Sarah Lynch stood next to Sean Sinclair.

Liam Forrester noticed Leila Jennings’s gaze sweep over the pair and asked curiously, "Sean, who is this?"

"Are you Sean’s friend?" Sarah Lynch smiled and extended her hand. "Hello, I’m Sarah Lynch."

Liam Forrester was suddenly embarrassed.

Although he addressed Sean familiarly, they weren’t actually friends.

Or rather, he couldn’t count Sean Sinclair as a friend.

But his father wanted him to follow and learn from Sean Sinclair, so it was better to be humble. He gave a slight nod.

He didn’t shake her hand.

His intuition told him Leila Jennings didn’t like this woman.

And he was still trying to woo her.

Sean Sinclair looked at Sarah Lynch, his brow furrowed slightly, and made the introduction. "This is Mr. Forrester."

He couldn’t say they were friends, but he couldn’t say they weren’t either.

A simple title. ’Sarah would surely understand.’

As comprehension dawned, Sarah Lynch’s smile stiffened slightly. This was the Forrester family’s Crown Prince.

"Mr. Forrester, my apologies."

Liam Forrester gave a tight-lipped smile, his peripheral vision fixed on Leila Jennings. Seeing her turn to leave, he immediately hurried after her.

"Are you heading in? Let’s go together!"

His gaze was sincere, like a little puppy wagging its tail.

"Leila Jennings, where are you going?" Sean Sinclair demanded, striding toward her, only to be blocked by the bodyguards, just like Liam Forrester.

The two bodyguards stared straight at him, completely unafraid.

Leila Jennings looked back at him. "I have something to do."

"What could you possibly have to do here?" Sean Sinclair frowned and asked again, "Who are they? Who hired these bodyguards for you?"

’So Leila Jennings didn’t come with Sean.’ Sarah Lynch realized.

’If she didn’t come with Sean, there was only one other person she could think of.’

’Sean must have thought of it too.’

Sean Sinclair questioned, "President Cole?"

Sarah Lynch’s lips curled slightly. ’So, Leila Jennings has gotten involved with Nathaniel Cole again.’

"That would be me." A low, magnetic voice sounded out.

Leila Jennings looked up. At some point, the people from The Cole Group had arrived.

Nathaniel Cole stood in the center, flanked by a group of his employees.

The man’s cold gaze swept over the crowd, landing briefly on Liam Forrester. "Mr. Forrester is here as well."

"President Cole, long time no see." Liam Forrester greeted him with a smile, though his mind was filled with questions. ’How is Leila Jennings also connected to the famous Nathaniel Cole?’

"Hm." Nathaniel Cole gave a faint nod. He looked at Leila Jennings, who was stuck by the side of the road, and lifted his chin slightly. "Go inside."

Leila Jennings understood he was helping her out of a predicament and went inside with her bodyguards.

Nathaniel Cole followed close behind.

Sean Sinclair also started to follow, but was blocked by the crowd from The Cole Group.

His hands clenched into fists.

’How could she be so obedient to Nathaniel Cole? Doesn’t Leila Jennings know who her husband is?’

"Sean." Sarah Lynch reached for his clenched fist, but he suddenly shook her off.

She froze.

"Sean?"

Sean Sinclair turned his head with a look of frustration and said to Sarah Lynch, "Sarah, you should go up first. It wouldn’t look good if someone saw us."

Sarah Lynch gritted her teeth and forced out, "Okay."

"Mr. Forrester, I’ll see you in a bit."

Liam Forrester stood to the side, minding his own business.

"Sean, shall we go up?"

"Yes." Sean Sinclair started walking.

Leila Jennings and Nathaniel Cole had already reached the elevators, standing side by side.

"Leila Jennings, you’ve used me again." As soon as they stopped, the man’s deep voice spoke up once more.

Leila Jennings slowly turned her head. "?"

Behind them, Zachary was speechless. "..."

’President Cole, you were clearly the one eager to be used, how can you turn around and blame her?’

The elevator arrived.

There wasn’t enough room for so many people at once. Leila Jennings had no intention of sharing an elevator with them, so she and her bodyguards took a step to the side. Just then, the adjacent elevator also arrived.

Nathaniel Cole and Leila Jennings each boarded a separate elevator.

As the elevator doors closed, Nathaniel Cole recalled the way Leila Jennings had just looked at him with slightly widened eyes, like a helpless little kitten.

The corners of the man’s lips curled up.

...

Sarah Lynch walked into the small conference room and scanned her surroundings. She still didn’t see Dr. Jennings, who had been avoiding her.

She asked Chloe, "Where is Dr. Jennings?"

Chloe shook her head. "I don’t know."

She found a seat and sat down, but someone next to her said, "Ms. Lynch, that’s Chief Engineer Jennings’s seat."

It was a long, oval conference table with two head seats. One was at the end by the screen, and the other was exactly where Sarah Lynch was sitting.

None of the project team members really liked her, and she, in turn, looked down on them. She laughed and tried to gloss it over. "Well, Dr. Jennings isn’t here yet, is she? Being late for something so important isn’t very becoming of a chief engineer."

Chloe said sternly, "Our senior engineer arrived a long time ago. She just had to step out for a moment."

Sarah Lynch smiled without saying a word.

’In the entire project team, Chloe is Dr. Jennings’s biggest suck-up.’

On the large screen, the adjacent conference room was gradually filling up. The bid evaluation committee members had all arrived, and representatives from the major companies were taking their seats.

Nameplates for each company were set on the table; everyone just needed to find their designated seat.

The Cole Group happened to be seated next to Stellaxis Technologies.

Nathaniel Cole took his seat. He glanced at the single empty spot in front of the Stellaxis Technologies nameplate, his gaze filled with amusement.

’The Forrester Crown Prince is here. Who’s going to sit in that seat today?’

’Technically, it should be Sean Sinclair; he’s the one in charge.’

’But without a word from the Crown Prince, he wouldn’t dare take the seat so easily.’

Mr. Jacobs looked up at the empty seat for Stellaxis Technologies and asked, "Hasn’t President Sinclair from Stellaxis Technologies arrived?"

"I’m here." Sean Sinclair nodded politely to the old man. Sarah had shown him a photo of Mr. Jacobs.

Liam Forrester said, "Sean, go ahead and sit."

Only then did Sean Sinclair sit down.

Mr. Jacobs sized up Sean Sinclair. He had only heard of the young man but had never met him.

Looking at him now, he was indeed extraordinary and promising for his age.

He didn’t seem inferior at all, even sitting next to President Cole of The Cole Group.

’No wonder Sarah is so smitten with him.’

’A young man like this, with just a little help, would have a limitless future. A union between our two families would indeed bring many benefits.’

Mr. Jacobs nodded in satisfaction and turned to the person next to him. "We should pay more attention to Stellaxis Technologies."

Everyone there was perceptive; they immediately understood that Mr. Jacobs favored Stellaxis Technologies.

Indeed, Stellaxis Technologies’ capabilities were plain to see, and their proposal was well-prepared.

Now, it would all come down to their presentations.

There were five minutes until ten o’clock.

The company representatives in the main conference room grew tense, while the project researchers in the small conference room were filled with anticipation.

Chloe looked toward the door. ’It’s about to start, why isn’t our senior engineer here yet?’

Sarah Lynch’s gaze also drifted toward the door. ’If Dr. Jennings doesn’t show up,’ she thought, ’it would be a blessing from heaven!’

Suddenly.

The door was pushed open.

Leila Jennings walked in with her bodyguards.

All eyes snapped to her.

The moment Sarah Lynch saw her, her first reaction was to sneer, "Leila Jennings, you’re in the wrong place. This isn’t where you belong. As an escort, you should be in the waiting room."

Leila Jennings walked step by step toward Sarah Lynch until she was standing right in front of her. Her cold gaze fell on Sarah’s face, then moved to the chair she was sitting in.

Her pale red lips parted slightly. "Ms. Lynch, you’re in my seat."