Charlene had been back in the private dining room for a while before Dalton finally returned.

They had just about finished their meal, so they left the restaurant.

Dalton headed back to the office to prepare some documents, while Charlene and Stewart returned to

PrimeStar.

Around three in the afternoon, Granger arrived at PrimeStar almost simultaneously with Dalton.

They had shared a meal before during the Neural Nexus Tech’s driverless vehicle testing.

Upon seeing each other again, Dalton greeted him, “Mr. Harden, have you also decided to collaborate with PrimeStar?”

“Yes, indeed. So, I take it Mr. Ramirez is ready to sign as well?”

“Exactly.”

Granger was taken aback. After all, at the gala, Stewart had flat-out turned down Dalton. Yet here they were, going ahead with the partnership.

He couldn’t help but wonder…

At that moment, Charlene and Stewart entered the reception area. Although Stewart wasn’t particularly fond of either Granger or Dalton, it was clear that Granger had a much friendlier demeanor towards Charlene than Dalton did.

So, when it came to negotiations, Stewart had Charlene talk with Granger. Meanwhile, he handled things with Dalton.

Dalton had no objections to this arrangement, but Granger…

Granger smiled warmly, “I’ll be in your capable hands, Ms. Ross.”

Charlene nodded, “No need for formalities, Mr. Harden. Please, this way.”

Once seated, Charlene engaged in a technical discussion with Granger’s team.

By the time they wrapped up, night had fallen.

As they exited the meeting room, Granger suggested, “Ms. Ross, care to join me for dinner?”

Charlene replied, “I have some things to attend to, but let me check with Stewart-”

Just then, Stewart appeared from another room and joined in, “Dinner? Sounds great.” He then turned to Charlene, “Go ahead and run your errands. I’ve got things covered here.” Charlene nodded, exchanged a few friendly words with Granger, avoided Dalton’s look, and left.

Granger was momentarily taken aback.

Stewart turned to Dalton, “Mr. Harden is treating us to dinner. Care to join, Mr. Ramirez?”

Dalton shrugged, “Sure, why not.”

• After leaving PrimeStar, Charlene headed back to the Ross family estate.

Her purpose for this visit was to discuss business matters with her uncle, Vernon.

PrimeStar was currently preparing two major projects, each segmented and outsourced in parts. She had Intentionally reserved one segment for Vernon’s company to handle. Upon hearing her proposal, Vernon was intrigued.

“Are you sure Stewart won’t have any issues with this?”

“He’s fine with it; we’ve already discussed it.”

“Alright then.” Vernon nodded, though he added, “But my company is low on liquid assets. I’m afraid…”

“I’ve got over ten million on hand.” Charlene assured him, “If that’s not enough, we can always auction off those gifts Thorne gave grandma for her birthday.”

During Helena’s birthday, the two projects they were working on were nearly finalized. Charlene had taken those gifts with a purpose in mind.

Since she and Thorne were on the brink of divorce, he didn’t mind her auctioning off his gifts.

Still…

“With Thorne’s extensive connections, if he finds out we’re auctioning off his gifts, won’t he…” “He won’t mind.”

With her assurance, Vernon was at ease.

Charlene had over ten million, and the auction of those gifts could fetch around thirty million. With Vernon’s contributions, they could raise close to fifty million, which should suffice. If not… Charlene glanced toward the villa across the street.

The next afternoon, Vernon made arrangements to send the items to the auction house.