Chapter 9 Don't You Remember Me?
What surprised Isabella was that Declan was now driving a Bentley.
Just from the exterior and the leather interior, she could tell it definitely wasn't cheap.
"You always said after graduation you'd upgrade to better equipment—you really did it," Isabella joked.
Back in college, none of them had much money. Declan worked part-time at outside labs and took on various jobs, finally scraping together enough to buy a used car, making him the first among them to own a vehicle.
With that secondhand car, Declan had traveled all over the country on budget trips, becoming legendary among all of Marcus's students.
Isabella remembered that during their class reunions, Declan would make bold declarations that within ten years of graduation, he'd earn enough to drive a luxury car through his own abilities.
Apparently, he'd kept his youthful promise.
Declan glanced in the rearview mirror, a modest smile crossing his lips.
"I just went from being a lab assistant to a high-level employee, nothing too impressive."
"What I miss most is college, when we could travel anywhere as long as we didn't have experiments to run."
Now that he had the luxury car, Declan could no longer live that carefree lifestyle.
Hearing him speak, Isabella truly felt how time had changed them all.
In the past, Declan would have bragged shamelessly to her.
It seemed time had worn down all their rough edges.
"That project we worked on is still ongoing, just as a university-industry collaboration now. I'm the project lead—if you ever want to join, you're welcome anytime."
Isabella sighed softly, "I know you mean well, but I haven't worked since graduation. How could I have the nerve to waltz in and take credit for your team's hard work?"
As she finished speaking, Isabella's phone chimed with a new message.
She opened it to find a notification from her bank.
Her account had been frozen.
She didn't need to guess—this was definitely William's doing.
After deleting the message with a blank expression, Isabella blocked William's contact information.
Finding a well-paying job became Isabella's most urgent priority.
She hadn't saved much from her college years. Apart from the house, Isabella only had fifty thousand dollars in savings.
Before that money ran out, she had to find reliable employment.
Working through the night, she crafted her resume, listing all her past projects and research achievements.
Like a fresh graduate, Isabella launched into mass-application mode.
Initially, she targeted research institutes similar to Declan's project.
Many were genuinely interested in Isabella's previous project experience.
But during actual interviews, problems inevitably surfaced.
Some felt Isabella's career gap was too long, worrying that her technical skills had deteriorated.
Others worried that caring for her child would prevent her from fully committing to work.
They said the high-pressure lab environment was no longer suitable for her current situation.
Some didn't believe her story at all—thinking her excuse about abandoning a top-tier lab position for marriage and motherhood was ridiculous.
After two days, Isabella had interviewed with over a dozen labs and automotive companies.
Without exception, the result was always "not a good fit."
Just as Isabella decided to give up on lab positions and apply for administrative roles instead, she suddenly received an interview email from Infinity Ventures Corporation.
Infinity Ventures Corporation was also a domestic new energy vehicle company. Isabella hadn't initially chosen them for a simple reason.
Infinity Ventures Corporation had no intention of developing flying cars, and they hadn't even built labs yet—this business direction was completely blank for them.
Though Isabella was confident in her professional abilities, she wasn't so narcissistic as to think she could single-handedly establish a laboratory for Infinity Ventures Corporation.
But Infinity Ventures Corporation offered extremely generous terms.
A three-million-dollar annual salary, plus stock options and profit sharing, once the project went into production.
After a brief hesitation, Isabella decided to try her luck.
Coincidentally, Infinity Ventures Corporation's headquarters was directly across from William's Summit Holdings Corporation.
Standing in Infinity Ventures Corporation's interview room, looking at the imposing building across the street, Isabella felt deeply troubled.
Only by seeing William's business empire could she clearly understand what kind of behemoth she was about to face.
"Ms. Capulet, please come with me."
A tall, slender female secretary approached Isabella from behind, speaking very politely.
She led Isabella directly out of the interview room.
"Aren't we interviewing in there?" Isabella asked.
The secretary shook her head gently, "Our CEO said he wants to interview you personally."
Isabella hadn't expected Infinity Ventures Corporation's CEO to take this interview so seriously, even conducting the evaluation himself.
Taking the elevator to the top floor, the secretary led Isabella into the CEO's office.
"Mr. Spencer, Ms. Capulet is here."
The secretary left, gently closing the office door behind her.
The leather executive chair swiveled, and the person sitting in it turned around.
He appeared very refined and scholarly, wearing gold-rimmed glasses perched on his perfectly structured nose, adding elegance and sophistication to his features.
Before coming, Isabella had done her homework thoroughly.
Richard Spencer, born into the old-money Spencer family of Seaside City.
After returning from studying abroad, he single-handedly founded Infinity Ventures Corporation. Under his leadership, it had become one of the country's largest new energy vehicle companies.
"Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity, Mr. Spencer. May I ask if you're also looking to enter the flying car market, build laboratories, and begin project research?"
Isabella opened with a professional question.
Richard nodded, "This research direction is currently uncharted territory with enormous future market potential, wouldn't you agree?"
"That's true, but Mr. Spencer, I alone would be far from sufficient for such an undertaking."
"You can discuss those conditions with HR. Our current goal is to catch up with other automotive companies' years of groundwork at any cost, and produce our research results as quickly as possible."
Richard's ambition was completely at odds with his gentle appearance, but it perfectly suited Isabella's needs.
Research required a boss who was generous enough and didn't interfere with research directions.
This would help her project avoid many detours.
"Since Mr. Spencer is willing to overlook the gaps in my work experience and give me this opportunity, I will certainly work diligently."
Isabella spoke in official terms, offering Richard a few compliments.
He folded his hands, listening for a while before suddenly smiling.
"Don't you remember me?" Richard asked.
Isabella froze, studying Richard's face more carefully.
Should she know him?