"Thank you, Mr. Langley," the short-haired girl said, her face lighting up with surprise. She leaned in to give Lue a kiss.


    "Whoa there!" Lue raised an eyebrow, pressing a long finger against the girl''s lips to stop her. She smiled, azy, roguish charm in her eyes. “This face isn''t for just anyone to kiss. You know the rules."


    "Okay," the girl pouted, clearly disappointed.


    Everyone knew Mr. Langley was not only a regr at the bar but also its most generous patron. He was witty, charming, andcked the sleazy vibe of other men. He never looked down on them for their line of work and would often hand out generous tips. Every girl in the bar dreamed of catching his eye and changing their fortunes.


    But Mr. Langley was an enigma. No matter how stunning the woman who threw herself at him, he would only ever spend the day with them—singing, eating, drinking-but never took anyone home for the night.


    "Mr. Langley, I sang too," another girl chimed in, seeing the cash her friend had received.


    "You can''t y favorites," she cooed.


    “Haha.” Lueughed and gesturednguidly with her finger. "Take this stack and


    split it amongst yourselves. Now scram, I need to talk to my friend."


    "Ahh! Thank you, Mr. Langley!" The girls jumped up, grabbed the money, and happily left the room.


    As they passed Juniper, they cast curious nces her way. Could this be his actual girlfriend?


    Surely not. What girlfriend would tolerate her boyfriending to a bar to fool around with other women?


    Reassured, the girls'' spirits lifted, and they waved cheerfully at Juniper. "Bye, gorgeous!"


    The door clicked shut.


    Juniper tossed her backpack onto the sofa and sat down. "Got any juice? I''m not drinking tonight."


    Lue stared at her, her expression a mixture of disbelief and pity. "Whipped," her look screamed. To think that Specter,'' the formidable leader of Subterra Vanguard, was nowpletely under a man''s thumb.


    "The finals are tomorrow," Juniper said, tossing a napkin at Lue''s face with a wry


    smile. "I need to be sharp. It has nothing to do with Shanley."


    "You scared me for a second," Lue


    1819


    snorted, ordering some juice and snacks for her. "I was starting to think that old man had you


    20der"


    some kind of spell."


    "Let''s get down to business," Juniper said, her tone shifting as she shot Lue a serious look. "Is it true? Is the base short on funds?"


    “Of course it is." Lue swirled the drink in her ss and sighed. “And you can thank your arch-nemesis for that."


    The leader of Sigma Network? At the mention of him, Juniper''s defenses went up, her eyes filled with undisguised disgust.


    "What kind of dirty tricks has he pulled now?” she asked, leaning back against the sofa and crossing her legs, her beautiful face a mask of cold fury.


    "Maliciouspetition," Lue said, sitting up straight and ticking off the man''s crimes on her fingers. "We е started pharmaceutical research, so he did too. We moved into tech development, and he stuck his nose in that as well. It''s a constant battle, neither side backing down, and we''re bleeding money. What''s worse, that old bastard managed to steal one of our overseas markets, costing Subterra Vanguard an eleven-figure sum."


    The loss had dealt a severe blow to Subterra Vanguard, and now they needed an emergency injection of capital to stay afloat.


    "How much do you need?" Juniper asked quietly after listening to the report.


    "At least twenty billion,” Lue replied, her expression grave. "And that will only keep us going for three days."


    In three days, Subterra Vanguard was set to secure another market, and the funds from that deal woulde through.