"Not at all. Compared to you, Director Lancaster, I still have a long way to go."


    The Lancaster family had clearly already sunk a substantial amount of money into this project. Yet, Corinne was willing to jeopardize its future by casually offending one of the few excellent potential partners avable to them. When it came to being willful and reckless, Charlene couldn''t hold a candle to her.


    Corinne seemed to know exactly what Charlene was thinking. She smiled. "You''re quite confident, Ms. Ross. You''re right-domestically, PrimeStar is an excellent choice. But our options aren''t limited to just PrimeStar."


    With that, she stood up with a breezy smile. "Since PrimeStar is incapable of taking on our project, I won''t waste any more of your time. Until next time, Ms. Ross."


    Charlene had no desire to engage in any more pointless verbal sparring. "I won''t see you out."


    When Stewart Ferguson returned to the office that afternoon, he asked about the meeting with the Lancaster Group. Charlene gave him a brief rundown of what had happened.


    Stewart frowned. "Corinne Lancaster was hostile toward you? Did shee here specifically to pick a fight?"


    "That''s certainly what it felt like."


    The Ferguson family didn''t have much history with the Lancasters, so Stewart didn''t know much about them either.


    However, he knew Charlene''s social circles perfectly well and knew she had never crossed paths with Corinne before.


    Knowing that Corinne had spent most of her recent years studying abroad in Golnd, and given her deliberately provocative attitude, Stewart paused. "Is she close friends with Vesta Hawkins? Did shee here just to mess with you on Vesta''s behalf? Or is it because of Thorne Henderson?"


    "I lean toward the former," Charlene replied.


    "Ha, that''s genuinely hrious." Stewart sneered. "To casually offend a potential business partner over some supposed sisterhood loyalty... this Corinne Lancaster ispletely brainless. But honestly, if the Lancaster Group is willing to put someone so emotionally driven in charge of their project, it''s a blessing in disguise we aren''t working with them. The partnership would have been a nightmare anyway." "Agreed," Charlene nodded.


    The next day, Charlene and Stewart were scheduled for a lunch meeting with an existing client. To their surprise, they bumped into Vesta Hawkins and Corinne Lancaster right at the entrance.


    Stewart crossed his arms, ncing at Charlene. "Looks like our guess was right on the money. The Lancaster heiress really is quite close to Vesta."


    Corinne and Vesta spotted them as well.


    Vesta''s expression remained neutral, acting as though she hadn''t seen them at all. Corinne, however, smirked provocatively and offered a silent, mocking wave before leading Vesta into the restaurant.


    "


    ." Stewart scoffed. "Is she out of her mind?"


    "Let''s just go inside," Charlene said dismissively.


    During their meal, PrimeStar''s client casually brought up the Lancaster family.


    After all, because of their structural shifts, the Lancasters had moved most of their business abroad and rarely returned to Starfall City. Their sudden reappearance, and push into the local market had sparked quite a bit of chatter in their professional circles.


    Naturally, the conversation drifted to the massive project the Lancasters were currently spearheading. "I heard the Lancasters came back fully prepared. They had already secured a development teamover in Golnd well before they arrived. Rumor has it the teamnded yesterday, and it''s none other than the internationally renowned P.MAI Team."


    Charlene and Stewart instantly recognized the name.


    The P.MAI Team was world-ss, possessing extraordinary capabilities and having


    coborated with countless global tech giants.


    The Lancaster family had truly invested heavily in this endeavor.


    But if the P.MA Team had arrived in


    P.MAL


    Starfall City yesterday morning, it meant the Lancaster family had locked in their partnership long ago. With MAI on board, they had absolutely zero Need for PrimeStar Technologies. Corinne bringing her people into PrimeStar yesterday under the guise of discussing a partnership was nothing more than a childish prank to humiliate them.