Their Queen's Back - Chapter 23: Chapter 23

William, nervous and uneasy, followed closely behind Lauren as they entered the hotel's penthouse. Lauren opened the door and said, "After you, Mr. Brown."
"Yes, yes. Thank you," William said.
William stepped inside. By the rosewood table stood a graceful silhouette clad in black. As she turned, William's eyes widened—she was breathtakingly beautiful, radiating aristocratic elegance.
"This is our SY Group's President, Mr. Ye," Lauren announced.
"Ms. Sky, Ms. Sky," William stammered nervously. "Hello, my name is William."
Skye gave a slight nod, her ice-cold demeanor and blade-sharp gaze making her seem nobly untouchable. "So this is the president of Synergy International Group?" William thought in awe.
"Her presence is so overwhelming," William thought, swallowing nervously.
Skye's piercing gaze settled on the documents. When she spoke, her ice-cold voice carried an undeniable authority that commanded attention.
Skye said, "Acquiring Morningstar Inc. will maximize your company's profits, but on one condition—you must apply the performance metrics I specify to my sister, Sophia."
"Sister?!" William asked in confusion.
Lauren explained, "Mr. Brown, Sophia is Ms. Sky's younger sister."
"What?!" William gasped, his jaw dropping and his face draining of color.
William thought, "Holy crap! Am I dreaming?"
"Sophia? She's talking about Sophia?"
"That Sophia from our company?"
William was stunned. "Sophia is actually the sister of Synergy International Group's president? That makes her the second heiress of the Synergy empire!" he thought in shock.
"Sophia actually has such powerful connections!" William thought in shock.
William's mind went into overdrive as he desperately tried to recall every single word he'd ever said to Sophia over the years.
After mentally confirming I hadn't said anything too harsh to Sophia, mistreated any employees, or withheld anyone's salary, I finally let out a small sigh of relief.
William thought, "No wonder Synergy wants to acquire our company—it's all Sophia's doing! Does this mean I've just hit the jackpot by being associated with her?"
Lauren lowered her voice and said, "Yes, Mr. Brown. And Ms. Sky doesn't want anyone else but you to know about this."
William wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded vigorously. "I understand, I understand, Ms. Sky. You have my word—I won't breathe a word of this to anyone. You can rest assured."
William staggered out of the hotel entrance, his legs turning to jelly. He barely managed to steady himself by clutching a nearby pillar.
"I can't believe I just met the president of Synergy International Group, a global giant!" William thought to himself in stunned disbelief.
With a loud smack, William slapped himself hard across the face to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Realizing it was real, he threw his head back and let out a booming laugh, drawing bewildered stares from passersby.
Olivia shoved her trailing assistant away in fury.
Olivia snapped furiously, "Useless! Wasn't it confirmed that Lauren, the personal assistant to Synergy International Group's president, is at this hotel? Then why can't you find her?"
The assistant hurriedly explained, "Ms. Quinn, I did confirm she'd be at this hotel today, but I really don't know which room she's in."
Olivia's face contorted with fury as she snarled, "What the hell are you waiting for? Get out there and find her! I've waited a whole damn year for this—I have to get on her radar!"
This was her only chance to meet the president of Synergy International Group.
If she could secure a partnership with Synergy International Group, the Quinns' standing would skyrocket overnight.
William listened to their conversation and sneered inwardly, thinking, "Ms. Lan's assistant? Please. I've already met the president of SY Group in person! Olivia, you think you're so high and mighty, don't you?"
"Olivia has absolutely no business ethics or conscience—she treated Sophia like dirt in the corporate world," William thought with contempt.
William gloated inwardly, "Winter is coming for the Quinns—bankruptcy awaits!"
William thought ecstatically, "I've finally struck gold—haha, my life is made!"
Sophia couldn't believe she had actually signed the contract. As she walked out of the VIP room, everything still felt unreal. She gave herself a hard pinch on the cheek—the sharp pain told her it was real, not a dream. "Is this really happening?" she thought, still in disbelief.
"It's real!" she thought.
"I actually did it!"
William spotted Sophia coming out and trotted over, his face beaming with a respectful smile. In a warm, ingratiating tone, he asked, "Sophia, how did things go?"
Sophia handed him the contract with a confident smile. "Boss, we've signed it! Synergy International Group even gave us the most favorable terms."
Sophia smiled softly, her features relaxing—it was clear she was genuinely happy.
"Still, Sophia couldn't help but wonder why Ms. Sky had asked about her aspirations and skills. But in the end, what mattered was that the deal was secured," she thought.
William stared at the contract in his hands. Though he'd known the deal would go through, only when he saw the signatures with his own eyes did it truly sink in—"Fortune has finally smiled upon me!"
"Sophia," William said, "you did wonderfully—absolutely wonderfully! Effective immediately, you're promoted to company director, with a significant raise."
Sophia was delighted but remained modest, offering a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Boss, I really didn't do much," Sophia said with a modest smile.
She honestly didn't feel like she had done much—she just answered their questions truthfully, that was all.
"The questions were actually pretty straightforward," Sophia thought to herself.
William stared at her, eyes gleaming. "My lucky star, my golden goose—how can you say you didn't do anything? All this is riding on your coattails, don't you know!" he thought.
Without you, my little company would've never even made it onto Synergy Group's radar—we'd still be buried in some back alley forever.
"Sophia, from now on, you're the company's lucky charm—our golden goose. I'll make sure to treat you like royalty!" William thought.
If Sophia knew what her boss was really thinking, she'd probably run for the hills.