Chapter 105
Just as Charlotte had suspected, the person pulling the strings didn't make her wait long.
At two o'clock that afternoon, there was a knock at her office door. It was Carl Sanchez, the manager of Business Division One.
He walked in holding a stack of documents, a hollow, overly polished smile on his face.
"Ms. Johnson, sorry to interrupt. I have some urgent documents that need your signature."
Charlotte glanced at them, then reached out and took the papers.
She skimmed through them, satisfied there were no issues, signed her name, and handed them back.
But Carl didn't move to leave. He stood there, studying her with an unreadable look.
Charlotte noticed. She frowned and looked up again.
"Is there something else, Mr. Sanchez?"
Carl let out a sigh, his expression shifting into something that looked carefully rehearsed — just the right amount of concern.
"Ms. Johnson, I'm not sure I should be saying this."
"But as the manager of this division, there are things I have to consider for my team."
Carl ran Business Division One. He'd been with the Langley Group for years, was sharp, and had been Nora's most trusted asset when she was in charge.
After Nora was transferred out, Carl kept things civil with Charlotte on the surface.
But in practice, his cooperation had been lukewarm at best — nothing like the energy he'd put in under Nora.
Charlotte was aware of it. She just hadn't made it a priority. His attitude was passive, but it hadn't affected the company's projects in any real way.
Now, hearing his opener, she narrowed her eyes slightly, leaned back in her chair, and laced her fingers together.
"Say what you came to say, Mr. Sanchez."
The man hesitated, pressing his lips together for a moment.
"I'm sure you've heard the rumors going around the company these past couple of days."
He chose his words carefully, his tone edged with something that wanted to sound like genuine concern.
"The MindSync project means a great deal to our division, and everyone was looking forward to seeing it through."
"With the partnership falling apart, morale has taken a real hit."
"That said, Ms. Johnson, please don't worry — I'll make sure to keep the team's spirits up so it doesn't affect our work going forward."
"There is one thing I'm struggling with, though, and that's the fact that this has started to affect our other partners..."
Charlotte's expression cooled. "Oh? Which partners?"
"Richmond Jewelers." Carl straightened his face and said, "Richmond is our most important offline retail partner for the second half of the year. We've been in final-stage contract negotiations."
"Everything was in place. We were set to sign next week."
"But this morning, Richmond's VP called me personally. He said he'd heard rumors about a project falling through here and was worried something was wrong internally. He wants to reassess the risk of moving forward."
"So the signing is looking like it could be pushed back indefinitely."
After laying that out, a flicker of satisfaction crossed his eyes — brief, but there.
"Ms. Johnson, if anything goes wrong with the Richmond contract, our division is not going to hit its Q3 targets this year."
"We've already lost the Sunrise Tech deal. If Richmond falls through on top of that, I don't know how we explain it to the board."
Charlotte listened without expression. No alarm, no reaction.
She sat quietly for a moment, then looked back up at Carl, her face calm.
"You've been the one managing the Richmond contract all along, haven't you?"
"Yes, I've been the point of contact for the past three months." Carl nodded.
Something shifted in Charlotte's eyes — sharp and direct now. The corner of her mouth curved slightly.
"Right."
"If I recall correctly, the Richmond partnership is about leasing and co-operating traditional jade product counters in physical retail locations, with an annual contract value of around eighty million."
"And the Sunrise Tech MindSync project was about co-developing and marketing high-end jewelry."
"Do those two overlap in any way — business scope, funding sources, target customers?"
Carl clearly hadn't expected her to know the details that well. He paused, and for a split second something like panic flashed across his face.
He covered it quickly and pushed on.
"They're not connected on a business level, but Ms. Johnson, you understand how much reputation matters in this industry. When a key decision-maker at the Langley Group is being questioned, partners naturally start worrying about financial stability and project continuity."
"That's absurd." Charlotte's jaw tightened, her voice cold. "Richmond's VP has been in this industry for nearly twenty years. Do you really think he'd try to unwind a contract that's already passed both boards and been cleared by legal — over some vague rumor?"
"Mr. Sanchez, I'm trying to figure out if you're insulting Richmond's intelligence or mine."
As she said it, her eyes stayed fixed on him — flat and icy.
Carl's face shifted. He fumbled to recover.
"Of course not, Ms. Johnson. I would never doubt you."
"I'm just relaying what the client said."
"You know the public narrative right now isn't in your favor. People are just worried that..."
"People are worried?" Charlotte's mouth curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Sounds more like you're hoping."
"Mr. Sanchez, Nora brought you up through the ranks. You're her person."
"Now that she's gone, I find myself wondering — did you come here today to give me a genuine work update, or are you here to pressure me on her behalf?"
Carl's face went from red to white and back again.
"Ms. Johnson, why twist things? I'm not here to play games."
"I came to ask for your input because I care about this company."
"Everyone knows the project stalled because of you. Are you saying no one is even allowed to question that?"
Charlotte let him finish. Then she laughed — short and cold.
She had to hand it to him. It was a decent play.
But she wasn't rattled. Her expression stayed hard as stone.
"Questions are fine. But not empty ones. Back it up with data and facts."
"And let me be clear — if anyone tries to use this as leverage, or deliberately tampers with a contract to apply pressure, don't expect me to be polite about it."
"Mr. Sanchez, if you still haven't closed the Richmond deal, that's either a competence problem or you never intended to close it at all. Blaming the press is a weak move. I expected better."