Ariel calmly withdrew her gaze. “Don’t bother considering.”

“Why not?” Chad blinked.

“Jayson owns that building.”

Chad immediately looked annoyed. “Ugh, capitalism at its worst.‘

་་

Across the table, Alan had been quietly hearing their conversation about the office building. His expression shifted slightly. “You two don’t know?”

Ariel looked up.

Alan pointed toward the building across the street. “A new company is moving in over there.”

Seeing their puzzled looks, he elaborated, “You’ve heard of Nancy Stanton, right? The rumored girlfriend of Mr. Larkin from Bluum Corp? Well, she’s not joining Bluum Corp.

“She’s starting her own drone company. That building is the registered address. The news just leaked today. It’ll be called Veyo Solutions.”

Chad’s expression darkened instantly.

Nancy didn’t join Bluum Corp but was launching her own company?

Ariel frowned. “When did that happen?”

Alan answered, “It was just announced today, though it’s still in the preparation phase. I heard it’s already been registered. But as you can see, that office building spans seven full floors. Clearly, it’s no small operation.”

That was putting it mildly.

This was downright high–profile.

Launching a company like that would require going through layer after layer of procedures. The funding alone would be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Ariel was sure Nancy didn’t have that kind of financial power on her own.

Suddenly, she fell silent.

That building was Jayson’s private property, and now Nancy’s company was registered there.

Suddenly, she realized what Nancy had meant during her call with Colton last night.

So Jayson was helping Nancy set up this company.

Ariel had assumed Nancy would be placed in Bluum Corp and climbed to the top under Jayson’s wing. She never expected that Nancy would start her own company.

Chad’s expression turned grim. This wasn’t just some startup.

If he wasn’t wrong…

Alan voiced what Chad had already been thinking. “Mr. Hockney, I’d suggest you be extra cautious. That company is clearly positioned to compete with Faye Tech. If Mr. Larkin is backing it with his network and resources, they’ll

be formidable in future contracts.”

+25 BONUS

Although Faye Technologies was riding high, once Veyo Solutions rolled out its strategic plans, it was bound to become a major competitor within Eldoria.

Ariel’s eyes narrowed, thoughts racing.

Was Nancy’s sudden decision to start a company tied to her being kicked out of the Nexura Solutions‘ project?

Did Jayson feel that Nancy’s removal from the team had hurt her pride and interests? And now, to keep anyone from questioning her position again, he was taking on Faye Technologies head–on through business competition?

Ariel frowned deeply. She could see the full picture now.

No wonder Jayson didn’t say or do anything after Nancy was removed from the project. His silence had seemed suspicious back then.

Now she had the answer.

It seemed Jayson was retaliating against Faye Technologies for the decision to cut Nancy. This was his way of supporting her.

Even Chad, who usually excelled at keeping up appearances, couldn’t help but curse under his breath, “Did he actually fund it? If he did, you might as well sue him. The proceedings haven’t fully concluded yet. You can still reclaim the joint assets!”

Ariel’s face was expressionless.

Now, she finally understood why Jayson had insisted she sign that agreement. The one that forbade her from revealing anything about their relationship under any circumstances.

There was no way she could sue him.

Just as she was lost in thought, her phone rang. It was Colton.

She excused herself from Alan, then stepped away to answer.

As she picked up, Jayson’s low voice came through, “It’s me.”