Chapter 234
Louis was around fifty, with graying hair and gold-rimmed glasses, wearing a dark gray suit. He had that scholarly, academic air about him.
He was talking to someone nearby, his manner gentle, his smile modest.
He looked like a refined, technically minded leader.
"Let's go say hello," William said quietly, heading toward Louis, who was standing by a display board chatting with someone.
I took a breath, put on my professional smile, and followed beside William.
When Louis finished his conversation, William stepped forward at just the right moment, extending his hand. "Professor Cox, I've heard so much about you. I'm William from Star Tech, and this is our VP and CTO, Grace."
Louis turned around, saw William, and his face broke into a polite smile, "Mr. Jones, hello, hello, I've heard a lot about you too."
The two shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.
I stepped forward, smiling as I extended my hand, "Professor Cox, hello, I'm Grace. I've long admired your achievements in intelligent control systems. It's great to finally meet you in person."
Louis's smile suddenly froze the moment he heard my name.
His hand didn't reach out. He just looked me up and down, his gaze sweeping from my face to my clothes and back again, with an undisguised scrutiny and suspicion.
"You're Grace?" he said, his tone full of disbelief, as if I were playing some kind of joke.
My outstretched hand hung in mid-air. I paused for a second, then naturally withdrew it.
I felt a moment of shock inside, but I didn't let my expression show it.
I kept my smile, my voice steady. "Professor Cox, you know me?"
Louis didn't answer my question.
The last trace of politeness disappeared from his face. He turned to William instead, his brow furrowed, his tone clearly disapproving, "Mr. Jones, can we talk?"
He didn't wait for William's answer, just pulled him aside a couple of steps.
I stood there, still smiling, but my fingers curled slightly.
Some people around us seemed to notice the commotion and cast curious glances our way.
Louis lowered his voice, but in the not-particularly-noisy environment, it still carried clearly to my ears.
"William, what's going on?" His tone carried an elder's reproach, "Terry just told me everything. How can your company let someone like this be in charge of such an important project? This is ridiculous!"
William clearly hadn't expected him to say this. He froze for a moment, then lowered his voice to explain, "Professor Cox, I think there's been a misunderstanding. Terry doesn't really know Grace. Grace's abilities and character—everyone at our company knows them well. I can guarantee..."
"Guarantee? What can you guarantee?" Louis cut him off, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "I've known Terry for years. Sure, he can be blunt sometimes, but he doesn't make things up out of thin air."
"If what he said wasn't true, why would people make it up? I heard you even turned down a promising technical talent for your company because of her?"
He paused, his tone growing colder, "I only work with people who have both ability and character. If this is the situation at your company, then I suggest you stop wasting my time."
"My production line isn't for helping certain people pad their resumes."
William's face instantly darkened.
He clearly hadn't expected Mark's recommended partner to say such things about me.
I knew him—he wasn't someone who got angry easily, but Louis's words weren't just insulting me; they were questioning his judgment as a manager and the company's credibility.
I saw his jawline tighten—a sign he was about to lose his temper.
I couldn't let him make a scene here.
I took a deep breath and stepped forward, getting in front of Louis before William could speak.
My voice was calm, even carrying a hint of polite amusement, but my eyes had gone completely cold, "Professor Cox."
Louis seemed surprised that I would approach directly, looking at me with some confusion.
"Just because I don't explain something doesn't mean I'm the person others say I am," I said, looking into his eyes, speaking each word clearly, "You know me through other people's words. Why not take some time to actually interact with me, get to know me? If after that you still think I lack ability or character, then you can criticize and mock me all you want, and I'll accept it."
"But right now, we haven't even started talking, you haven't looked at the project, and you're drawing conclusions based on a few words from someone else. Isn't that a bit hasty?"
Louis clearly hadn't expected me to push back so directly. He froze for a moment.
He adjusted his glasses, reassessing me, the surprise in his eyes gradually replaced by an angry coldness tinged with embarrassment.
"Why should I waste my time on you?" He laughed coldly, his tone full of condescending disdain, "Why don't you think about yourself? Why isn't anyone else being slandered like this?"
"If you really had ability, real talent, you should use your own strength to shut those people up, not come here and throw your weight around in front of me."
I found it absurd, almost laughable.
Where was I throwing my weight around?
I was just standing here, introducing myself, defending myself with one sentence.
"I don't have time to deal with you," Louis said finally, turning to leave.
The fire I'd been holding down inside finally broke through.
I watched his retreating back and spoke, my voice not loud but loud enough for him to hear, and for the few people nearby with their ears perked up to hear, "I used to think that scholars like Professor Cox, with achievements in their professional field, would see people and situations more clearly, wouldn't be so shallow. I guess I overestimated you."
Louis whipped around, his face turning ashen.
William immediately stepped forward, positioning himself between Louis and me, his tone trying hard to stay calm and respectful, "Professor Cox, please calm down. We came here today with great sincerity to seek cooperation. We can sit down and talk this through."
"If you have any specific concerns or misunderstandings about Ms. Brown—about Grace—please tell us directly, so we know what the problem is, whether we need to explain or improve something."
In his urgency, William called me Grace.
That form of address was like a drop of cold water falling into hot oil.
Louis's gaze swept back and forth between William and me, his expression shifting from anger to something mixed with contempt.
He stared at William, his mouth twisting into an extremely sarcastic curve, his voice no longer lowered but sharp, as if he wanted everyone around to hear clearly, "Grace? How affectionate."
He paused, his gaze scraping across my face like a knife, then returning to William.
"William, I never knew you had a thing for playing stepfather."
His voice was particularly jarring in the suddenly quiet air around us.
"This kind of divorced housewife," he deliberately emphasized the words "divorced housewife," as if they were some unspeakable stain, "what's so good about her? What makes her worth all this?"
The air instantly froze.
Those who had been chatting among themselves now all looked our way, more or less openly.
Some whispered to each other, some exchanged meaningful glances, some simply stopped in their tracks and openly watched the drama unfold.
I stood in the center of the crowd, facing those gleeful stares.
Louis kept going, his voice getting louder, "When Terry told me, I didn't believe it. Now I see everything he said was true."
"You, William, you're so bewitched by her that you'd even take in a woman like this."
"Let me tell you, when I do business, I value character above all. If someone's character is bad, I don't care how capable they are—I won't work with them!"
That last sentence was almost shouted, like a verdict, more like a public humiliation.
The entire hall went quiet for a moment.
Then whispers rose like a tide.
I stood there, my back very straight.
William stood beside me, his face ashen, his fists clenched tight.
I felt his body lean forward slightly, as if he might charge forward at any moment.
I reached out and gently pressed his arm.
Then I raised my head, meeting Louis's eyes full of disgust, and spoke clearly and calmly, word by word, "Professor Cox, are you finished?"