Chapter 167 Cooperation

Chapter 167 Cooperation

After hanging up, Jocelyn twirled her phone between her fingers, her gaze drifting to the vast sky outside the window.

Last night's vagrant had targeted her, but Philip happened to take the blow meant for her.

What a coincidence.

Her suspicion fell on Philip, though these past few days he'd been acting completely normal, as if he genuinely regarded her as a younger sister.

She hadn't shown any sign of suspicion toward Philip either. She'd wait for the fox to reveal his tail first.

Just then, someone knocked on her office door. Shelly poked her head in. "Ms. Ross, Mr. Rogers wants to see you."

"Robin?"

Shelly shook her head. "No, if it were him, I'd have thrown him out already."

Not Robin—then who?

A shadow crossed Jocelyn's eyes. The Rogers family really wouldn't leave her in peace.

"Show him in," she said flatly.

Shelly nodded and stepped out.

Moments later, a man followed Shelly into the office.

Jocelyn looked up at the visitor. He bore some resemblance to Robin.

His gaze swept over Jocelyn from head to toe, his tone carrying an ambiguous playfulness. "The woman who's caught Robin's attention—you really are stunning."

His tone was just as presumptuous and frivolous as Robin's.

Jocelyn's expression cooled slightly, one eyebrow arching. "Who are you?" she asked indifferently.

The man seemed oblivious to the coldness in her voice. He walked forward two steps and sat down in the chair across from her desk, his posture casual.

"Derek Rogers." He gave his name, paused, then added, "Robin's brother."

Jocelyn raised an eyebrow.

Robin was Harry's only legitimate son. If Derek was Robin's brother, that made Derek illegitimate.

Jocelyn leaned back in her chair, studying him. "If you're here to plead Robin's case, you've come to the wrong person. I have no interest in dealing with you."

Derek laughed—a sound that didn't reach his eyes. "I'm not here to plead for him."

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze locking onto Jocelyn's. "I'm here to discuss a partnership with you."

Jocelyn's eyebrow twitched, though her face remained impassive. "Partnership? What kind of partnership could there be between me and the Rogers family?"

"Not with the Rogers family." Derek's tone dropped a degree, carrying a deliberately restrained edge. "With me. I want to partner with you to help you completely break with Rogers Group."

The office fell silent for a few seconds.

Jocelyn looked at him, a half-smile playing on her lips. "What makes you think I need to break with Rogers Group? I currently have no business dealings with them whatsoever. What you're saying sounds more like you're trying to sow discord."

Derek seemed to have anticipated this response. He leaned back leisurely in his chair, tilting his head to look at her. "You don't want to break with Rogers Group? So you want to marry Robin instead?"

Jocelyn's expression darkened instantly.

Her voice turned icy. "Mr. Rogers, if you're here to discuss business, you'd better watch your mouth. My patience is limited. Say one more thing that offends me, and I'll have security escort you out."

The flippant smile on Derek's face faded somewhat. He sat up straight and raised both hands in surrender. "Fine, my bad. I apologize. Let's talk business."

He paused, then began slowly. "As you know, the Rogers family publicly has only one son—Robin. And I'm Harry's illegitimate son."

Jocelyn didn't interrupt, merely watching him with raised eyebrows.

Derek briefly explained his background. "My mother used to be a clerk at Rogers Group. Harry got her pregnant. When Mrs. Rogers found out, she gave my mother money to abort me and leave Empire City. But my mother didn't abort me—she secretly gave birth to me in another city. Though Harry sent money regularly, Mrs. Rogers was ruthless. She never stopped making trouble for us once she knew we existed."

By the end, Derek's eyes had turned cold, his voice filled with hatred.

"Mrs. Rogers kept pressuring my mother until she developed depression. Five years ago, my mother jumped from a building and killed herself."

Jocelyn nodded, her voice flat. "So you want to partner with me to get revenge on Mrs. Rogers and Robin?"

"Yes." Derek admitted frankly. "Robin screwed up and dragged both himself and Rogers Group's reputation through the mud. Though those old foxes on the board let Harry protect him temporarily, Robin still has a chance to recover. I won't accept that. I want them to lose everything too!"

After hearing Derek's story, Jocelyn let out a soft laugh but said nothing.

Derek knew she wouldn't trust him easily. He wasn't offended.

He pulled out a manila envelope and placed it on the desk.

"This is my show of good faith."

Jocelyn glanced at him, then reached for the envelope and pulled out its contents.

A stack of photos and documents.

Pictures of Robin meeting with the drunk driver, even screenshots of bank transfer records, and a voice recorder containing a conversation between Robin and the driver.

The entire chain of evidence was crystal clear. If she turned these over to the police, Robin couldn't escape charges of bribing someone to deliberately cause a car accident.

Jocelyn placed everything back in the envelope, her expression barely changing. She looked up at Derek, her tone neutral.

"So you're bringing me this evidence because you want me to take down Robin for you, then you can take control of Rogers Group?"

Derek raised an eyebrow slightly. "No wonder Robin's so interested in you, Ms. Ross. You're both beautiful and clever."

Jocelyn showed no reaction to his compliment, remaining perfectly calm.

"Ms. Ross, you already knew the truth, didn't you?"

Jocelyn smiled faintly, her voice even. "I did. Though the evidence I gathered wasn't as complete as yours."

Derek regarded her meaningfully.

Jocelyn met his gaze calmly. "You say you want to partner with me. So tell me—what's in it for me?"

Derek narrowed his dark eyes and spoke bluntly. "Once I become the head of Rogers Group, any future projects between Rogers Group and Murphy Corporation—I'll give you three percentage points off the top."

Hearing this, Jocelyn finally showed her first genuine smile of the meeting.

"That benefit is rather tempting."

Derek looked at her with some excitement. "So Ms. Ross, do we have a deal?"

But Jocelyn shook her head. "I can't give you an answer right now. Let me think about it for a few days."

Derek couldn't help frowning, though he quickly smoothed his expression. "Alright then. I'll wait for your good news."

With that, he turned and left the office.