Chapter 3

"Chloe Vance, are you really going to be this stubborn?"

Julian took a violent step forward, slamming his hand down and scattering the files on my desk.

"Sienna is just a young girl. What harm could she possibly mean?"

"She put so much effort into this blind box pricing just to bring some fun to the boring prep work."

"And honestly, she did it to help you! You're a miserable workaholic who does nothing but stare at spreadsheets. She wanted to make you less boring!"

I looked at the documents scattered across the carpet and let out a soft laugh.

"Risking a multi-billion dollar merger just to make me 'less boring'? How incredibly charitable of her."

"Cut the sarcasm!"

Julian pointed a finger right at my face, shouting,

"Sienna said her backer is a retired Silicon Valley legend who can predict market trends perfectly! He already knows the seller's absolute limit!"

"The moment we submit our bid, it will be the most brilliant ambush in the history of the Sterling Group!"

"We will swallow their market whole, and it will all be thanks to Sienna's genius out-of-the-box thinking!"

I honestly couldn't believe what I was hearing.

An ambush based on randomized, unchecked numbers?

What kind of fairy-tale business textbook did he read that from?

"Julian, do you have a single brain cell working?"

"Those are minimum walk-away prices. One wrong digit means a loss of hundreds of millions. You are literally throwing this company into a volcano."

"Losses? If there are losses, it's because the team your dad sent from Vance Group is incompetent!"

Julian spat, glaring at me with pure disgust.

"You're just jealous of Sienna's talent. You're jealous that she has connections with elite players while you're just a dry corporate suit."

"Let me tell you something, Chloe. If you don't apologize to Sienna today,"

"You can kiss your status as my wife goodbye, and we will terminate the strategic partnership between Vance Group and Sterling Group immediately!"

I let out a low laugh, slowly pushing the remaining acquisition binders off my desk, letting them crash to the floor.

"Julian, who was the one who practically knelt at my father's feet, begging for Vance Group's backing and a marriage alliance?"

"If my father hadn't respected your grandfather's legacy, do you honestly think I would have agreed to marry a useless, incompetent boy like you to secure your CEO seat?"

"Let me tell you this: this pathetic marriage? Anyone can have it. I've been sick of playing your savior anyway."

Julian clearly didn't expect me to be so ruthless. He froze, his face turning pale as he stood there, completely speechless.

"Chloe Vance... stop trying to play hard to get!"

"Do you think anyone else in high society would ever tolerate a cold, heartless bitch like you?"

He slammed my office door so hard the glass partition rattled, and stormed off.

The cold air conditioning hummed in the empty room, making me feel utterly detached.

Julian and I grew up together, but there was never any love between us.

My father raised me as his sole successor. To protect our family assets and help Julian stabilize his grandfather's company, I agreed to the marriage.

Now, at the most critical juncture of the offshore acquisition, I was representing Vance Group in this joint venture, only to watch it turn into a complete joke.

Sienna’s "blind box" show had already spread throughout the entire department.

A few project managers were gathered in the breakroom, talking excitedly.

"Hey, did you hear?"

"Sienna randomized all the bidding brackets. We literally draw numbers out of a hat to fill in the final bid!"

"That's so fresh! I was so tired of doing the same old financial modeling. This actually makes work exciting!"

"Exactly! Sienna's Silicon Valley backer is a genius. Whatever number we pull is meant to be!"

"Director Leo from finance tried to ask for the real spreadsheet earlier, and Julian literally kicked him out of the project. Said he was sabotaging Sienna’s strategy!"

I watched these brainless sheep walk happily toward the slaughterhouse.

Just then, my phone rang. It was Wyatt, the VP of Strategic Investment.

I answered. His voice was frantic and trembling with fear.

"Chloe!"

Yes, although Julian was nominally leading the team, everyone in the industry knew I was the actual brain of this acquisition.

"I can't do this anymore! This blind box pricing is driving us straight off a cliff!"

"I want to pull my entire team out of the project tonight. Please, give me the green light!"

I remained silent for a moment, then calmly said,

"Hold your ground. Do nothing."