Chapter : 198
The faint scent of fir on Jayson was sharply aggressive.
Ariel instinctively frowned and lowered her gaze to his hand, which was still clasping her wrist.
She was about to say she could manage on her own when Jayson, reading her reaction, casually said, “Focus on the ball, not on me.”
So Ariel dropped her gaze.
Jayson kept a loose grip on her hand, pulled back, and swung with swift precision. The ball sank cleanly into the
hole.
Right after that, Ariel stepped away. With a cold expression, she turned and walked off.
Jayson glanced at her retreating figure, catching the chill in her demeanor.
Matt was the first to notice Jayson helping Ariel with her swing. He clicked his tongue and instinctively glanced at Nancy.
Nancy, composed as ever, eyed the ball before remarking without missing a beat, “Jayson, you lost. Matt and I scored more.”
Jayson slipped one hand into his pocket and responded calmly, “Fair enough. I lost.”
Matt gave him a look full of meaning. “You were just being held back. Besides, with your skills, you could beat both of us. You were clearly letting Nancy win just to make her happy.”
Only then did Nancy raise a brow and glance at Jayson with a quiet smile.
Matt then turned toward Ariel and let out a sigh. “As expected, you really can’t compare to Nancy.”
His words carried a double meaning. It sounded like he was talking about golf, but the remark ran deeper than
that.
Jonathan didn’t read too much into it, as he was unaware of the tangled dynamics behind the scenes. He waved a hand and said, “It’s just a friendly match–no need to take it so seriously. No one here is a pro. It’s about having fun.”
Matt chuckled and nodded. “Fair enough.”
Ariel couldn’t be bothered to argue with Matt.
She knew perfectly well that if she pushed back, they would just say she couldn’t take a joke.
Luckily, she didn’t care in the slightest.
Just then, her phone buzzed. It was a message from Chad, saying he was almost there. Only then did Ariel relax a little. She picked up her glass to take a drink.
“Ms. Stanton, you’re really good at golf. Did you train professionally?” Jonathan asked from across the table, genuinely curious.
Nancy smiled gracefully and looked over at Jayson. “Not exactly. Jayson taught me.”
Ariel’s hand paused mid–sip.
She suddenly thought of the way Jayson had nearly embraced her while helping with her swing earlier. A ripple of discomfort passed through her, making her frown.
Just then, Chad arrived. He came straight over to Ariel and whispered under his breath, “Shit. This is a trap.”
Ariel had figured that out already.
Jonathan had arranged to meet here to discuss the project plans, yet somehow Jayson and the others just happened to be here too.
What else could it mean?
“Sorry, I’m late. Traffic was brutal.” Chad greeted the others with a smile after talking to Ariel. His face showed no hint that anything was amiss.
Jonathan welcomed him warmly. “No worries. We just happened to run into Mr. Larkin and his group, so we were chatting.”
Jayson turned toward Chad. “How’s the financing coming along for the past couple of days, Mr. Hockney?”
Nancy also glanced over. She didn’t believe for a second that Faye Technologies could actually raise 500 million dollars so quickly.
To put it simply, this gathering was just a way to give Chad an easy out. After some conversation, he would naturally end up asking for the investment.
Chad glanced briefly at Ariel before replying, “Thanks for asking, Mr. Larkin. It’s in motion. So far, so good.”
Of course, no one really bought it.
Who could find 500 million dollars just like that?
Smiling, Jonathan said, “Mr. Hockney, I’m not familiar with the business side of things, but you can talk with Mr. Larkin about any opportunities to collaborate on Faye Tech’s future manufacturing contracts.
“Even if your R&D team doesn’t need new members, a large–scale project like this needs the right manufacturing partner.”
Ariel understood the subtext perfectly. Since they had rejected Nancy’s involvement, Jonathan was asking them to settle for Bluum Corp as the manufacturer instead.