and long-legged, and also in a military uniform.

The uniform gave him a dashing, dignified air.

His pair of charming, almond-shaped eyes curved up at the corners as he passed Sophia Shaw. Even the stern military uniform couldn’t contain the deep affection in his gaze.

For some reason, Jacobs felt like he was shamelessly flirting with her boss.

Sophia Shaw looked up, and her eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing the young man.

"These two are Mr. Stone and Mr. Grant." Dale Jacobs didn’t elaborate further.

Dressed as they were, their identities were obvious at a glance.

Clearly, this project had even drawn the attention of the military.

Mr. Stone spoke first. "I hear Lead Aerospace and Zenith have put together a rideshare mission. We’d also like to launch a satellite on it."

Representative Jacobs made the introduction. "This is Miss Sophia Shaw, the representative for Lead Aerospace."

Sophia Shaw gave the two men a slight nod.

Jacobs noticed Mr. Grant give her boss another one of his flirty looks.

’He’s definitely got his sights set on the boss!’

’If that’s the case, what about President Sawyer?’

After introducing Sophia Shaw, Representative Jacobs turned to Joanna Sherman. "This is Miss Sherman, the chief engineer at Zenith and the director of this project. If either of you have any questions, you can go to her."

Joanna Sherman rose with poise and elegance. "A pleasure to meet you both. I’m Joanna Sherman. Please don’t hesitate to come to me with any questions you may have."

"When it comes to rocket launches or satellite deployment, Miss Sherman is Cathan’s foremost expert," Professor Lane couldn’t resist adding.

Joanna Sherman accepted the praise with a slight, confident nod.

"Her? Are you sure?" Mr. Grant asked, pointing at Joanna Sherman.

He then looked toward Sophia Shaw. "Didn’t Lead Aerospace come up with this rideshare project? Why isn’t Miss Shaw the director?"

Professor Lane sighed at the question. "That Miss Shaw simply isn’t capable enough, and her professional qualifications don’t meet the standards. Even so, we gave her a chance to apply for the position, but she failed to seize the opportunity."

In a single sentence, he painted a picture of Sophia Shaw as someone both incompetent and arrogant.

"What are you talking about? Where do you get off saying my boss isn’t capable?" Jacobs shot back angrily.

"Insolence!"

Mr. Stone, who held the position of authority, suddenly snapped.

"Exactly! So young and tactless. Utterly insolent!" Professor Lane’s beady eyes peered over his glasses, his displeasure with Jacobs reaching a new peak.

"I was talking to you!" Chester Stone had a notoriously short fuse. Seeing Professor Lane dare to call a certified rocket prodigy "incapable," he felt his own eyes bulge with anger.

Professor Lane stared at the finger pointed directly at his nose, and his mind went completely blank.

’Did I say something wrong?’

’Is it that people in the military aren’t allowed to scold the younger generation?’

’No, that can’t be it.’

Shane Grant let out a soft laugh. His charming eyes curved with deep affection, but his words to Professor Lane were cold. "You don’t know who she is?"

He gestured toward Sophia Shaw.

Professor Lane replied, "Isn’t she just someone from Lead Aerospace?"

Joanna Sherman had met Shane Grant once before and knew who he was.

Hearing his question, her heart sank.

’After all my careful planning, Sophia Shaw still managed to bring in the Grants!’

’But so what if she did!’

’With so many people watching, no matter how powerful the Grants were, they couldn’t possibly do something so blatant and against the rules in public.’

With that thought, she quickly produced a binder and handed it to Chester Stone. "Mr. Stone, hello. These are my application materials. I am absolutely qualified to be the director of this project."

"That’s right. Miss Sherman’s professional skills are more than up to par," Professor Lane hurriedly added.

Chester Stone didn’t even glance at it.

He had worked with Sophia Shaw many times, all under arrangements made by Elder Grant.

The military only cooperated with the absolute best.

Joanna Sherman’s name had never once appeared on that list.

He gestured toward Sophia Shaw. "Did you read hers?"

Professor Lane shook his head. "Mr. Stone, hers truly isn’t worth reading. She’s a college dropout..."

"Read it!"

Chester Stone couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on him.