"Sabrina, just curious... what did Gracewell offer?" Simon leaned a bit closer to Sabrina, casually brushing her shoulder with his arm as he spoke.
He sounded like he was asking about money, but the way he grinned gave him away-this was more about finding an excuse to stay close.
Sabrina felt a jolt in her chest at the question. Everyone in the lab knew her favorite little disciple had a thing for cash-growing up broke does that to you-and honestly, it wasn't his fault.
But this time... she was the one being selfish, risking the team's interests for a deal.
No, not quite right.
She never planned to toss the team under the bus-she was the one taking the hit.
She'd already decided. Once she signed the contract with Gracewell, she'd split her savings with the crew. It wasn't going to be a lot, but at least they wouldn't lose out.
Sabrina swallowed hard. It took her a second, but she finally said, "You'll see once it's signed."
"Alright then." Simon gave her a look, like he was sensing something off, but he didn't press. Just nodded and backed off quickly.
A few minutes later, the folks from Gracewell arrived.
Seven people piled out of two cars-none of them Cedric.
Sabrina's mood, which had just lifted a bit, sank halfway back down.
"Hello, Ms. Lionhart. I'm assistant to Mr. Strickland. You can call me Orion. I'll be signing the contract on his behalf today," the man introduced himself, one hand adjusting his suit while the other reached out politely.
Total professional.
Sabrina forced away her sour mood and shook his hand, but her eyes still darted past the group, instinctively hoping to catch a glimpse of the man she'd been missing these past three days.
She asked, "Is Mr. Strickland really that busy?"
"Yes, quite. Aside from Gracewell, he's also managing Maxon Group. He's usually swamped. Actually, he was supposed to be here today-this project's a big one after all-but something urgent came up at Maxon. I don't know the details since I only work on Gracewell's side," Orion explained courteously without dodging the question.
"Oh, no worries. Just wondering." Sabrina nodded, catching the subtext.
Orion seemed like a decent, straightforward guy. Maybe Cedric really was caught up and not just avoiding her.
The other six introduced themselves one by one and shook hands with her. Sabrina also made sure to introduce Simon.
The formalities flew by and, ten minutes later, Orion gestured for them to head inside.
Everyone in their crisp suits looked seriously impressive, and as Sabrina glanced at the rather outdated restaurant she'd picked, she felt a little embarrassed.
"Sorry, I think this place might not be the best. Should we switch to somewhere nicer?" she asked, trying to be polite.
"No need, really," Orion answered quickly. "We heard you've been living abroad, and it's already very kind of you to take on organizing the dinner. We're honored, truly-please don't stress over this."
Sabrina just nodded, offering no explanation.
She had been overseas for a bit-but honestly, the way Orion handled things? She couldn't out-politeness him even if she tried.
Once seated in the private room, they placed their orders. While they waited for the food, Orion pulled out two hefty contracts from a yellow file folder and handed one of them to Sabrina.
"Ms. Lionhart, please have a look at this contract. If there's anything you're unsure about, you can consult our legal team anytime."
Sabrina gave a short nod.
She didn't bother reading every word-just flipped through the pages fast. Almost at the end, she finally spotted the part she was looking for.
Yep, the price.
She glanced at it. It started with a five... but wait, not five bucks.
Sabrina rubbed her eyes and counted the zeros.
Seven.
Fifty million?!
Cedric actually offered fifty million for this collaboration?!
A cold shiver ran through her. It felt like getting slammed into a freezing pit.
So this was his way of saying no to her that night?
Offering a hundred times more-no, a hundred million times more-was his silent way of shutting down her asking to get back together?
Sabrina's shoulders slumped.
Simon, who noticed her face like she'd just been struck by lightning, leaned in for a look. Fifty million-he also sucked in a sharp breath.
Just fifty million?!
Was Gracewell kidding with this offer?
He mentally crunched the numbers-heck, Pama had offered more than this.
Were they seriously trying to lowball them?
Under the table, Simon gently patted Sabrina's hand, silently urging her to chill. "Orion..."
"One second!" the assistant, Orion, jumped like a deer in headlights.
Cedric had handed him the contract personally this morning, telling him not to open it until Sabrina arrived.
He hadn't thought much of it-maybe it was some top-secret file.
Didn't expect it to be the price that stirred up a mess.
Fifty million might be decent for a random patent, but for Twinkle...
This product's been blowing up in the market, with Pama even trading stocks for it. There's no way it's only worth fifty million. Not even close.
Maybe Cedric's too tired. Did he accidentally miss a zero?
Orion closed the folder, silently screaming in his head. Great. Finally got the legendary beauty expert to the table, and now there's a pricing mess.
"I'll call Mr. Strickland right away," Orion said, getting up in a panic. His chair scraped loudly against the floor in the rush.
The whole legal team tensed, sensing the scale of the blunder. Laptops popped open as they got ready to record Cedric's new instructions or Sabrina's demands.
"No need," said Sabrina suddenly.
Everyone froze.
Orion's finger stopped just short of the call button. He turned, stunned. "What?"
"I said don't bother. Let's just go with this." Sabrina held out her hand toward Simon. "Give me the pen."
Simon, who usually did whatever she asked, didn't move this time.
"I'll explain it to everyone in the lab with my own savings. No one's going to end up empty after these months," she said calmly.
Simon's face darkened like a storm cloud. She was serious. She'd even use her dowry to patch this up, and still push through with Gracewell...
She must've known from the start the deal wouldn't be ideal. Had she already planned this out?
Just who the hell was behind Gracewell?
"Pen," Sabrina pressed.
Simon took a few deep breaths, chest rising and falling. Finally, he gave in. He pulled a black pen from his briefcase and slapped it hard into her palm. Then he turned around, giving her the cold shoulder.
An obvious warning: He was pissed.
But he knew it wouldn't change anything.
She never cared about consequences.
Sabrina popped open the pen cap and swiftly signed her name on the current page. Then she looked up at the nearest lawyer and asked, "Anywhere else I need to sign?"The lawyer quickly caught on-since the signatures were already down, it didn't really matter why things happened the way they did.
In business, results were everything. He pointed out a few spots on the contract for Sabrina to sign, and once she was done scribbling her name, she stamped each one firmly.
With that, the future of Twinkle was officially sealed.
"Miss Lionhart..." Orion hesitated, unsure how to phrase what he wanted to say.
"Pass me that copy. You go sign this one," Sabrina replied, all business, not letting the hefty price tag show on her face even one bit.
She calmly took the other contract, signed every spot that needed her name, stamped every necessary area. After Orion followed suit, the deal was officially done.
Then came the usual pleasantries. Orion couldn't fully hide how bothered he was by the pricing, dropping multiple subtle hints to Sabrina that even though the contract was signed, if she had any requests down the road, they could still be considered.
Sabrina just smiled and nodded politely, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
At the dinner afterwards, the folks from Gracewell were clearly riding high.
Once they finally left, Simon couldn't hold it in anymore. "Why would you do this?! What even is Gracewell that it's worth throwing in your dowry for a damn deal like this?!"
And more than that-who the hell was the mystery man behind Gracewell?
He clearly hadn't let go of the "Mr. Strickland" that Orion had briefly mentioned.
"The reason behind it all? I don't owe you that explanation," Sabrina said calmly. "But yeah, I made this call on my own, and if it hurt the team, I'll take that responsibility."
Her dowry...?
Heh, what dowry?
The man she wanted to marry had already given her a slap in the face with the way he responded. What was the point of keeping that money?
She'd feel better giving it to her research team-sure, 100% reimbursement wasn't happening, but 80%?
Yeah... that could work.
"You don't owe me an explanation?" Simon's chest heaved again, just as he thought he'd cooled down. "What am I even to you?!"
Sabrina frowned, feeling her patience fading-dude's stepping way outta line.
She looked at Simon with a calm but sharp gaze. "You tell me."
Simon realized he'd gone too far in the heat of the moment. He knew Sabrina's rules-personal stuff never mixed with work at the lab.
No matter how chill she seemed normally, when work was involved, she was strict as hell. No gray areas.
Feeling a bit sheepish, he changed the subject. "Didn't you ask what I've been up to the past few days? I'll be honest-I went house hunting. My plan was, once your deal with Pama was signed, I'd use my bonus to buy it outright. And now..."
He slumped a little, muttering in defeat, "Now I can only afford the down payment."
He lowered his head, completely baffled how a guy like him-5'9'' tall-kept losing to a pocket-sized woman barely hitting 5'3''.
"Pfft!" Sabrina burst out laughing, the corners of her eyes crinkling. That one laugh seemed to drive off all the bitterness from earlier. "What, trying to buy a house and settle down already?"
Settle down, huh?
Simon didn't deny it.
Sabrina's smile shifted, a little mischievous. "Hey, we researchers are supposed to stay pure-minded, you know? Chase knowledge, not bank accounts. If all you think about is money while working in R&D, aren't you just a little too practical for this line of work?"
"I'm not listening I'm not listening I'm not listening-" Simon slapped both hands over his ears. Knew it, this was her favorite move.
She always spun things around, even when she was the one being totally unreasonable.
Sabrina laughed even harder, reaching over to swat his hands away. "Nope, you gotta listen to your teacher."
