Their Queen's Back - Chapter 33: Chapter 33

Rowan asked no further questions. After Skye assigned her the necessary tasks, she gathered her things and quietly closed the office door behind her.
Skye adored the evening sunset. As she raised her eyes, her almond-shaped eyes shimmered with both allure and sharpness, her long lashes fluttering slightly.
Lauren: "Ms. Sky, it's done."
Skye said, "Any updates on my other two sisters?"
Lauren: "Almost there, Ms. Sky. You asked me yesterday to check Miss Sophia's contact with your other two sisters. Turns out they haven't been in touch at all these years—like complete strangers."
Skye set down her phone, her gaze turning pensive. "Strangers?" she murmured to herself.
She had tried asking Sophia about it, but Sophia always seemed to avoid the topic—whether on purpose or not. Skye had been back for days, yet Sophia never once mentioned her other two sisters.
Matthew had spent the whole night locked up, but there was still no sign of his family. He kept pestering the guard, asking if anyone had come for him. Finally, the guard lost his patience and snapped, "How many times must I repeat myself? We've already notified your family—they just haven't shown up! Are you deaf or what? I've told you this at least fifty times! If your family actually came, do you think we'd stop them from seeing you? This is ridiculous!"
Matthew couldn't believe such a lowly prison guard dared to speak to him like that. "Does this nobody have any idea who I am?" he fumed.
He'd been locked up here all night—all because of Lily. She'd played him for a fool. Just wait till he got out; he'd make her pay for this.
Matthew clenched his fists, seething with rage, then forced himself to sit back down.
Olivia stepped into the reserved private room, her heart pounding with anticipation. At long last, she finally laid eyes on Lauren—the one she'd been longing to meet. Right off the bat, she presented a carefully prepared gift.
Olivia smiled nervously as she handed over a small gift. "Ms. Carter, I've really heard so much about you! It's a pleasure to finally meet you today. This is just a small token of my appreciation—I hope you'll accept it."
As Olivia offered a card, Lauren raised a hand to block her, her face expressionless.
No need, Olivia. Let's get straight to business. So, you're taking over our previous partnership with Quinn Group this time, correct?
Olivia smiled eagerly. "Yes, yes, Ms. Carter, please review our contract—the concessions I'm offering aren't a single cent less than what Quinn Group would give."
Lauren rested her chin thoughtfully, her expression cautious. "But from what I understand, your company—though under the Quinn Group umbrella—is merely a minor affiliate. And our requirements are exceptionally stringent. Are you certain Quinn Holdings can meet our standards?"
Olivia put her hand on her heart and declared emphatically, "Of course, of course, Ms. Carter! I'm the fully authorized representative of our company, so you can rest assured!"
Lauren nodded. "Very well. Since you've already worked out the details privately, let's proceed with signing the contract."
Olivia was ecstatic—she had actually bypassed the Quinn Group and secured the deal with Synergy! "Why should they always hog all the profits? Now it's my turn!" she thought triumphantly.
Olivia thought, "Sorry, cousin David. Don't blame me for hijacking your deal—you're the one who offered me such a measly cut of the profits."
Lauren's expression turned grave as she examined the profit margins in the contract. "Olivia must have gone to great lengths to work with us—even conceding three percentage points of profit," she thought.
Lauren said firmly to Ms. Olivia, "This proposal originated from your Quinn Group. Once signed, there will be no room for reconsideration."
Olivia couldn't wipe the grin off her face. "Absolutely! Without a doubt!" she gushed.
"Wait!" A familiar commanding voice cut through the air.
Olivia felt her brain short-circuit. Stunned, she whipped her head around and locked eyes with David Quinn—her eldest cousin.
Her pupils dilated as panic flooded through her body.
"How could he be here?" Olivia thought in shock.
Olivia panicked, thinking, "No way! How could this be!"
"Wasn't he supposed to be at the business conference tonight?" Olivia thought.
As David's piercing gaze swept over her, Olivia felt an icy chill crawl up her spine, her palms growing clammy with cold sweat.
Lauren frowned in confusion as she watched David walk in. "What's going on here? Wasn't it your Quinn Group that invited me here?"
David's face darkened with rage, his contemptuous gaze sweeping past Olivia.
Olivia's heart skipped a beat. Her body stiffened, and she was tongue-tied with shock. "I've been found out," she panicked inwardly.
How could this be? I was certain I had covered every angle.
Ms. Carter, this was our oversight. Quinn Group will continue the collaboration with you. My sincerest apologies for what happened tonight—I will personally come by another day to make amends.
Lauren's face darkened with barely contained fury as she snatched up the documents from the table, every movement radiating her seething anger. She felt utterly played for a fool—who wouldn't be livid?
Lauren shot David a sharp look and snapped, "Mr. Quinn, the Quinn Group is a prestigious enterprise in the capital—how could you play games with people like this? Ms. Sky traveled all this way, but she had urgent business tonight and couldn't make it. Otherwise, she would've been made a fool of too!"
David knew full well they were at fault from the start. It was his managerial oversight that allowed Olivia to exploit the Quinn Group's name, lure the client out under false pretenses, and attempt to hijack the deal.
David humbled himself and apologized earnestly, "Ms. Carter, my deepest apologies—this was entirely our oversight. To show our sincerity, we're willing to give up 20% of the profits on this deal. We sincerely hope the partnership between Synergy International Group and Quinn Group can continue."
Lauren couldn't help but marvel, "Ms. Sky's foresight is uncanny—just as she predicted, Quinn Group made concessions."
"Mr. Quinn, Synergy International Group has been in partnership with Quinn Group for so long that we know your character well. But after what happened tonight, it's really hard for me to explain the situation to Ms. Sky. So I suggest you handle your internal matters first. I'll head back now."
David gave his assistant a subtle signal, and the assistant quickly caught up to Ms. Carter. "Ms. Carter, today's incident was entirely our fault. Given our longstanding partnership, could you please ask Ms. Sky to show us some leniency?"
With that, the assistant pressed a card into Lauren's hand.
Lauren's face remained impassive, though a hint of anger flickered in her sapphire blue eyes.
Lauren handed the card back to him, her tone businesslike. "I always handle things by the book. Ms. Sky wouldn't fuss over such minor matters, but she certainly wouldn't want this to happen again."
"Understood, Ms. Carter," the assistant replied promptly.
Before leaving, Lauren hesitated, then decided to speak up. "Honestly, I know it's not really my place to say this, but out of respect for Mr. Quinn, I feel I should offer a word of caution. That Ms. Olivia has approached me multiple times before. I turned a blind eye those times, but who would've thought she'd actually use Mr. Quinn's name to arrange this meeting?"
Upon hearing Lauren's words, a look of disgust mixed with anger surfaced in the assistant's eyes.
Honestly, the whole Olivia family is just plain ungrateful.
"Thank you for the heads-up, Lauren. Here are a few VIP cards from some jewelry stores—they're nothing too fancy. You're already gorgeous, but a few more pieces of jewelry will only make you shine even more," she said with a smile.
Lauren's lips curled into a slight smile as she accepted the card. "Listen, kid—take it from my experience—Olivia has ulterior motives, an insatiable ambition, and is utterly ungrateful. You all need to keep your eyes open around her. Remember, complacency leads to downfall."
The assistant nodded and said, "You're absolutely right, Sis."
Lauren thought, "Talk about biting the hand that feeds you—that's the height of ingratitude."
Mr. Quinn truly nurtured a bunch of ungrateful snakes. Let's not forget, back when Quinn Holdings was nothing, it was only out of his kindness and family ties that he shared those business opportunities and let them profit handsomely. They owe all their current success to him.
"After all these years being spoon-fed by Mr. Quinn, they dare to stab him in the back?" Lauren thought contemptuously.
Lauren set the jewelry store VIP card on the desk and gave Ms. Sky a full account of the events.
Skye signed her name on the contract with swift strokes. "Here, keep this card—it's yours. Rowan's already gone to fetch them. Now go handle the partnership matters."
"Understood, Ms. Sky." Lauren gave a brief nod.
When Lauren walked in, she was struck by how alarmingly understaffed Hughes Corporation had become—barely a soul inside. Outside, a few people were loitering near the entrance, glancing around furtively.
Their intentions were obvious—they quit on purpose, just waiting for Ms. Sky to personally beg them to come back so they could cash in and boost their prestige.
How naive. Truly naive.
What they don't realize is that the last thing Ms. Sky lacks is top talent. Every year, countless scions of powerful families and graduates from elite universities are practically lining up, desperate for a chance to work under her name.
As if these third-rate nobodies actually have the nerve to dream big.
Richard walked in and halted when he saw Lauren. Skye's expression turned frosty. "What is it?" she asked.