The Contract Said No Strings Attached (Charlotte) novel Chapter 404

Borg and Cedric burst out laughing.

“You sure talk big for someone your age,” Borg snorted.

“Yeah, you? A hundred-million-dollar deal? Who are you trying to fool?” Cedric cackled, nearly doubled over.

Unfazed, Noah replied calmly, “Just let me take this call, and you’ll see whether I’m bluffing.”

Noah’s voice was so steady and mature that both Borg and Cedric were momentarily taken aback.

Borg leaned closer and whispered, “You think he’s actually for real?”

Cedric scoffed, “No way. He’s definitely making this up.”

But Noah shot back, “What if I’m not?”

Cedric was never one to back down from a challenge, and Noah’s serious tone rattled him just enough to make him pause. “Fine, go on then. I’ll put you on. But you’d better not be messing with me. If you are, you’re dead meat.”

With that, Cedric answered the call, barking rudely into the phone, “Who the hell is this? What do you want?”

On the other end, Dylan Austin was briefly stunned by the brash greeting.

He frowned. “Are you N?”

Cedric jutted his chin out, arrogance lacing his words. “That’s right! I’m your boss now, got it?”

Dylan couldn’t help but sneer. Was this the infamous N? Just some uncouth punk? How disappointing.

Still, his interest in N’s SOAI chip outweighed his annoyance. He pressed on, “I’m calling to discuss a partnership.”

Cedric blinked, thrown off. “A partnership? What kind?”

Cedric’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “What? Dylan from the Austin Group?”

Next to him, Borg’s face went pale with shock. “Dylan? As in… the richest man in Wye?”

They’d never met Dylan in person, but if you hung around Wye, you knew his name.

Dylan let out a sharp laugh. “Glad you know who I am. Saves me the trouble of explaining.”

As realization set in, Cedric and Borg’s legs nearly gave out. But beneath the shock, excitement bubbled up.

Trying to keep his cool, Cedric stammered, “Mr. Austin, please hold on—I need to think this over. I’ll get back to you shortly.”

He hung up before Dylan could reply.

Borg spun on him, panicked. “Why’d you hang up? Are you crazy? That was ten million dollars on the table!”