Elodie froze.

Elodie?

Jarrod had called her that before, but not often.

Now, he used that nickname-one reserved for people you’re close to.

Her brow furrowed in silence.

Sylvie pressed her lips together.

She didn’t like hearing Jarrod call Elodie by such an intimate name.

But at least his tone was devoid of warmth, distant and all business.

Probably just old habits slipping out. That’s all it was.

Given how much had changed, Sylvie just hoped Elodie wouldn’t get any foolish ideas because of it.

As for the terms of this partnership-

She seriously suspected Elodie had egged Alexander on to tweak the contract as payback.

Letting personal grudges bleed into a major project like this-how petty.

But what could she do? Jarrod hadn’t objected, and Sylvie knew if she backed out now, everything would be for nothing.

Not only would VistaLink Technologies have used her, she wouldn’t even have the legitimacy of a partnership to show for it.

After weighing her options, she finally swallowed her anger and signed the contract.

From now on, there would be no love lost between VistaLink Technologies and her own company, Neural Intelligence.

Face set in a cold mask, Sylvie stood up and marched out.

Jarrod simply gave a cool half-smile. As he got up, he said without emotion, “See you around.”

Elodie still didn’t look up, offering no reply.

Alexander, on the other hand, was in high spirits. “Take care, Mr. Silverstein.”

Jarrod’s gaze swept over Elodie before he finally turned to go.

Once Jarrod and Sylvie were gone, Alexander couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“Fair division of the tech? What were they thinking? They’re a brand-new company, still trying to get their team in sync. Even with Jarrod’s backing and top- tier hardware, so what? If we let them get even a taste of the real work, they should count themselves lucky.” Alexander shook his head.

This was thanks to Elodie’s foresight. From the start, she had no intention of letting them get the upper hand.

Neural Intelligence desperately needed this chance.

That meant they’d swallow whatever lead role VistaLink Technologies demanded, but Sylvie clearly hadn’t expected just how little they’d be allowed to contribute- barely the basics.

Elodie mulled it over for a moment.

“The detailed contract we sent Neural Intelligence-Jarrod probably reviewed it himself. Knowing him, he must have seen what we were up to, but never brought it up again.”

Especially since just now, Jarrod hadn’t seemed surprised or upset at all.

That only confirmed her suspicions.

“You think he figured it out?” Alexander raised an eyebrow. “Then why go along with it? What’s he playing at?”

He could see the trap for Neural Intelligence-why jump in anyway?

What was he thinking?

Elodie frowned, but VistaLink Technologies was now running the show. The outcome was set, and she couldn’t care less what Jarrod’s game was.

With VistaLink Technologies leading the project and securing the military contract, the industry was buzzing.

In just a couple of days, they’d already received multiple calls-people reaching out to talk about possible collaborations on future projects.

Alexander had his hands full.

Elodie, however, was unfazed.

While she mapped out the project plan, she was also pursuing her own research into new energy technologies.

Meanwhile, the joint project with Nexus Analytics had officially launched and gone public.

A major phase was complete.

Naturally, the two companies organized a big celebration.

The party was set at a luxury mountain resort with every entertainment you could imagine.

It was Friday night.

Once they arrived, Elodie realized she’d been to this resort before.

It belonged to The Delacroix Group.

She picked up her key card and headed to her room to drop off her things.

Not long after, someone knocked at the door.

Elodie paused, a bit puzzled. She set down her clothes and turned to open it.