Never Mistake a Queen for a Lapdog novel Chapter 1083

Yves had meant well. Since he had dealings with the Naylor Automotive Group, he thought that because Gia was Healy's fiancée, making a successful introduction could earn him a favor down the line.

He hadn't expected it to backfire so spectacularly.

Naturally, the lunch ended on a sour note.

Gia and Crystal didn't even pick up their silverware. After thoroughly rubbing salt in the wound, they made up excuses and left.

Yves didn't walk them out.

Instead, once they were gone, he profusely apologized to Noreen, his tone entirely sincere. "Ms. Gilmore, I am so sorry about what happened tonight. I had the best intentions, thinking we could all meet and maybe spark a project together. Everyone loves making money. I had no idea those two would act like that and make things so ugly. This is entirely my fault."

Noreen's expression remained as calm as a deep, still pool of water. "You're overthinking it, Mr. Selwyn," she said lightly. "I didn't take it to heart, and neither should you."

"Of course, of course!"

Yves nodded rapidly, his smile growing much more genuine. "I know exactly what you're capable of, Ms. Gilmore. A little turbulence like this is nothing to you. Back when InnoCore was just starting out, things were ten times harder than this. Half the city was waiting for you to fail, and look what happened?"

"You brought a dead deal back to life. Over the last few years, the AI sector has been fiercely competitive, yet InnoCore's position has remained unshakable. That's all thanks to your maneuvering. What's a little storm compared to that?"

As he spoke, he smoothly shifted gears. The signature sharpness of a shrewd businessman flashed in his eyes as he lowered his voice.

"But speaking of which, I've heard some rumors lately that Centribo has made a massive breakthrough in their tech... Any truth to that?"

Noreen didn't answer immediately.

She simply stood there, the light from the hallway casting a cool glow over the sharp lines of her profile.

A moment later, a faint, almost imperceptible smirk curved her lips as her gaze landed on Yves.

Sipping her tea, Gia asked Crystal who she had invited that was so urgent.

"Just a few of Winrich's clients," Crystal said dismissively.

Gia's interest was piqued. She raised an eyebrow. "So you established CloudChase Capital in such a rush just to poach Noreen's projects?"

With no outsiders around, Crystal didn't bother hiding it. "That's exactly the plan."

Gia smiled. "I wasn't really interested in investments, but you're making this sound fun."

"Believe me, Noreen is at the end of her rope," Crystal said, taking a sip of tea with a confident smirk.

"She might act like everything's perfectly fine and she has it all under control, but behind closed doors, she's probably panicking. The wind has shifted in the business world, and those project developers are entirely opportunistic. With the state Winrich is in, they'll be desperate for new investors to bail them out."